Symbolism In The Pearl

776 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Use of symbolism in the pearl

In the book The Pearl, Kino and Juana live a tough life in La Paz, Mexico with their beloved new born Coyotito. They are considered outsiders, and aren't as gifted as the wealthy social class. One day, Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion, and is filled with poison. To be healed, Coyotito need’s a Doctor, but Kino and Juana don’t have enough money to support the cost. The only option is finding a valuable pearl. These pearls are like…………….. Out of a miracle, Kino finds a beautiful, stunning, and breathtaking pearl. He was beyond excited, and it meant the world to him. Though this precious pearl was a life changing event, it had some bad twists. Throughout the book, the pearl symbolizes evil, good, and the future to Kino, but jealousy throughout
Most importantly though, in order to not get scammed by the rich social class, Coyotito needs to get an education and teach his parents. If they can get all of these things, then in this case the pearl symbolizes good. Not everything goes smoothly though; there is always going to be a bad with a good. When Kino and Juana go to trade the pearl for pesos, the buyer says “This pearl is like fool’s gold. It is too large. Who would buy it?” (49) Kino was obviously devastated and furious. He knew that his pearl was worth at least fifty thousand pesos. He grew so furious that no matter what anyone said, he would to go to the Capital; a very hazardous travel filled with dangers and evil spirits and trade the pearl in for what it’s worth. Kino stated, “We will not be cheated, I am a man.”(57) On their way, attackers heard them and shot a gun into the air hitting the top of a cave that ricocheted onto Coyotito which instantly killed him. Evil from the pearl filled throughout Kino’s
Everyone wanted a fine pearl as extraordinary as the one Kino had found. It is extremely uncommon for someone as low classed as Kino to find the pearl of the world. This brought lots of talk throughout the town of La Paz. Steinbeck stated “The news came early to the beggars in front of the church, and it made them giggle a little with pleasure, for they knew that there is no almsgiver in the world like a poor man who is suddenly lucky.”(22) This evidence shows how the beggars disagreed with the thought of Kino having the pearl. On the other hand, not everyone was envious of the pearl at the end. Once the low class people figured out what evil things the pearl could bring, they didn’t want it

Show More
Related

  • Juana POV Essay Rough Draft

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Kino, you have defied the pearl buyers and passed up 1,500 dollars!” I sighed as I pictured the large bundle of money we could have gained. “We would have prospered with all of that cash, but the pearl has filled you with greed. Only a greedy man would reject such a large amount of money. The pearl caused that greed and should therefore be thrown away.

    Read More

  • The Pearl by John Stienbeck Movie versus Novel

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, the main character, Kino, goes out to find a pearl in hopes of getting money to pay the doctor to treat Coyotito, his son, who has been bitten by a scorpion. Kino discovers the biggest pearl anyone has ever seen, and believes the pearl will bring nothing but good for him and his family. The pearl does change the lives of Kino, his wife Juana, and Coyotito, but not in the way he had hoped. When the people in La Paz find out about Kino’s pearl, he is visited by a greedy priest and doctor, the deceitful pearl buyers try to scam him into selling it to them for less than it’s worth, and the pearl was almost stolen twice. Kino kills the second thief in self-defense...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Pearl And The Snow Walker

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kino, the main character in “The Pearl”, starts off by being a loving, helpful companion to his lover Juana. The two are so connected they barely feel the need to talk to each other. Their life is almost perfect, until a scorpion stings their baby, Coyotito. Because the couple has very little money, the doctor will not cure Coyotito and says, “have I nothing

    Read More

  • Greed In The Great Gatsby

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Pearl By John Steinbeck: Theme Analysis

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    One of the most common and prominent themes of The Pearl is greed. One of the first examples of this is when Kino went to the doctor to beg for treatment, but the doctor responded, "‘Has he any money?’ the doctor demanded. ‘No, they never have money. I, I alone in the world am supposed to work for nothing- and I am tired of it. See if he has any money!’” (Steinbeck 11). Many would consider it unethical to refuse treatment to someone simply because of their poverty. The doctor refusing to cure the ill child shows how greed has corrupted him to the point of having an innocent baby die rather than offering up his services for free. Another early instance of greed was when the news of the pearl “came to the priest walking in his garden, and it put a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church. He wondered what the pearl would be worth” (Steinbeck 21). Even the people of God, those believed to have the highest morals, became materialistic. He who is supposed to be satisfied with just the love of the lord suddenly hungered for more. This greed eventually came to Kino when Juana suggested throwing away the pearl, but Kino replied, “‘No,’ he said. ‘I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck Figurative Language Analysis

