Pearl Essays (486 words) - The Pearl, Pearl, Kino, Ten,

Pearl In John Steinbeck's The Pearl, a poor yet humble pearl diver by the name of Kino finds a giant pearl with which he hopes to buy peace and happiness for his family and an education for his son, Coyotito. Instead, he learns that the valuable Pearl of the World can not buy happiness but only destroy his simple, yet content, life. As soon as Kino's son, Coyotito, is bitten by a deadly scorpion, Juana, the mother of Coyotito, naturally turns towards the spiritual aspects of life by praying for her son's endangered life. Knowing that the bite is extremely deadly, they take Coyotito to the doctor, be he refuses to assist the child because of the family's financial status so the family now turns to the sea to seek their fortune. When Juana set sight on the "Pearl of the World," she felt as though all her prayers had been answered. News spreads quickly that Kino has found the immense pearl and as soon as the doctor hears of the newfound wealth, he rushes to the aid of Coyotito. After this, the pearl brings nothing but trouble once the pearl buyers try to cheat him for the pearl. Kino is also attacked for the pearl and in one of the fights, he kills a man. He then flees with his family to the city where three men hunt them down. In an effort to escape, Kino attacks the men but not before they fire a shot into the mountains and mortally wound Coyotito. After the sudden death, Kino and Juana head back to the village where they heave the evil pearl into the ocean and hope that it's burdens are never bestowed on any person again. Throughout The Pearl, Kino's character is indirectly revealed by his actions and thoughts. In the beginning of the story, he appears to be a very hardworking man and also a man of good morals. He showed these qualities by simply supporting his family and working hard everyday diving for pearls. But after finding the Pearl of the World, Kino slowly began to change. Without knowing it, Kino was beginning to consider the pearl more important than his family. He did anything to keep it, even endangering his family. When he was being tracked down, he could have handed over the pearl to the trackers and saved his family, but instead he just continued running and all he has to show for it is Coyotito's death. Because of this, Kino would also be considered greedy by the end of the story. The theme of The Pearl teaches us not to let wealth or even fame change who we are or the way we act. No matter what, we are always the same people on the inside and not even a million dollars should make a difference. In the story, Kino was not this strong and he just didn't know when to stop running. If he would have just taken the first offer he got for the pearl, he would have been a much happier man and he would still have his entire family.