the pearl analysis essay

John Steinbeck

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The Pearl: Introduction

The pearl: plot summary, the pearl: detailed summary & analysis, the pearl: themes, the pearl: quotes, the pearl: characters, the pearl: symbols, the pearl: theme wheel, brief biography of john steinbeck.

Historical Context of The Pearl

Other books related to the pearl.

• Full Title: The Pearl
• When Written: 1944
• Where Written: California
• When Published: 1947
• Literary Period: Modernist novel
• Genre: Novella/ Parable
• Setting: La Paz, Baja California Sur
• Climax: Kino’s beating of Juana and his killing of a man in protection of the pearl
• Point of View: Third person (from the perspective of the villagers who pass down the tale through generations)

Extra Credit for The Pearl

From Kino to Kino. It is assumed that Kino was named after Eusebius Kino, a Jesuit missionary who explored the Gulf region in the 17th century.

From Film to Fiction. Steinbeck wrote The Pearl on an invitation from Emilio Fernandez, a well-known Mexican filmmaker, to write a screenplay depicting Mexican life. In consequence, The Pearl features few characters, simple and intense action, and cinematic viewpoints.

Introduction to The Pearl

A short novelette, The Pearl , is considered a masterpiece of the phrase -coiner, John Steinbeck . The story was published in 1947. The story explores man’s defiant behavior against accepted social conventions. It also is a perfect example of greed in human nature and the consequences. The story revolves around a Mexican-Indian fisherman, who finds the biggest pearl, and wants to sell it in the capital city to get a huge amount in return to pay his debts and become a rich man in La Paz, the Mexican town. The story is stated to have originated from Mexican folk tales and was also set as a popular movie, La Perla in 1947.

Summary of The Pearl

The story is set in La Paz, Mexico. Kino, his wife Juana, and their infant son, Coyotito. They live in a simple and peaceful life in a hut by the seashore. Kino is involved in diving and angling, which is his source of livelihood. One day, Kino is watching while Coyotito is asleep. He sees the scorpion and tries to catch it. Unfortunately, the scorpion falls on him. Kino kills the scorpion, but it stings the baby. Juana and Kino go to see the local doctor. The doctor is a greedy man and refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino cannot pay his fee.

Disappointed Kino and Juana take Coyotito to the seashore. Juana prepares a poultice from seaweeds. The baby’s condition continues to become worse. Kino dives for searching for oysters and hopes to find pearls. After a long search, he finds a very large oyster. Surprisingly when Kino opens the oyster, he finds a large pearl. Kino can’t contain his happiness and howls like a wolf with joy. This reaction grabs the attention of other divers and they gather around Kino.

Once the news of Kino’s find travels throughout the town. The greedy doctor who had sent them away without treating Coyotito visit Kino after knowing about the pearl. On another side, Kino’s neighbors are jealous of his fortune. Sadly, Kino and Juana are not aware of the neighbors and the possible danger to their peaceful life. Juan Tomas, Kino’s brother asks him about his plan with the money he would get from the pearl.

Kino dreams about getting married to Juana in a church. While the ceremony is going on, Coyotito is cutely dressed in a yachting cap and sailor suit. Kino hopes to send Coyotito to school and also purchase a rifle for himself. One day, the local priest visits Kino and tells him to offer his thanks and ask God for guidance. The greedy doctor also continues to visit using Coyotito as an excuse. The baby keeps getting better but the doctor insists that Coyotito is in danger and needs treatment. Kino agrees and informs the doctor that he can only pay after he sells the pearl. The doctor tries to get the hints and look for the pearl in Kino’s house. He is not aware that Kino has buried it in the corner of his hut. On the same night , a thief enters Kino’s hut. Kino is able to drive him away. Juana who is shaken by the entire experience, warns Kino that the pearl is not meant to be with them. She believes it will destroy them, but Kino convinces her that the pearl is their one chance. He promises to sell it the next day.

Kino’s neighbors are jealous and they are eager to know about the pearl and Kino’s plans. They tell him to give the pearl to the Pope as a gift, including conducting the prayers for his family’s souls and sharing the amount with the needy people of La Paz. Kino takes his neighbors along with him to sell his pearl. However, when the dealer offers a thousand pesos, Kino thinks the pearl is much more valuable and should get at least fifty thousand pesos. Most dealers check the pearl and quote a similar rate. Hence, Kino doesn’t take their offer. Then he decides to go to the capital city to sell the pearl. That same night, Kino is attacked by thieves once again. Juana begs Kino to see that the pearl is an evil thing and is putting them in danger. Sadly, Kino refuses to listen to her and tells her that he would not let people cheat him.

