The Pearl By John Steinbeck Essay
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John Steinbeck The Pearl Essay
The Pearl
John Steinbeck
Kino, is a poor Indian fisherman who lives on the Gulf of California with his wife Juana and baby
son Coyotito. They are very poor but happy family. When he finds the "pearl of the world" he
believes that wonderful things will come from selling it. As he tries to sell the pearl he realizes that
the local businessmen will cheat him and decides to travel to sell it. When it is realized that Kino has
murdered the man who tried to steal his prize possession the family is forced to run from their
village. Trackers are sent to find them and, in desperation and rage Kino kills the men, not realizing
that their gunfire has killed his son. The pearl was supposed to bring him happiness and money but
instead it brings
...show more content...
Jauna believes that the doctor in town can save her son from a scorpion bite. The doctor only is
interested in the money he will be paid and tricks them into believing he has cured the baby.
Not very long after leaving the village for the capital the family is tracked by three men with guns.
They run up a mountain and hide in a cave. The people following them camp right below the cave
that Kino and his family are hiding in. Kino decides that the only way to survive is to kill the person
on guard, take his gun, and kill the other two. Kino goes to the camp and is about to attack them
when Coyotito makes loud noise. Kino knows that he has to kill the bad guys quickly, but he is a
second too late and one of them shoots toward the cave. Kino and the three men fight and Kino ends
up killing all of them. The very first shot that was fired killed the baby. The next day Kino and Juana
go home with the dead baby, the rifle and the pearl. They walk through the village to the beach;
Kino puts down the rifle, and throws the pearl into the water.
Other possible endings;
1. After Kino sold the pearl in the capital for it's true value their lives changed. Not only did Kino
buy the rifle but he was granted the title of Chief of the village. His songs never sang of evil. Juana
had more children, and Coyotito went to school and became the village doctor.
2. After hiding in the cave for the night Kino was sure that he had fooled the
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In the novel, "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck, Kino, the main character is responsible for his son,
Coyotito's death. Kino is responsible due to his rash and harmful decisions he made without
thinking of the consequences. Despite the dangers and warnings signs he encountered, he continued
on with his damaging behavior. Kino's dynamic and unique personality is a heavy part of his
character, as well as his animalistic behavior, which are reasons why he repeatedly makes audacious
decisions. Throughout the story, Steinbeck displays Kino's animalistic and childlike traits in various
ways. An example would be Kino howling at the discovery of the pearl
, similar to a wolf howling to
the moon (pg.
...show more content...
In the beginning of the novel, Kino and his family's religion and culture revolved mainly around
songs; such as the Song of the Family and the Song of the Evil. However, after Kino discovered the
pearl, he began to ignore the songs, and ignore his culture. Kino's brother, Juan Tomas, and Juana
both suggest him to get rid of the pearl. Making the pearl his main priority instead of his family,
Kino ignored their suggestions. If he had listened, no harm would have occurred, and he and his
family would still be alive and well. Because of Kino's obliviousness, he ended up bringing bad luck
to his family, rather than the good that he fantasized about. After Kino rejected the offer of one
thousand pesos, he declared that he would travel to the Capital and sell the pearl there. However, he
did not plan out where he was going to sell it, nor know the exact value of the "Pearl of the World".
This led to his encounter with "the Dark Ones". The "Dark Ones" burned his house and destroyed
his prized heirloom, the canoe. This forced Kino, Juana and Coyotito to flee to the mountains, which
ultimately led to Coyotito's unfortunate
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The Pearl by John Steinbeck Essay examples
Kino, Juana and their infant son Coyotito live in a modest brush house by the sea. One morning,
calamity visits their home when Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion. With hopes of protecting their son,
Kino and Juana rush him to the doctor's clinic in town. However, when they arrive at the gate, they
are turned away because they are poor natives and not paying customers. Later that same morning,
Kino and Juana take their family canoe out to the estuary to go diving for pearls. Juana makes a
poultice for Coyotito's wound while Kino canvases the sea bottom. Juana's prayers for a large pearl
are answered when Kino surfaces with the largest pearl either of them has ever seen. Kino lets out a
triumphant yell at his good fortune, prompting the
...show more content...
That night, he is wakened by an intruder, who is digging a hole in the corner in hopes of finding the
pearl. A violent struggle ensues, and Kino is left bloodied in his efforts to chase away the criminal.
Juana, terribly upset by this turn of events, proposes to abandon the pearl, which she considers an
agent of evil. The next morning, Kino and Juana make their way to town in an attempt to sell the
pearl. Juan Tomas, Kino's brother, advises Kino to be wary of cheats. Each dealer Kino visits makes
an absurdly low bid on the pearl. Kino indignantly refuses to accept their offers, resolving instead to
take his pearl to the capital. That evening, as they prepare to leave, Juan Tomas cautions his brother
against being overly proud, and Juana reiterates her wish to be rid of the pearl. Kino silences her,
explaining that he is a man and will take care of things. In the middle of the night, Juana steals away
with the pearl. Kino wakes as she leaves and pursues her, apprehending her only at the shore. Just as
she is poised to throw the pearl into the sea, he tackles her, takes the pearl back, and beats her
violently, leaving her in a crumpled heap on the beach. As he returns to the brush house, he is
confronted by a group of hostile men who try to take the pearl from him. He fights them off, killing
one and causing the rest to flee, but loses control of the pearl in the process. As Juana ascends from
the shore to the brush house, she finds the
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The Pearl by John Steinbeck Essay
Many people in the world today grow crazy and mad when surrounded by even the slightest bit of
wealth and good fortune. Even a strong person who recognizes their priorities can still become
corrupt with too much power. There is no better example of a person falling into the path of evil and
corruption than in a novel written by John Steinbeck
. In the novel The Pearl
, by John Steinbeck, the
author writes about a poor Indian man named Kino who becomes corrupt from the wealth of a
magnificent pearl. Steinbeck uses the motifs of music, light and dark imagery, and values to develop
the theme that good fortune, wealth, and prosperity steer even the most innocent of people towards a
path of evil and corruption. The reader learns that one
...show more content...
Kino is beginning to realize how at first the pearl seemed to have brought fortune and good to his
family, but it really had only brought evil to the family. By the end of the story, Kino and Juana have
lost their son, Coyotito, and they wish things were back to the way they were before they found the
pearl. Kino then throws the pearl back out into the ocean where he had found it: "And the music of
the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared" (90). The music disappearing as the pearl sink back
into the ocean symbolizes the evil leaving the family: now that the pearl has left, so has the evil.
Kino now understands that their "wealth" has brought nothing but evil and has destroyed both
himself as well as his family. Not only does Steinbeck use the motif of music to express the theme
that good fortune, wealth, and prosperity steer even the most innocent of people towards a path of
evil and corruption, but he also uses the motif of light and dark imagery. Steinbeck uses the
reoccurring topic of light and dark imagery numerous times throughout his novel to help deliver the
theme of how good fortune and wealth lead to corruption. The first night that Kino had possession
of the pearl, he was a little on the edge. Then, suddenly, an intruder came into the house: "Kino held
his breath to listen, and he knew that whatever dark thing was in his house was holding its breath
too, to listen" (37). Darkness symbolizes evil and
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