Wealth or family? A life old question that is yet to be answered. The choice is very difficult, the outcome is spontaneous. Stuck in the middle, with no way out but disaster. After a disaster nothing gets better, the sight of hope is lost as a person’s gnarled mind takes over and nothing from that point on is predictable. This concept is conveyed throughout The Pearl written by John Steinbeck, the main character Kino is faced with this decision. Steinbeck uses motifs of Good vs. Evil and different songs expressed through Kino’s thoughts throughout the book. Greed can alter a person’s thoughts making them do unpredictable things.
Thoughts can be changed for the pursuit of wealth. At first, Kino is a family orientated, average, sweet and kind
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At the beginning of The Pearl, Kino has a pretty average life, but the aspect that made his life unique and special was his loving and supportive family. Kino would never do anything to hurt them. As illustrated by Kino keeping watch over his family, making sure they are safe. (Steinbeck 1.1) “Kino’s eyes opened, and he looked first at the lightening stare which Coyotito slept. And last he turned his head to Juana, his wife, who lay beside him on the mat, her blue head shawl over her nose and over her breasts and around the small of her back. Juana’s eyes were open too. Kino could never see them closed when he awakened. Her dark eyes made little reflected stars. She was looking at him as she was always looking at him when he awakened.” Kino admires his family, protecting them through anything. Kino looks up at both his amazing wife and son making sure they had a good night's sleep. Also, making sure when they wake up he is always there. But his life is starting to change drastically when Kino wrecks the one thing that brought him the most joy, his family. Exhibited through a sinful scene, as Kino with all force takes his unsustainable rage out on Juana. (Steinbeck 5.59) “He hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide frightened eyes like a sheep before the butcher. She knew there was murder in him..He heard the rush and got his knife out and lunged at one dark figure and felt his knife go home, and then he was swept to his knees and swept again to the ground… Juana dragged herself up from the rocks on the edge of the water. Her face was a dull pain and her side ached.” Juana struggles after Kino attacks her. Her once loved husband attacks her giving her no mercy. Kino’s actions are manipulated for the need of his own selfish
The idea of good versus evil is illustrated in several ways in John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This is seen through the external conflicts in the novel, the internal conflicts of the characters, and a universal understanding of the battle between good and evil.
"God saw that all he had created was very good. You are part of gods creation, and he is pleased with how he made you. If at times you feel worthless or of little value, remember that god made you for a good reason. You are valuable to him." ( Genesis 1:31) I believe that all things created are at first good. The Bible gives pages upon pages of quotes and stories on the battle of good versus evil, but in the story East of Eden we are given what might be the greatest question of it all, and that is if the main character Cathy a.k.a. Kate was born good or evil.
East of Eden is an epic novel about individual ethics - whether men and women have the power to choose between good and evil.
A theme is a unifying or dominant idea in a literary work. Steinbeck described the competition of good versus evil as the story of mankind itself. He believes that every generation to come since Adam and Eve will now be immersed with the struggle of good and evil due to Eve’s curiosity that led to sin, eventually banning both her and Adam from the Garden of Eden. In East of Eden, Steinbeck makes the contest of good versus evil apparent through his contrasting description of the setting, the characters’ opposing personalities, and society’s changing morals.
John Steinbeck's Novel, Dubious Battle. We are lucky to have many talented writers who have successfully taught US history through their outstanding pieces of literature. One writer of this kind is John Steinbeck in the novel Dubious Battle. It takes place in the 1930’s when Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt was President.
The book, Of Mice and Men is not just about the death of Lennie, as one might think, it’s also about power. Throughout the book, one can observe each character’s attempts to gain influence over the ranch crew, or at least to be accepted into a society. However, only one man can be on top, and that man became Slim, the ageless jerkline skinner. Unlike Curley, he lead with an understanding mind instead of abusing the power gained by achieving the American Dream.
"The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces"~Philip Zimbardo. It is hard to not cross the line between good and evil because if someone is getting you mad, you might want to harm them in some way. But you have keep your cool and let it go. Being good or evil is your own choice. Even if you are good, you always have an evil side. This quote fits perfectly because it talks about how evil is really only in people under certain situations. People are essentially good, but under certain circumstances, turn evil.
Kino found one of the most valuable and precious pearls in the world and being convinced of its worth was not going to be cheated by only minimally upgrading his condition of life. Instead he wanted to break the fixed life and role that he and his family had and always would live. Kino refuses the maximum offer of fifteen hundred pesos that would easily ease his and his family’s pain and suffering for the coming months. Kino is then determined to trek to the capital to find a fair and just offer. Kino continues determined through the mountains after an attempt at the pearl, his canoe destroyed and his hut set a blaze. Continuing to put his family’s life on the line. It eventually takes the death of his beloved son Coyotito to make him realize he needs to stop being so greedy, no matter how hard he tries and to shut his mouth and know his role.