The same night, Juana takes the pearl and tries to throw it into the ocean. Kino catches her before she can do that and punishes her. After a while, few men attack Kino, knocking the pearl from his hand. Kino kills one of the men as Juana watches from a distance. He tells her that they must leave their home. While the murder was an act of self-defense, Kino believes that he will be charged for it. Their escape plan is jeopardized as his canoe is damaged. To their shock, Kino’s house destroyed and set on fire. Kino and Juana hide at Juan Tomas and his wife, Apolonia’s home. The next night, they leave for the capital city.

Kino and Juana continue to hide during the day, escaping attention and travel night. They hide in a cave after seeing a group of sheep trackers. To avoid further attention, Kino removes his clothing too. In the cave, the trackers imagine that they hear a coyote pup. They shoot in that direction. Kino finds the three trackers and kills them too. When Kino returns he doesn’t hear Coyotito’s voice or cry. Instead, he hears Juana’s cry of death. Kino realizes that Coyotito has died from one of the shots of the trackers. Heartbroken, Juana and Kino return to La Paz. Kino takes a rifle from one of the dead trackers as Juana is holding Coyotito’s lifeless body. When they are near the gulf, Kino Coyotito’s head blown away like a pearl. Finally, Kino comes to know that the pearl was indeed evil and throws it into the ocean and sigh in relief.

Major Themes in The Pearl

• Family: Family and man’s efforts for its preservation is the major theme of the novel , The Pearl. Kino and Juana want their son to recover from the scorpion’s sting and want to pay everything they had to the physician. When they find the large pearl, they plan most about their son and the preservation of the family. Hence, Kino takes risks in getting more money, than he is offered in the town. Even the murders of the trackers, prove his desire of keeping his family safe and keep his son’s welfare at the top.
• Wealth as a Bad Omen: When Kino does not have wealth, he lives a happy life with his wife and son, Coyotito. However, as soon as he gets the pearl, he starts facing trouble such as getting nearly robbed and killed until he decides to throw the pearl in the same place he had found it. Thus hoping for the same satisfaction and peace of mind he used to live with before finding the pearl. Therefore, according to Juana, the pearl is a symbol of the arrival of wealth which is has been painted as a bad omen or a sign of bad luck.
• Paradox : This thematic strand appears when Kino finds a pearl through his hard work and thinks that it would bring good luck. Instead, it brings destruction and bad luck for him. Death is lurking everywhere while robbers are on the lookout of his pearl. This proves rather a paradox that instead of resolving his issues, it has created more troubles for him.
• Perseverance : Several characters in The Pearl demonstrate the theme of perseverance. For example, Kino displays it in keeping the pearl with him waiting for a better price, while his wife has had to fight with him to throw it away to escape the bad luck chasing them. The trackers, too, show perseverance in chasing them unless they get killed.
• Greed : The novel also sheds light on the theme of human greed through the character of Kino as well as the physician who asks for more money to treat Coyotito, while Kino asks for more price of the pearl to fulfill his dreams. Despite repeatedly occurring incidents demonstrating their bad luck after he finds the pearl, Kino refuses to listen to his wife or abandon the pearl. It is because of his greed that he does not want to give it up and loses his son on that journey.
• Gender : The significance of gender in the Mexican coastal regions is another thematic strand that runs parallel to several other themes in the novel . There are just a couple of female characters; Juana, his wife, and Apolonia, the wife of his neighbor. However, both of these characters are secondary. Here, Juana fails to convince Kino to throw away the pearl, while Apolonia’s character, too, is subservient to her husband, Juan Tomas.
• Primitivity : The Pearl also shows the primitivity of human nature in that despite having learned things, man is still prone to follow his primitive nature of saving himself and his progeny. Kino tries his best to benefit from the pearl in terms of making others be at his beck and call but fails.
• Power : Kino is aware that with money comes power , he also knows that others will try to snatch away his power. This is transformed into bad luck. Hence, Juana asks him to abandon the search for power by throwing the pearl back into the sea. However, Kino knows that with the pearl gone, he would not have any power left to do anything. When his son dies, he abandons the pearl and relinquishes the power, which could not save his son.
• Man and Nature : The Pearl also sheds light on the nature of man and his importance in the world of nature. Kino fails to fight against all the forces of nature. Despite his stubborn nature and persistence, including refusal to his wife’s plea, Kino has to learn that man can never win against nature.

