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The pearl by john steinbeck symbolism
Symbolism in The Pearl by Steinbeck
The pearl by john steinbeck symbolism
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The book “The Pearl” has shown us how things can make us incompatible, it can change you. In the book “The Pearl” the thing was the pearl, it was an example of what makes anyone different but not only that, it signified things to Kino. In what ways the pearl symbolized to Kino? It gives opportunities, greed, life, and more on. All this happen to Kino and it wasn’t all just good things.
To begin with, Kino had times where it showed he has opportunities, new things can happen to his life. Opportunities is one symbolization and like I said some other type of symbols are greed and life. The author stated,” You have a pearl," the dealer said. "Sometimes a man brings in a dozen. Well, let us see you’re pearl. We will value it and give you the best price." And his fingers worked furiously with the coin. When the dealer said that, it clearly looked that this can give Kino a chance to be rich and not be poor. This shows that this symbol does prove that opportunities happened during the novel. Anyways, Kino had chances to change his future, make it better.
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For Kino the pearl changed him but in every stage that it hit him, one was greed, making him worst. However it wasn’t just him who had greed, the whole town, pretty much everyone wanted the pearl. The author stated, “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, so that he became curiously every man's enemy." When the author stated this, you can see how everyone changed, and didn’t like Kino anymore, just for a
In The Pearl, Kino wants to sell the pearl for money, for several reasons. One of which is to help his dying baby, Coyotito. Kino ended up getting more greedy and wanted more and more from the pearl, that a bad ending was sure to happen. The author includes several bad events that happen, due to Kino's greed and attempts to mess with fate. For example, his baby died. This is sort of ironic because he wanted the pearl so he could make Coyotito better, but... A couple other examples of how Kino meets with disaster when his house burnt down and his canoe was trashed. On page 29 of this, Novel it says, “He knew that the gods don't take their revenge on a man if he be successful through his own efforts.” This shows that Kino knew what was going to happen, but didn't care because his greediness got the best of him. Likewise, in “The Monkey's Paw” Mr.White was careless, which ended up with him finding himself in the middle of a disaster. On pg 187, it says “...And that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow.” Mr. White didn’t care, he was warned by the sergeant, when he said to him “Better let it burn.” because the sergeant knew it was bad and would bring great pain and sorrow and problems to Mr.White and his family, but he paid no attention to the sergeants
He is one of the most greedy person in this book.Kino Was perfectly fine in the beginning of the book, but then he found the pearl and turned his life upside down.Kino had a perfect relationship with his wife, but then “he struck her in the face,he cluched her with his fist and she fell among the boulders,and he kicked her in the side.Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared.He hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide UN frightened eyes,like a sheep before the butcher(59)”.Kino even got worse “When Juana tries to hid the pearl and Kino goes crazy and almost attacks her like a crazy man(38)”.But then there is this side of Kino when he first gets the pearl”When Kino thinks of all the things that the pearls wealth and money will do for them but not for anyone else(36)”.This is greedy because he only thinks of himself for the pearl.But Kino am greedy Most of the
In conclusion, Kino and I must return to the village and throw away the pearl because it is has completely changed his personality and placed our family in jeopardy. The pearl has brought evil to our family and has not helped us prosper in any way. Therefore, this pearl is useless and evil, and should not be a part of our family any longer.
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
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
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
Now that the reader has a specific image in their head, the simile becomes more clear. Next, imagery is an important and widely used technique throughout the book. One example of that is the quotation “The poison sacs of the town began to manufacture venom, and the town swelled and puffed with the pressure of it” (23) This selection paints a very precise picture in the reader’s mind: one of a scorpion prepared to strike. The author compares the town to the scorpion, thus showing that the town is associated with negative qualities, because scorpions are very dangerous and Kino himself was affected by one in earlier chapters. The author uses this to show, not tell Kino’s fear of what his former friends will do. Furthermore, one can associate the events of this passage with the topic of appearance vs reality that Kino has experienced previously. In this passage, the author explains that Kino is truly alone ever since he found the pearl, allotting to the topic, because finding a valuable pearl might at first seem like great fortune, but can have unexpected consequences. Kino’s community used to be the people he trusted, but now that he has the pearl he has to be wary of
In the story Kino would not sell the pearl to the pearl buyers because he knew it was worth more than what they were offering them (50). When Kino did not sell the pearl because of his greed, he did not get the money to save his son. This shows that he cared more about the money than his family. If Kino had sold the pearl and gained the money he would have had enough money to save his son and all of the problems would be over, but because he cared more about the pearl and the money than his son, he did not seize the money. Therefore, he puts the pearl and the money above Coyotitio. An example from the text is “Kino’s face grew dark and dangerous. “It is worth fifty thousand,” he said. “ you know it. You want to cheat me” (50). This quote shows that when Kino’s face got dangerous, he had already lost sight of his family values and is only thinking about the money and the pearl. When Kino knew that they were cheating him, he could not help but pick a fight with them. He wanted money, money, and more money instead of wanting to help his son. These pieces of evidence are connected to the theme because they show how Kino chose money over his
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.
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
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.
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.
After Kino found his great pearl bad things started happening, Kino and Juana's lives were in trouble. Two men notified in the book as the "dark ones" tried to steal the pearl, luckily Kino had been prepared and got rid of the enemies but that was not the end of the misery. Coyotito got very sick and the Doctor had deliberately made things worse. When it was time to sell the pearl, the buyers offered prices that Kino thought were too low. Kino was angry with the pearl buyers for what they had said. "I will not make an offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." Kino got angry and decided he wanted to go elsewhere and find a buyer for the pe...
This paper will examine and evaluate a qualitative study conducted by Beare and Hogg named “Listening In...to Gang Culture.” It will discuss the purpose of the study and evaluate the methodological designs. The study looks into the problem of street gangs and sought to understand how gang members behave. The authors used police transcripts of wiretaps as their primary source of data and analyzed it for further review. Findings show that social programs will have to be targeted towards younger gang members to dissuade them from the gang lifestyle.
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