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Analysis of John Steinbeck
Evil in the pearl
Symbolism in the the pearl
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Symbolism of the Pearl in The Pearl by John Steinbeck
In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. It is this evil which moves the story along and adds drama. It causes the beginning of a happy spirit, but the downfall of goodness and humanity.
Evil is shown by the doctor many times during the story. At first, he refuses to treat Coyotito because his parents have no money. When the doctor heard of Kino and Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world", the doctor boasts that they were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris. This greed and lust cause him to plot ways to gain wealth. Coyotito is healed by the time the doctor comes to Kino's straw hut. He deceives Kino by giving the baby a white powder that makes the infant go into convulsions. The doctor achieves this effect when he tells Kino that the infant is going through a stage of the poison, but not healing. Through this furtive manner the doctor intends on gaining great opulence. With his new wealth he intends to move to a large man...
When the servant tells the doctor about Kino he says, "Have I nothing better to do than to cure insect bites for 'little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a veterinary... Has he any money?... No, they never have any money" (Steinback 11). The doctor is saying that he will not treat Coyotito because he is an Indian and calls him an animal. He is not going to treat Coyotito because Kino has no money for him to be treated. Through doing this, the doctor has broken the Hippocratic oath he took when he became a doctor. This is not allowed to happen, considering the Hippocratic oath is standard for all doctors. Some may say that the doctor can treat whoever he wants. This is not true because the doctor must treat all patients, regardless of race or social class. The third section of the Hippocratic oath is titled, "Without Fee or Stipulation" (Hippocrates 1). This quote from the Hippocratic oath means that the patient is not required to pay or make any other agreement to be treated.
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...
As Kino and Juana are eating, a scorpion descends on the little Coyotito threatening to sting him. Coyotito sees the scorpion on his cradle, and reaches out to grab it. Coyotito shakes the cradle, which makes the scorpion fall and land on his shoulder and sting him. Kino sees what the scorpion has done and grabs it and crushes it in his hand. Juana grabs Coyotito and begins sucking the venom out of the wound. The child continues to moan and their neighbors begin to gather outside of their hut. Juana tells Kino to summon the doctor, but Kino does not have much hope that he will come. Juana grabs Coyotito and runs out of their hut towards the doctor’s house. Kino and the rest of the neighbors follow. Once they have reached the doctor, a servant is waiting outside his house. They tell him that their baby child needs to see the doctor immediately. The servant tells them to wait, while he calls the doctor. The servant comes back and tells Kino that he doctor is very busy today and won’t be able to help them...
In this novel, various symbols are used to enhance the overall meaning of what the author is trying to inform the reader about. For example, in this novel, one of Steinbeck’s uses of symbolism is in the beginning. “Uh-uh, Jus’ a dead mouse, George. I didn’t kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead” (5). This quote is taking effect after Lennie tries to inconspicuously take out the dead mouse from his pocket. Lennie didn’t murder the mouse, he just likes to pet soft things. Steinbeck has made the mouse the symbol for the soft objects Lennie likes to pet. Once after George demands that Lennie disposes of the mouse, they begin their journey to the new ranch they will be working on. Since Lennie always gets them both into trouble, George told Lennie not to verbalize when they got to the ranch. “He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (22). George is making up an excuse to the boss why he is answering the questions that are geared towards Lennie. This quote somewhat informs the reader why Lennie is the way he is. John Steinbeck illustrates his use of symbolism very well in this novel. He also demonstrates another literary device, foreshadowing, in this novel well too.
The aspect of the John Steinbeck novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, that is most comparable is how, in both books, Steinbeck denies the main characters of each book, Kino and George and Lennie to change their role in life or to beat fate. Steinbeck’s grim outlook of life was perhaps brought on through his early failures and poverty, because all three of the pre-mentioned characters had opportunities to change their fate or role but failed. The elements of discussion are Kino, George and Lennie, a comparison and a contrast.
A fascinating and intriguing novel, The Pearl shares the story of a man named Kino, and how greed can affect his life forever. When Kino finds the “Pearl of the World”, it affects everyone, not just him. John Steinbeck, the author of this novel, uses intricate literary devices in order to give the reader the sense of greed that engulfed Kino and his surroundings. Literary devices such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and characterization all help this story come to life. Kino’s family, his personality, and his town, all changed when one pearl landed in Kino’s hands.