Major Characters in The Pearl

• Kino: Kino is the protagonist and the central character of the novel, The Pearl. He is a Mexican-Indian and a professional pearl diver who works for others and owns a canoe. When his son, Coyotito, suffers scorpion stinging, he does everything to save him from the pain and torture, but cannot afford to pay the town physician for his son’s treatment. When he fishes out a large pearl, he begins to face troubles. In the end, he has to throw the pearl after losing his son, becoming a criminal for murdering robbers and the trackers.
• Juana : Juana is Kino’s wife and stays with him. She stands by Kino until the end despite losing her son, Coyotito. After the first robbery, she suggests Kino sell the pearl as soon as possible and also believes that the pearl will bring evil. She tries her best to save her son and her husband. However, Kino accepts her suggestion and throws the pearl back into the ocean, but it is already too late.
• Coyotito : He is a young child of Kino and Juana. A scorpion stings him and he is taken to the doctor. However, the greedy doctor refuses to treat him as Kino may not be able to afford his fees. Later Juana’s home remedy helps Coyotito heal from the sting. When Kino and Juana are on the run, the story takes a tragic turn. He is killed when the trackers fire shots in the air to scare Kino.
• The Doctor : The doctor is greedy and a shame to his profession. He refuses to treat Coyotito when a scorpion stings him. However, when he comes to know about the biggest pearl, he reaches their home, treats the boy, and promises to return shortly after demanding his heavy fees. Here the doctor must be a Caucasian. The doctor occasionally expresses his desire to leave for Paris with the heavy fees he tries to collect from his patients.
• Juan Tomas: He is the brother of Kino, who warns Kino that the pearl might bring serious repercussions on their simple lifestyle. He, along with his wife, hides the couple, when Kino kills one of the robbers.
• Apolonia: She is Juan Tomas’s wife. A kind woman, who along with her husband extends shelter to Kino and his wife when both of them confront robbers after Kino kills one of them.
• Pearl Dealers: Most of them are locals and have conspired to purchase Kino’s biggest pearl at the least price. When he brings his pearl to them, they only offer him 1,000 pesos to which he refuses.
• Robbers and Trackers: There are several anonymous robbers and trackers in the novel who occasionally appear to harass and snatch the pearl from Kino. One of them is killed during the first scuffle at home. Kino also kills three trackers on their way to the capital.

Writing Style of The Pearl‎

The language of the novel, The Pearl, is not only simple but also straightforward. John Steinbeck has used narrative to show the characters and their motives, keeping dialogs minimum. It could be called a fabular style , for he has adopted this fable to transform it into a novella in which he has succeeded.

