John Steinbeck's The Pearl

The Pearl by John Steinbeck has been an interesting and insightful book. It tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver, and his family. When his baby, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion, Kino and his wife, Juana, cannot afford a doctor. Soon after, however, they miraculously discover a large, beautiful pearl. Believing it will not only pay for Coyotito’s treatment but also open up a new future for his family, Kino is excited to sell it. However, the precious possession soon brings strife and evil upon the family. Thus, the pearl Kino deeply believed would fulfill their dreams makes a nightmare out of their lives.

While reading The Pearl, it became clear that an ideology is present in the novel. This ideology is not very prominent, seeing as the author only hints at it sparsely. Halfway through the book, Kino recounts something that his father told him: “…each [person] must remain faithful to his post and must not go running about…” (Steinbeck 46). This is one of the few outright mentions of the novel’s underlying ideology, yet the ideology is present throughout the story. At the beginning, Kino and his family lived in peace, in the brush village in which they were born; they were poor, but their humble existence was comfortable. After they obtain the large pearl, however, Kino is enthralled by the possibilities that it presents. He is set on selling it for a large sum in the town of La Paz, but the pearl buyers try to scam him. Although it could be argued that they are simply selfish, dishonest characters, their desire to oppress Kino and ‘keep’ him poor could also come from a subconscious ideology that a person must not try to change the ‘post’ into which he was born. Kino, however, sees through the pearl buyers’ scam and plans ...

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... The strategy of associating the plot with this historical context was very important to understanding the story and understanding the conflicts that arose. One of my weaknesses as a reader is that I can lose interest in text that lacks dialogue very quickly; sometimes, I fail to appreciate skillfully written, descriptive passages because I am bored by the lack of conversation between characters. From this, I have come to realize that I am deeply interested in how humans interact, since interactions through dialogue are what I was drawn to and enjoyed most in The Pearl and in other books I have read. However, from this I have reflected on the fact that I must also learn to appreciate areas of text that lack dialogue because they serve the plot of a novel in unique, essential ways.

Works Cited

Steinbeck, John. The Pearl. New York: Penguin Group, 1992. Print.