Throughout history people have struggled with the issue of good versus evil. Many people are classified by others as either completely good or completely evil. The problem about classifying people like that is that no one person is truly completely good or completely evil. Good and evil exist within every person.Steinbeck explores this timeless issue in many of his works but it is most prevalent in his novel East of Eden. The central characters in East of Eden all struggle with the battle of good vs. evil throughout the entire novel. Steinbeck, through the use of biblical allusions, explores the idea that people are neither completely good or evil.
Symbolism in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck At first glance John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums' seems to be a story. of a woman whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper inspection, the story. reveals strong symbolisms of children, vulnerability, and connection--being.
...the root of all evil, and that the true root of all evil is actually greed. The reason this could be considered true is because money is essentially an object that created by people. It is not the money that can be seen as evil, it is the greed people possess to obtain money. Even if money did not exist greed would still be around, it just would not be powered by money. But in this particular setting the evil is in fact money. Furthermore, Steinbeck displays how the love money can be good in some cases but it also has a downside to it. Money creates a sense of jealousy, immoral, and in extreme terms just plain evil. Kino's discovery of the pearl could have brought him an unending amount of wealth and happiness but instead, it led to the death of his son and enabled him to kill a man unjustly.
In conclusion this novel has taken a poor greedy man and has put him through hell. First his son was bitten buy a scorpion and the man is determined to save his baby by finding a great pearl to sell and get money to pay the doctor to save his son. The man has murdered and decides to escape his town with his family. Some trackers, who the man bravely kills, followed the man and his family in the woods. After the battle his sick son, who was the reason he got in the whole mess with the pearl and murdering, died. Overall, The Pearl was filled with action, love, enemies, and family
Most of the evil in The Pearl shows up after Kino gets the pearl. Kino goes from being a righteous man to being a murderer and the assaulter of his wife, Juana. She even goes so far as to say, “Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us- let us throw it back to the sea where it belongs. Kino, it is evil, it is evil,” (Steinbeck 56). Kino and his tribe, more particularly Juana, have this misconception that the pearl itself is evil, but an object cannot be evil. No, an object does not possess the power of good and evil morals. It is not the object that it is evil it is the people. It just so happens that the object brought out the true nature of evil that has always existed within man. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned,” (Romans 5:12 NIV) Kino saw it as wealth and as his one chance to be more than what the people of the town has said he is. It was the love of money that brought out the evil in Kino. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs,” (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV). Unfortunately, it is the love of money that brings out the evil in Kino, because Kino is a good person with a good
...rtly utilizes conflict throughout the narrative to illustrate the fact that greed was the cause of those conflicts. Steinbeck describes Kino as a loving man, but the pearl awakens such dark greediness in him, that he is corrupted to the point where he beat his wife to make sure the pearl is saved. This conflict with his wife is a direct result of his greediness, and his unrelenting greed leads to his son’s death. John Steinbeck is able to convey the theme that insatiable greed is the precursor to agonizing misery, through the use of various elements of fiction that include characterization, symbolism and conflict. Through these elements of fiction, Steinbeck creates a dark, tragic story that warns of the consequences of greed in a world where everyone is looking out for themselves and their capacity for evil and greed is far outweighs their capacity for benevolence.
Due to human nature, we tend to seek out the best materialistic things. We work hard to earn more money to get newer and nicer things and sometimes this greed can get to even the best of us. When reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck I found that Steinbeck proposed many universal themes that are highly relatable to my life. Many themes and symbols have been cleverly weaved within Steinbeck’s novella allowing the reader to connect to Kino’s experiences. All things considered, Steinbeck’s symbols can clearly relate to my life through shared experiences with manipulation, chaos, and over obsession.
This parable entitled The Pearl written by John Steinbeck teaches each reader a lesson. Steinbeck uses the universal theme of humanity’s struggle with greed to represent his central idea, or concern about life that he wanted to convey his novel. In conclusion, John Steinbeck meant for his readers of The Pearl to take his powerful theme or message of humanity’s struggle with greed and provide their own interpretation as it pertains to their own lives.
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.