Analysis of Literary Devices in The Pearl

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises Kino’s finding of the Pearl of the World. The rising action occurs when he faces robbers and kills one of them. The falling action occurs when he kills three of the trackers, finds his son Coyotito dead, and returns home resigned at the fate with the resolution of throwing away the pearl.
• Allegory : The Pearl shows the use of allegory in the novel through its characters in that Kino is a symbol of independence, while the doctor represents rapacity and greed. The dealers are blackmailers of the society, while Juan Tomas shows the ancient wisdom, and Kino and his wife also shows the spirit of the story of the human being: Adam and Eve.
• Antagonist : Although it seems that the robbers and trackers are the main antagonists of The Pearl, it is the Pearl of the Wisdom that becomes the antagonist for Kino, as it shows how it has bred greed and hostility among others when they see Kino getting tons of wealth.
• Allusion : There are various examples of allusions given in the novel, The Pearl. The first allusion is of the Gospel of Matthew as the storyline resembles the parable of the pearl. The second allusion of the storyline resembles the story of Adam and Eve. Kino’s love for the pearl and resulting money is also a reference to Timothy 6:1. It means that The Pearl has various Biblical allusions.
• Conflict : The are two types of conflicts in the novel, The Pearl. The first one is the external conflict that starts between Kino and the people who are against his getting the wealth. The second conflict is in his mind about its being evil that Kino’s wife has stated, and it resolves when he finally throws it in the sea.
• Characters: The Pearl presents both static as well as dynamic characters or round ones. Kino, though, seems the protagonist, is not the dynamic character ; his brother, Juan Tomas, is rather the dynamic character, while all others are static or flat including Kino, as they do not change themselves in the contexts . Only Juan proves unpredictable.
• Climax : The climax takes place when Kino kills one of the robbers after they attack him. This climax again appears when he kills all the trackers and subsides after he decides to return home when he sees that his only son is dead.
• Foreshadowing : There are various examples of foreshadowing in the novel. For example, i. “Hush,” said Kino. “Do not speak any more. In the morning we will sell the pearl, and then the evil will be gone, and only the good remain. Now hush, my wife.” His dark eyes scowled into the little fire, and for the first time he knew that his knife was still in his hands, and he raised the blade and looked at it and saw a little line of blood on the steel. (Chapter-III) ii. Coyotito: The very name of their son is a use of a good foreshadowing which alludes to coyote. iii. Song: Whenever Kino hears some song, he senses that something bad is going to happen to his family. iv. Juana’s realization of the pearl as a bad omen for the family.
• Hyperbole : Hyperbole or exaggeration occurs in the novel at different places. For example, i. She froze with terror for a moment, and then her lips drew back from her teeth like a cat’s lips. (Chapter-IV) ii. His heart thundered in his chest and his hands and face were wet with sweat. (Chapter-VI) Both of these examples show how emotions have been exaggerated.
• Imagery : The novel shows very good examples of imagery . For example, i. Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and the early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see whether anything to eat had been overlooked. Outside the brush house in the tuna clump, a covey of little birds chittered and flurried with their wings. (Chapter-1) ii. Kino lifted the flesh, and there it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon. It captured the light and refined it and gave it back in silver incandescence. It was as large as a sea-gull’s egg. It was the greatest pearl in the world. (Chapter-II) The first example shows images of color, sound, and sight, while the second shows the images of touch as well as sight.
• Metaphor : The Pearl shows good use of various metaphors . For example, i. The dawn came quickly now, a wash, a glow, a lightness, and then an explosion of fire as the sun arose out of the Gulf۔ (Chapter-1) ii. A town is a thing like a colonial animal . A town has a nervous system and a head and shoulders and feet. A town is a thing separate from all other towns, so that there are no two towns alike. (Chapter-II) iii. All manner of people grew interested in Kino. (Chapter-III) These three short examples of metaphors show John Steinbeck comparing the dawn with an explosion, the town with the animal, and manners with human beings.
• Motif : The most important motifs of the novel, The Pearl, are the pearl, the canoe, and Kino as an individual struggling against the social norms of the town.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated by a third-person narrator . It is also called an omniscient narrator who happens to be the author himself as he can see things from all perspectives . Here John Steinbeck Austen herself is the narrator.
• Personification : Personification means to attribute human acts and emotions to non-living objects . For example, i. The brown algae waved in the gentle currents and the green eel grass swayed and little sea horses clung to its stems. (Chapter-II) ii. And a town has a whole emotion. (Chapter-II) iii. And the beauty of the pearl, winking and glimmering in the light of the little candle, cozened his brain with its beauty. (Chapter-III) Both of these examples show algae, town, and beauty personified.
• Protagonist : Kino is the protagonist of the novel. He appears in the novel from the very start and captures the interest of the readers until the last page when he comes back to throw the pearl in the sea.
• Paradox : The Pearl shows the implicit use of paradox in that both Juana and Kino knows that the pearl is proving a bad fortune for them, yet they want the good fortune to sprout from it.
• Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places. For example, i. Why should he, when he had more than he could do to take care of the rich people who lived in the stone and plaster houses of the town?  (Chapter-I) ii. “That is true,” said Kino, “but how can we know? We are here, we are not there. (Chapter-IV) Price in capital iii. I found it in the path. Can you hear me now? Here is your pearl. Can you understand? You have killed a man. We must go away. They will come for us, can you understand? We must be gone before the daylight comes.” (Chapter-V) These examples show the use of rhetorical questions posed by different characters such as first by Kino, second by his brother Juan and third by his wife Juana.
• Theme : A theme is a central idea that the novelist or the writer wants to stress upon. The novel, The Pearl, not only shows the titular thematic strands of The Pearl, but also life, struggle, racial discrimination, gender parity, and human luck.
• Setting : The setting of the novel is the town of La Paz, Mexico, where Kino and his family relations live, including the coastal area and the way to the capital city.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes. For example, i. In the canoe she was like a strong man. (Chapter-1) ii. A town is a thing like a colonial animal, (Chapter-III) iii. The news stirred up something infinitely black and evil in the town; the black distillate was like the scorpion, or like hunger in the smell of food, or like loneliness when love is withheld. (Chapter-III) The first simile compares Juana to a man, the second the town to an animal, and the third compares the news to several different things simultaneously.