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, when Juana argues with Kino about the pearl, she tells Kino, “The pearl is like a sin” (38). The pearl is compared to a sin using a simile and reveals how Juana truly feels about the pearl as it connotes evil, envy, and greed. This supports the fact that the pearl converts Kino and that it isn’t benevolent. In addition, when Juan Tomas tells Kino to leave the pearl, Kino tells Juan, “The pearl has become my soul” (67). Kino is shown to have an obsession with the pearl and that it controls him. His commitment to the pearl connotes obsession, delusion, and compulsion. The pearl and it’s hold on Kino is why he is dehumanized as the book progresses

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men Vs The Pearl

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Literary Criticism Of The Pearl

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    First of all, Kino and Juana think the pearl is a great gift when they first discover it, but when bad fortune if brought upon them, they realize the pearl brings bad luck. In

    Read More

  • Coyotito Chapter Summaries

    336 Words  | 1 Pages

    When the book first begins, everything is upright and peaceable and Kino and Juana have a great marriage and a beautiful little baby boy, but in the blink of an eye things go from the best they could be to possibly crumble everything they know and love. In the beginning everyone is pleased and peaceful, but when Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion, it seems as if the very foundation of their lives falls apart. Then they try to go the doctor to help the fresh baby, but since they have no money they are speedily turned away. This forces them to act as quickly as possible so they do what they know and Kino is a pearl diver so he does just that he goes and plunges and when he does so, he finds the ‘’pearl of the world’’ and so then everyone receives

    Read More

  • The Pearl, by John Steinbeck

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pearl Literary Analysis

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you were given a million dollars, what would you do? Spend it in a short amount of time? Or save it responsibly for the future? Many would say the latter, confident that they will accomplish that. But for a few, it doesn’t turn out that way. In the book, The Pearl, a family, Kino, Juana and their child, Coyotito, go through various hardships after they have found a pearl, eventually losing everything they had loved. With three examples from the novel, I will explain what the pearl in the book symbolizes.

    Read More

  • The Action of The Pearl

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the book Kino and Juana lived a happy good life until their first and only child Coyotito got stung by a scorpion. The one-second that it took the scorpion to bite Coyotito changed the rest of Kino and Juana's life forever. Kino could not afford to pay for the medical attention Coyotito needed. Kino was determined to find a great pearl that could pay the doctor to save his son. "Kino in his pride and youth and strength, could remain down over two minutes without strain, so that he worked deliberately, selecting the largest shells."(Pg. 18)

    Read More

  • Juana The Pearl

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    When any problem occurred that she felt she could solve, she tried to tackle it. She knew that there was a problem with Kino once the swelling hadn’t receded. As the doctor wouldn’t come cure her child, she tried to work her own magic to at least bring down the swelling, by applying her own remedies on Coyotito, which actually reduced the swelling. The pearl -once the dealers would not give Kino the price he felt the pearl deserved and trespassers were starting to come around to attempt to thieve the pearl - she felt was starting to corrupt her family and way of life. As such, she requested that Kino either destroy it or get rid of it, stating that “Kino, this pearl is evil.

    Read More

  • Themes In The Pearl By John Steinbeck

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Pearl : Appearances Can Be Deceiving

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    pearl is so big that it has no value. Kino has to hide the pearl, but while he sleeps a thief tries to steal it. The doctor who would not treat Coyotito's scorpion bite when they had no money now comes to them offering the best medical care he can provide.As the story of Kino's situation unfolds, Kino is forced to kill three men, and worst of all, Kino accidentally shoots Coyotito in the head while he is trying to shoot his pursuers. Finally, at Juana's urging, Kino throws the pearl back into the sea. He has made nothing from his fin...

    Read More

More about Symbolism In The Pearl

Open Document