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The Pearl novella by John Steinbeck
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The Pearl novella by John Steinbeck
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The Pearl Essay
The Pearl was written by John Steinbeck, based on a parable around the 1900s in the coastal town of La Paz, Mexico. Kino is a native of Mexico who lives with his wife, Juana, and infant son, Coyotito. When Kino finds a giant pearl, his life changes from and poor man to a respected citizen, who everyone looks at. At first, the pearl brings hope, but as as the story continues it only causes the evil within people and Kino to come out.
At first, the unusual pearl was a sign of hope and great wealth for the people. It could free them from all their debts. “Kino had found the Pearl of the World” (21). The pearl will let Coyotito go to school. When Coyotito learns how to read and write he will be able to free them from their oppression. “..These things will make us free because he will know-he will know and through him we will know” (26). The pearl brought hope to people because of its wealth and opportunities.
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The pearl turns the hearts of people toward greed because they hope it could help them. “Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’s pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs the lusts, the hungers, of everyone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino…” (23). With greed comes jealousy, the people became jealous Kino. The people looked at Kino as the enemy and had hate toward him. “...so that he became curiously every man’s enemy.” The pearl brought out the worst in people and caused them to have greed and
The novel The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about a young poor man with a family who has found a great source of wealth. The novel was written in third person, or a narrator unknown to the reader. The main characters in my novel was Kino, a young native and farther, Juana, Kino’s girlfriend and mother, and Coyotito, Kino and Juana's young infant son. John Steinbeck's novel starts off with a very dramatic first scene when Kino and Juana’s infant, Coyotito, gets stung by a scorpion. They rush their child to the doctor in town, but they were quickly denied help. The doctor refused to give them his services because they didn’t have a enough money to pay the him properly. That very same day they went out on the sea to go diving for pearls. While Kino was diving Juanna was creating a poultice for Coyotito wound. This made the wound heal a little but definitely not all the way. Kino came up from his di...
In John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, the village of La Paz is alive with greed. Everyone wants something from the main character, Kino. The doctor wants money for treating Kino's baby. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The townspeople also wanted money. The village is over come by evil from this one man's good fortune. The doctor’s greed over money is revealed when he would not treat Kino's baby because Kino had nothing to pay him with. When the doctor heard of Kino's sudden wealth, he said Kino was his client. The Pearl and its fortune transformed the town into something full of continual desire and jealousy. Everyone was affected and wanted something from the p...
Many people worship the value of a sparkling pearl, but I, however, despise it. How one small object can determine the fate of man, I do not know. Nevertheless, it is clear to me that this pearl has brought evil upon my family and I will have no more of it. A while back, Kino discovered a valuable pearl and thought it had signified the end of our troubles. Sadly, his prediction was overcome by evil and we are now living lives even worse than before.
He is driven by greed, so much so that he could even see dreams form in the pearl. Kino is the head of a modest household and until he finds the pearl he lives a satisfied life with all he needs for his family to be happy. As soon as Kino finds the pearl he starts to want possessions he never wanted before. He dreams of education for Coyotito, marrying Juana in a Catholic church, purchasing new clothing for his family, and getting a harpoon and a rifle for himself. “It was the rifle that broke down the barriers . . . for it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more” (Steinbeck 32). Located within a small poverty-stricken community, a pearl diver named Kino finds “the Pearl of the World” and becomes suddenly rich, he begins to want items that he thought were impossible before. As Kino thinks more and more of what the pearl can do for him, he starts to think that it will raise his social status as well. This is only the beginning of Kino’s greediness, for the more he gets, the more he will want, and this begins to dehumanize him. Kino focuses on the wealth of the pearl and causes him to change his values about life. In the beginning, Kino is only focused on his family, once Kino finds the pearl he becomes more focused on the pearl, rather than his family. Kino cares a lot more about losing the pearl rather than something bad happening to his loved
John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, is written as a parable, which allows the reader to interpret its themes in their own way. It can take place in any time period, with any setting, and using any protagonist. The themes Steinbeck used throughout his book are universal and can applied to anyone’s lives. Its contrasting portrayal of good and evil creates a clear understanding of themes such as greed, illusions, and humanity and reason versus animalism and instinct.