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by John Steinbeck

The pearl study guide.

John Steinbeck wrote The Pearl during the time in which he was at the height of his fame. He had completed The Grapes of Wrath , for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was renowned and reviled as a subversive, unpatriotic man who threatened the national interest through the socialist themes of his novels. This view of Steinbeck was inconsistent with his soft-spoken nature, but by 1944, when Steinbeck began to write The Pearl, Steinbeck had come to reconcile this aspect of his fame.

Steinbeck wrote The Pearl based on his personal convictions, and based the story on the biblical parable of a ?pearl of great price.' In this story, a jewel for which the merchant trades everything he owns becomes the metaphor for Heaven. Everything in the merchant's earthly existence, however, becomes worthless when compared to the joys of living with God in Heaven. However, Steinbeck uses the parable as a meditation on the American dream of success. Steinbeck, who himself had risen quickly to prosperity, explores how Kino , the protagonist of The Pearl, deals with his newfound prominence in the community and riches.

Steinbeck found a second inspiration for The Pearl in the tale of a young Mexican boy told in Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez. However, the boy in the original form of the story wished to use the pearl to buy clothing, alcohol and sex. The story contains several similar plot points, including the rapacious dealers and the attacks on the boy to find the pearl, that would recur in the story's final form.

The Pearl derives much of its force from the descriptions of the impoverished lifestyle of the Mexicans of La Paz, the location of the story. The plight of the impoverished is a consistent theme in Steinbeck's work, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men . Although these novels dealt with white protagonists, Steinbeck turned to the plight of Mexicans for The Pearl based on the 1942 and 1943 Zoot Suit Race Riots in Los Angeles.

By the time that Steinbeck wrote The Pearl, he had gained an interest in writing screenplays, and thus wrote the novel in a form suitable for easy adaptation to film. The story has a simple plot structure and an economy of characters, but unlike The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden , Steinbeck did not adapt The Pearl. Instead, Steinbeck focused on screenplays written originally for the screen for his subsequent works.

The Pearl Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Pearl is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

-other pearl divers

-rest of the people in village

What does Kino mean by, “This pearl has become my soul. “If I give it up I shall lose my soul…” Do you agree with him?

Kino allows the pearl to consume his life at the expense of everything else he holds dear. Do I agree with him? Money is nothing when compared with the people who love you...... absolutely not.

describe the setting of the novel "The Pearl"

The setting is a Mexican coastal village called La Paz, probably on the Baja Peninsula. The time is not mentioned although many feel it looks like the late 18th ot early 19th century.

Study Guide for The Pearl

The Pearl study guide contains a biography of John Steinbeck, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Pearl
• The Pearl Summary
• The Pearl Video
• Character List
• Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

Essays for The Pearl

The Pearl literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Pearl.

• The Pearl versus The Secret River
• The Pearl: Symbolism Analysis
• A Dollar Cannot Buy a Smile: Riches vs. Happiness in 'The Pearl'
• Women as a Voice of Reason in John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl”
• An Analysis of Imagery and Mood in John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl”

Lesson Plan for The Pearl

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Pearl
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Pearl Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Pearl

• Introduction

Degrading Consequences of Poverty in “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck

Introduction, degrading consequences of poverty in the pearl, why poverty is dehumanizing in the pearl, conclusion: consequences of greed in the pearl by john steinbeck, works cited.