Why do good people do bad things? The Psychologists claim that if you put good people in a bad situation, bad things will happen. In the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor showed that if their life in danger they have the ablity to abandon their morals and values. These horriable action can be seen and both the Jewish and German people.The German soldier
In both “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers and The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the protagonists struggle with internal conflicts that ultimately change what they view to be important in life. Greg, who is attending high school, wants to play basketball, but is unable to as a result of poor grades. Kino, a man who loves his family more than anything, loses focus when he becomes drived by the prospect of riches. Both characters face challenges that eventually lead them to see what truly matters in life.
He is one of the most greedy person in this book.Kino Was perfectly fine in the beginning of the book, but then he found the pearl and turned his life upside down.Kino had a perfect relationship with his wife, but then “he struck her in the face,he cluched her with his fist and she fell among the boulders,and he kicked her in the side.Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared.He hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide UN frightened eyes,like a sheep before the butcher(59)”.Kino even got worse “When Juana tries to hid the pearl and Kino goes crazy and almost attacks her like a crazy man(38)”.But then there is this side of Kino when he first gets the pearl”When Kino thinks of all the things that the pearls wealth and money will do for them but not for anyone else(36)”.This is greedy because he only thinks of himself for the pearl.But Kino am greedy Most of the
Readers can tell from the statement that many of the people Kino encounters after finding the pearl become bitter “friends”. At this point, Kino and Juana begin to realize that the pearl is bringing bad luck upon them. They are taken advantage of by the doctor and he decides to visit them after knowing they have the pearl. “This pearl is like a sin”(56). Juana begins to realize the pearl is bringing them bad luck, but Kino still trusts that it’s a gift. Readers can also assume that people are trying to take the pearl when Kino is suddenly attacked during the night. “Blood oozed down from his scalp and there was a long…”(56). Readers can now confirm that the pearl has changed and now represents evil. The pearl also begins to destroy Kino and Juana’s relationship as they have different opinions on what to do with the pearl. After Kino wakes up and follows Juana when she wakes up and walks out, readers know he has started to lose full trust in her. “He rolled up to his feet and followed her silently as she had gone” (58). Through the symbolism of the pearl and what it brings upon Kino and Juana, the author emphasizes how the pearl is not what it first appears to be, which was
In Matthew 26:16 it says, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Truly, the question posed in this quote is one that applies to the main character, Kino, in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. Steinbeck composes a narrative, in which the characters are driven by unrelenting greed, resulting in disastrous consequences. Steinbeck is an exemplary author in the genre of tragic, fictional literature. Indeed, Steinbeck effectively utilizes elements of fiction including characterization, symbolism and conflict in order to convey the theme that misery is inevitable when a person’s insatiable greed precedes it. Steinbeck capably uses characterization to show the reader how the characters evolve as the story progresses, while demonstrating how their insatiable greed led to their downfall. Likewise, Steinbeck utilizes symbolism in the story to give seemingly mundane objects a more profound and substantial meaning, that foreshadow the outcome of the characters’ unquenchable greed. Furthermore, Steinbeck effectively uses different types of conflict, namely internal and external, to communicate to the reader the struggles that follow a greedy heart. Through the use of these elements of fiction, Steinbeck is able to show how greed affects these characters and the unavoidable misery that follows. By reading this essay, the reader will understand how Steinbeck uses various elements of fiction to demonstrate the devastating effects of a person’s greed in a world where the evil in people is often far greater than the goodness in people.
Since the beginning of time, at the heart of humanity, two opposing forces have both been at war with each other and sought after harmony. Our understandings of and ideas about such forces have changed and been shaped by the era in which we live. Such was the case for concepts of good and evil in the romantic period of British literature. Writers in the Romantic period had different ideas about the division of good and evil, even so, several of these writers’ and poets’ ideas stand diametrically opposed. The struggle of good versus evil remains today, a prominent topic of exploration and discussion but it was more so in British Romanticism through the lenses of nature, women, mental faculties, and challenge. The Romantics had varying ideas
This leads to change and, eventually, downfall. Before he finds the pearl, Kino “was a well-liked man” (43), and adored by all of his neighbors. Everyone looked up to his kindness and sympathy, but when he finds the Pearl, he changes. The pearl takes control over him, and he becomes too obsessed with getting his money. He loses his many things over it: “now it is my misfortune and my life and I will keep it” (66). The neighbors even suspect, “‘what a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all.’” (43) For example, KIno loses his family when he tries to protect the pearl and defies the pearl buying system, and when he mishandles Juana. Loisng his canoe symbolizes thi sloss of his family. He also loses his sanity. he beats Juana and kills four men. He “‘killed a man’” (61) and joins in many fights. For greed, he turns down the salesman`s offer for the pearl and ends with nothing left. Kino has the chance to take the money offered to him and be done, but he is greedy and he wants more. Then, at the end of the book, Kino throws the pearl into the sea, and with it, all the money he could possibly gain. He also lets the doctor treat Coyotito, even with his doubts, and now can not pay him because the pearl is his payment method, which is now gone. He thinks his money is secure, and in his mind, he is a rich man. This is not necessarily true, as readers learn, and because he was so secure, he must now pay for unnecessary