...een stones. Let us bury it and forget the place. Let us throw it back into the sea. It had brought evil. Kino my husband, it will destroy us” (38). The pearl brought greed to the forefront of the community; everyone wanted the pearl for him or herself. Juana, who was at one time thanking God for the pearl, was now telling Kino to throw it away because the greed that it was causing woul eventually destroy them.
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 the story, the pearl symbolizes wealth. Kino, when he found it, was filled with hope, and the thought of the riches he would receive gave him comfort and security. But it didn't
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of a pearl diver named Kino. Kino lives a simple life, and adores his family. At the beginning of the story Steinbeck shows how content Kino’s family is. Everything seems to be going perfect for Kino and his family that is until the discovery of the most wonderful pearl in the world changes his life forever. As the story advances Kino’s newborn, Coyotito gets bitten by a scorpion. Kino’s wife, Juana insists that they take Coyotito to the town’s doctor. Inevitably the doctor refuses to help Coyotito because Kino is unable to make a payment.
American literature plays a vital role in society, providing entertainment while displaying themes that related to common problems during the 1940s. One of the novels that reflects some of these major problems is The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck. This novel is based on a story that Steinbeck heard on his trip to La Paz, Mexico in 1940. He describes this story in his book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Steinbeck tries to show the difficulties that many people faced in Mexico. In particular, The Pearl examines the social and cultural inequalities between the Mexicans and the Europeans, illustrates how longing for materialistic goods can result in destruction, and demonstrates how a man’s actions can influence his family’s dreams.
The pearl symbolizes many different things. To Kino, at first it symbolized happiness and hope. On page 39 in chapter 3, it has stated, "So lovely it was, so soft, and its own music came from it- its music of promise and delight, its guarantee of the future, of comfort and security. Its warm lucence promised a poultice against illness and a wall against insult. It closed a door on hunger." Kino sought happiness and riches, and as he was desperate he was blind to the greed that was enveloping him. All he saw was impossible hopes and dreams in the pearl. In other words, to him, the pearl guaranteed money and the comfort of a tranquil life.
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
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a classic novella. Steinbeck is a classic author that also wrote The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. “This long story (or short novel) follows five momentous days in the life of an Indian pearl diver living in La Paz, a small port on the Gulf of California,” (Gunn 1) . Kino is the pearl diver, and his son, Coyotito, gets stung by a scorpion, but the doctor will not see him because of race and status. That is until Kino goes pearl diving and finds a pearl the size of a gull’s egg. After that everything changes for Kino, his family, and the whole village. This novella is set up a lot like a parable in which it is an earthly story with an heavenly meaning. This story has many symbols that point to the overlying
The Pearl, a phenomenal story written by author John Steinbeck tells a tale of a family that acquires a pearl so large, it would make them wealthy; in their journey to fortune, they experience difficulties such as changes in personalities and even physical harm. The family trek through other adventures such as the selling of the pearl and escaping their home. By the end of the story, several aspects of the main character Kino, father to Coyotito and husband to Juana, are altered by the pearl of the world. His mind goes from a well-oiled machine to a vicious animal to a man who can feel emotion.ou can find specific characteristics of human beings or “man”; these include emotions, a conscience, trains of thought, personalities, desires, etc. All of us exhibit these traits; they make us who we are; if someone were to strip these features from us, we would no longer be “man,” we would be a machine, unthinking and automatic, or animal, instinctual.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver who lives in Mexico with his wife, Juana and his baby boy, Coyotito. One day Kino finds a huge pearl worth a great deal of money. Kino dreams of being rich and buying all that he wants after he sells the pearl. The one thing that Kino doesn't realize is that there are many people who will do anything to steal the pearl from him. No one ever suspects the pearl's power todeceive, corrupt, and destroy. Hence, The Pearl depicts the ultimate battle between good and evil.