Poverty is identity in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl , and the main character Kino, a poor fisherman, manifests a transformation in his identity upon discovering a magnificent pearl, one which he believes, initially, can transform him from a poor and powerless man to a rich and self-sufficient one, beholden to no one. Kino’s suppressed desire to transcend the financial identity handed down to him over centuries of colonial rule erupts upon the discovery of the pearl, and triggers a deep seeded obsession.

Kino adopts desperate lengths to use the pearl to leverage himself, his wife Juana, and their son Coyotito out of a life mired in servitude and want. Though the pearl initially symbolizes a way to help his family, Kino soon develops intense greed in his quest to sell it, and pays for his avarice with the life of his young son.

Steinbeck describes the story as a parable in the introduction, albeit in a decidedly non-committal manner: “If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it” (Steinbeck 1).

This disclaimer suggests an attempt by Steinbeck to distance himself from the traditional purpose of the parable, to instruct or demonstrate a moral or religious lesson. When read as a parable however, The Pearl definitely teaches the evils of greed, with a subtle yet unmistakable hint of classism. In essence, it appears that the moral lesson of The Pearl is for a non-European to accept his social station, or else.

In The Pearl , Steinbeck describes the world that Kino, Juana and Coyotito inhabit almost exclusively in economic and colonial terms. It is a poor world bereft of culture, wherein the other fisherman and their wives eke out a living, and even though his “people had once been great makers of songs,” as a result of the conquest, “no new songs were added” (Steinbeck 1). Money or more specifically lack thereof, restricts every movement that Kino and his wife make.

A scorpion stings Coyotito at the story’s outset, and immediately we learn that “the doctor never came to the cluster of brush homes. Why should he, when he had more than he could do to take care of the rich people who lived in the stone and plaster houses of the town?” (Steinbeck 4).

When Kino and Juana take the baby into town to see the doctor, Steinbeck solidifies Kino’s low socio-economic status through the eyes of “the beggars from the front of the church who were great experts in financial analysis, [who] looked quickly at Juana’s old blue skirt, saw the tears in her shawl, appraised the green ribbon on her braids, read the age of Kino’s blanket and the thousand washings of his clothes, and set them down as poverty people” (Steinbeck 5).

In town, we witness the contempt between the two classes. Kino bristles at the necessity of the doctor visit, as the doctor was “of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino’s race…Kino felt weak and afraid and angry at the same time. Rage and terror went together. He could kill the doctor more easily than he could talk to him, for all of the doctor’s race spoke to all of Kino’s race as though they were simple animals” (Steinbeck 5).

Steinbeck’s characterization of Kino bears scrutiny here. We glimpse the stirrings of Kino’s later action in these passages. Clearly, Kino does not accept his lot, and harbors a deep malice toward the colonial class. Also, tellingly, in these passages we see his desire to join that class clearly rendered. Kino’s description of the doctor’s beautiful home reveals a deep and passionate longing for wealth and luxury: “Kino could see the green coolness of the garden and little splashing fountain” (Steinbeck 6).

Once inside the doctor’s home, Steinbeck describes the doctor’s “dressing gown of red watered silk that had come from Paris,” as well as the “silver tray with a silver chocolate pot and a tiny cup of egg-shell china, so delicate” (Steinbeck 6).

When the doctor refuses to treat Coyotito, Kino’s violent reaction portends his later action: “For a long time Kino stood in front of the gate with Juana beside him. Slowly he put his suppliant hat on his head. Then, without warning, he struck the gate a crushing blow with his fist. He looked down in wonder at his split knuckles and at the blood that flowed down between his fingers” (Steinbeck 7).

Steinbeck infuses Kino and the other fisherman with nobility, an air of the noble savage, in fact, which strikes at the heart of the parable’s intention, and also hints at Steinbeck’s rosy view of oppressed peoples. Steinbeck views these poverty stricken first peoples as inherently generous and philanthropic. After Kino finds the pearl, his neighbors “spoke of what they would do if they had found the pearl” (Steinbeck 22). Amazingly, none of them mention the material benefit such a pearl would net.

“One man said that he would give it as a present to the Holy Father in Rome. Another said that he would buy Masses for the souls of his family for a thousand years. Another thought he might take the money and distribute it among the poor of La Paz; and a fourth thought of all the good things one could do with the money from the pearl, of all the charities, benefits, of all the rescues one could perform if one had money” (Steinbeck 22).

