Steinbeck's Perception of Women: A Study of 'The Pearl'

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The lifestyle of Women has been observed, changed and argued over for many generations. It is a controversial topic that will continue to be one for the foreseeable future. Author John Steinbeck shows his own perspective for woman in his beloved tale, The Pearl. In this story, Steinbeck writes about a woman named Juana who lives in poverty with her husband Kino, and their son Coyotito. When Kino discovers the largest pearl ever found, Kino believes the pearl is the key for his family to finally live a prosperous lifestyle. However, the pearl that thought to be the greatest fortune, turned to be the greatest demise of him and his family. Throughout the story, Juana gave all she had to caring for, and protecting her family against any threat …show more content…

Soon after Coyotito was stung by a deadly scorpion and denied treatment from the doctor, the narrator describes Juana comforting her child as her and Kino set out on the family canoe in search of the necessary payment for Coyotito’s treatment. With a selfless heart, “she gathered some brown seaweed and made a flat damp poultice of it, and this she applied to her son’s [Coyotito’s] shoulder” (Steinbeck 15). While Kino is in search of Pearls as payment to the doctor, Juana helps the situation by directly caring for Coyotito. Readers can see that Juana shows qualities of a caring mother in this quote with the actions she takes to help her child in his time of vulnerability. This helps show what kind of person Juana is and which will show how she affects the way the story is portrayed with her interactions with Kino and Coyotito. Seeing how caring Juana is with Coyotito, readers can conclude that her interactions with Kino and Coyotito help the development of the story by playing her role as the caring mother, while also managing her other roles as …show more content…

Reading scholars papers and knowing influential figures of Steinbeck’s life, one can understand the connection and the portrayal of women in The Pearl. Through Juana and how she interacts with Kino and Coyotito, readers can identify the role Steinbeck assigns women in the story as a caring, gentle person on the outside, but with a fiery, and passionate strength inside that can be called for in desperate times. Steinbeck shows the gravity of the role women have in The Pearl that leaves a lasting impression in the development of the story that readers can conclude when analyzing Steinbeck’s

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