More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay about greed from the pearl by john steinbeck
The pearl fiction criticism
Essay about greed in the pearl of steinbeck
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Horace, an ancient Roman poet, once said: "He who is greedy is always in want." This quote clearly depicts the main theme or message of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. The Pearl is a parable that teaches a moral lesson and expresses the theme that the greed a person may have with materialism can lead to events that will determine one’s fate or the fate of others around them. This novel tells the story of a poor Indian family, who lives in a small brush hut along the Gulf of Mexico and by the neighboring village of La Paz. Steinbeck demonstrates the theme of greed through Kino's obsession with keeping his "Pearl of the World" in order to secure a better future for his family; however, doing so Kino puts his family’s life in jeopardy.
One example Steinbeck uses in this novel that demonstrates this theme of greed that lives within all of humanity is when Kino visits with the pearl buyers to sell his "Pearl of the World." The pearl buyers are not competitive; they have a monopoly on the pearl market in this region of Mexico. Therefore, they offer Kino low prices for his "large and clumsy" pearl. Although Kino is a poor and un-educated Indian, he still has the ability to think logically. Realizing he has not been offered a fair price for his pearl, Kino states, "I am cheated. My pearl is not for sale here. I will go, perhaps even to the capital" (52). Kino’s reactions and words show the greed that the pearl buyers demonstrate by offering Kino such a low price for his valuable pearl. Although the pearl buyers know what Kino's pearl is truly worth, they feel the need to cheat him by giving him less pesos than his pearl actually deserves. In doing so, they provide themselves with a larger profit and thereby illustrating the theme...
... middle of paper ...
... more even if it means taking from the poor.
All in all, John Steinbeck uses his novel and parable entitled The Pearl to teach his readers a moral about how humans are instinctively greedy, which can turn something perfect and gorgeous into something bad and wicked in both physical and mental ways. At the beginning of the novel, the pearl is described as being “lucent and perfect,” while later on the pearl is described as having a "curious darkness" on its surface. At the end, the pearl is ugly and gray. If people let greed get the best of them and are not cautious, something that is beautiful and perfect can turn into something bad and evil. Through Kino’s greed, he has lost his humanity and become more like an animal than ever before, thereby proving the evilness of the pearl and the greed living within all of humanity.
Works Cited
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
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...
“He who wants everything everytime will lose everything, anytime”- Vikrant Parsai. This famous quote supports the theme of “Greed and materialism left unchecked, can lead to immoral behavior such as violence” in the book, The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino and Juana find the pearl of the world while Kino gets a little too obsessed with the pearl. Juana tries to hide it and make everything better, but everything backfires on her . Kino goes crazy about what Juana tries to do to help him and does things no one would ever imagine.With this in mind, all the readers will look at how greed is expressed through characters,and even Kino himself and symbolism.
In 2013, Philip Schultz spins “Greed”, an intricate piece of literature allowing readers to superficially experience the struggle of racial injustice; however, as one dives deeper between Schultz’s lines, the oceanside town’s complexity becomes apparent. Through the eyes of a wealthy son of a poor man, Schultz explores the relationship between greed and “happiness,” causing his narrator to question who is deserving of the fleeting feeling that possesses many forms. Although the narrator appears to advocate for equality, his voice is drowned out by the deafening silence greed emits as for he struggles to reject the wealth he allows himself to wallow in; thus, the narrator emphasizes the control “abundance” possesses over happiness (Schultz
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
In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. Evil was exhibited by the doctor who refused to treat Coyotito because his parents had no money. When the doctor heard of Kino and Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world" (722), he boasted that they were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris. Coyotito was healed when the doctor finally came to their straw hut. He deceived Kino by giving the baby a white powder that made him go into convulsions. An hour later he came and gave Coyotito the remedy and immediately wanted to know when he was getting paid. The evil in the pearl had reached the heart of the doctor. The pearl's evil did not restrict itself to infecting Kino's peers; it also affected Kino himself. He wanted to sell the pearl and use the money to better his family's standard of living. He had dreams and goals that all depended on the pearl.
The love of money is the root of all evil, a statement that has proved itself true through the centuries. Loving money traps us, as human beings. It is not a bad thing to enjoy what money can do; however, the love of money is a wasted effort that can put all in grave peril. It is at our advantage that we have the ability to choose whether we ‘want’ to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, that choice is difficult since society associates one’s character with wealth and financial management. The mishaps, deaths, and hardships that occur from the beginning of the tale are the result of deliberate deception for personal gain. In Treasure Island, greed sends the characters on a voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson makes a social commentary on the role that money has come to play in our society.
To me, John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, doesn’t really relate to me or my lifestyle in many ways. However, there are a couple of things I found that were similar in my lifestyle. I wake up every morning and strive to reach the best I can be. I go to school, work hard, and try to reach my best in all that I do. I have found this to be similar to Kino. Kino wakes up every morning and tries to give his family everything possible. He works very hard in finding his pearls and always tries to look for the best in his family. However, when Kino found the pearl and after many tries of getting rid of it, his life turned upside down. Juanita warned Kino many times, but he didn’t listen. Kino encountered many hardships including his son’s death, his house burning to ashes, and his family falling apart. From this, I have learned that when a person finds something that he think can bring something good into a family, he might be wrong because it might actually destroy his family and his life. Clearly, family relationships are very important and in this case, Kino was too late and realized this after his son Coyotito died.
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.
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.
“And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane” (89). In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, a poor pearl diver and his family finds the pearl of the world and their life changes. These words reflect a once perfect pearl that changes throughout the book. The Pearl, the doctor, and the pearl buyers’ appearances manipulate Kino and his family and they discover that these objects and people are not what the first appear as. Through the use of characterization and symbolism, the author illustrates how first appearances are deceitful.
The Pearl written by John Steinbeck is a parable, a story that teaches a moral lesson. This novel is centered on a poor Indian family, who live in a brush hut along the Gulf of Mexico and by the village of La Paz. The family consists of: Kino, a fisherman and pearl diver, his wife Juana, and their infant son Coyotito. One day while diving, Kino discovers a great pearl that he calls, “the pearl of the world” (22). The theme of a literary work is defined as the central idea, concern or purpose about life that a writer wishes to convey. There may be several themes identified in a literary work; however, in John Steinbeck’s novel The Pearl the author uses the pearl to develop one of the most essential universal themes in literature, that of humanity’s struggle with violence.
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.
Steinbeck begins his novel by introducing the conflict that puts Kino on his quest. Kino awakens to find his child bitten by a scorpion. After rushing to the doctor’s house, he realizes that he did not have a sufficient amount of money to pay for the doctor’s service. Later that day, the narrator reveals that Kino’s wife, “had not prayed directly for the recovery of the baby she had prayed that they might find a pearl for which to hire the doctor to cure the baby…” Therefore, as Kino was searching, he came upon a pearl that he knew would be enough to save his son. At the end of chapter 2, this is where Kino begins his quest to find a buyer and save his son.
...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.