The suggestion here appears to be that before the advent of the colonial obsession with money and material gain, the indigenous peoples enjoyed an Eden free of selfishness, avarice, and competition. “All of the neighbours hoped that sudden wealth would not turn Kino’s head, would not make a rich man of him, would not graft onto him the evil limbs of greed and hatred and coldness” (Steinbeck 22).

This passage clearly defines Steinbeck’s association of material wealth, as symbolized by the pearl, as poisonous European greed forced on the earthy, natural, righteous first peoples.

Caswell tends to agree with Steinbeck’s characterization of the fisherman as docile, gentle, dignified extensions of nature. He points to the fisherman’s quiet “acceptance of a world on the outskirts of a more civilized society” (Caswell 62). In the opening pages of the novella, Caswell highlights Kino’s “connective relationship…with the elements of nature and his family” (Caswell 63).

However, when Kino takes the baby into town to see the doctor, Caswell remarks on the anger Kino displays underneath “the simple removal of…[his] hat as a sign of subservient respect to mask his inner feelings of hatred toward the doctor’s race” (Caswell 64).

Other critics have read The Pearl as a “darker, more pessimistic vision of the spirit of rebellion” (Perkins 1). Perkins highlights Steinbeck’s personal disillusionment with any act of rebellion against the status quo, and the “dark forces that can eventually crush it” (Perkins 1).

Perkins asserts, similar to Caswell, that Kino’s intention with the pearl, initially, reflects his altruistic cultural upbringing, in that he intends to purchase education for his son, and so assume power indirectly through Coyotito’s literacy.

The pearl becomes so crucial to him because he understands that the money will grant him respect, when he can afford to marry Juana, and power, when he can purchase a rifle and give his son an education. If his son can learn to read and write, Kino insists, “these things will make us free because he will know – he will know and through him we will know” (Perkins 2).

In the sense of the novella’s classist elements, Perkins understands that “Kino’s rebellious spirit challenges but cannot change the system. Unable to fight off the forces that try to oppress him, he loses his son along with his dreams of a better life for his family. The loss of the pearl at the end of the story suggests his loss of hope for the future and a loss in his belief that he can control his life and destiny” (Perkins 2).

Written in the years following World War II, Astro characterizes The Pearl as indicative of Steinbeck’s “early postwar fiction [that] reflects the vision of a man who had returned from a destructive war to a changed America” (Astro 14). Astro’s critique focuses more on the elements of parable that underpin the story, and its moral message.

The Pearl , in Astro’s understanding, details “man’s search for happiness and his need to choose between simplicity and complication, between a life in nature and a life in society, Steinbeck shows that the drive for wealth and power ends in tragedy and disappointment” (Astro 14). The theme of greed Steinbeck portrays as a European pestilence that Kino initially seeks, attracted by the idea of power, but ultimately rejects, returning instead to the land and his natural state as a poor savage, albeit a poor savage with dignity.

The Pearl presents the human dilemma; it is the study of the agony involved in man’s recognition of the vanity of human wishes. Kino, Steinbeck’s protagonist, finds his pearl and protects it from those who would steal it from him, but he pays dearly. His house and canoe are destroyed and his child is killed.

He comes to see the pearl as a gray, malignant growth, and so throws it back into the gulf. In doing so, Kino chooses what Ed Ricketts once called “the region of inward adjustments” (characterized by friendship, tolerance, dignity, and love) over “the region of outward possessions” (Astro 14).

According to Ditsky, “Steinbeck understood both hard toil and knightly quests after the ideal, and his stories set in balance the perils of both” (Ditsky 2). Ditsky’s interpretation of Steinbeck’s view of first peoples points to the author’s understanding of the risk involved in self-actualization.

When Steinbeck’s characters attempt to direct their own lives, they are met with cosmic resistance. “Here the stoicism of Indian characters, as elsewhere in Steinbeck stories set in Mexico or California, is counterpointed by the universal theme that the establishing of one’s integrity and the losing of one’s life are a tradeoff, as is clearly the case in our relentlessly violent contemporary society” (Ditsky 2).

What the selected criticism detailed above misses, for the purposes of this paper, remains the inherent prejudice displayed by Steinbeck toward the characters in The Pearl , especially Kino. The characterization of Kino immediately gives us an image of an ambitious young man. He wants the best for himself and his family.

In this aspiration, Kino bears no difference between any other newlywed and new father. What Steinbeck appears to find problematic about Kino’s ambition, is the fact that he is not of European descent. Seemingly, Steinbeck prefers to keep non-Europeans in an idyllic state of kindness, community-mindedness, selflessness, and munificence.

Let us contrast Steinbeck’s romanticized view of the fisherman and Kino’s brush huts herein: “Kino heard the little splash of morning waves on the beach. It was very good” (Steinbeck 1). We see the idealized vision of people in tune with nature. Conversely, in Steinbeck’s depiction of the pearl buyers’ offices in the town, we see the dark, dank influence of European avarice:

In their little dark offices the pearl buyers stiffened and grew alert. They got out papers so that they could be at work when Kino appeared, and they put their pearls in the desks, for it is not good to let an inferior pearl be seen beside a beauty. And word of the loveliness of Kino’s pearl had come to them. The pearl buyers’ offices were clustered together in one narrow street, and they were barred at the windows, and wooden slats cut out the light so that only a soft gloom entered the offices (Steinbeck 24).

Once Kino decides to pursue a fair price for the pearl, we witness the transformation of his identity. He becomes a man between worlds. The European world, as personified by the pearl buyers, will never accept him. They will only take from him. Therefore, his future with them remains limited. However, his own people also reject him, once Kino shows his ambition.

Juan Tomás nodded gravely. He was the elder, and Kino looked to him for wisdom. “It is hard to know,” he said. “We do know that we are cheated from birth to the overcharge on our coffins. But we survive. You have defied not the pearl buyers, but the whole structure, the whole way of life, and I am afraid for you” (Steinbeck 28).

In John Steinbeck’s The Pearl , we see an indictment of greed and the acquisition of material wealth. However, more disturbingly, we witness the author’s subtle classist and prejudicial belief that indigenous peoples do not have the right to want more for themselves or for their families.

First peoples, in the author’s view, must remain close to nature, simple, docile, and magnanimous. Ambition, in Steinbeck’s view, belongs only in the European world. His protagonist, Kino, is sorely punished for exhibiting the desire and aspiration of a European. Steinbeck’s parable appears to teach that goal setting, self improvement, and self actualization remain exclusively the domain of Europeans.

Astro, R. “John Steinbeck.” American Novelists, 1910-1945 . Ed. James J. Martine. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. 1-21. Web.

Caswell, R. “A Musical Journey through John Steinback’s The Pearl: Emotion, Engagement, and Comprehension.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 49.1 (2005): 62-67. Web.

Ditsky, J. “John Steinbeck: Overview.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction . Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. 1-2. Web.

Kennedy, X. J. and Dana G. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing . Third Edition. London: Longman, 2009. Print.

Perkins, W. “Critical Essay on ‘The Pearl’.” Short Stories for Students . Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 1-2. Web.

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John Steinbeck’s The Pearl: Summary & Analysis

• John Steinbeck’s The Pearl: Summary…

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. When Juana wanted to destroy the pearl, Kino beat her unmercifully: He struck her in the face and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side…He hissed at her like a snake and she stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before a butcher. (742)

Juana saw through the outer beauty of the pearl and knew it would destroy them, but Kino’s vision was blurred by the possible prosperity the pearl brought. The malignant evil then spread to a secret cult known only as the trackers. This corrupt band of ruffians attacked and destroyed Kino’s life.

The very night that the trackers learned of Kino’s pearl, they tried to steal it. The next night, Kino was attacked twice, which resulted in Kino committing murder. After the final struggle of the night, Juana went back to their home to find more baneful members of the heartless cult rampaging through their belongings to find the pearl.

The end result was Kino and Juana’s house going up in flames. The trackers then committed the cardinal sin, they destroyed Kino’s canoe: This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal. (744)

The trackers annihilated the most important material possession that any citizen of the community owned, “…for a man with a boat can guarantee a woman that she will eat something. It was the bulwark against starvation” (717). The evil invaded Kino’s life and everyone who knew of it.

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Author:  William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Pearl — The Pearl: Symbolism Analysis

An Analysis of Symbolism in The Pearl

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / The Pearl / Literary Analysis Of The Pearl By John Steinbeck

Literary Analysis Of The Pearl By John Steinbeck

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