Dadinho

“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck is an extraordinary novel, far beyond having a good a plot or just a diverse range of creative imagination. “The Pearl” has an internal meaning; how possession and greed can affect and to a further extent, destroy our lives. The theme and the internal meaning is an essential aspect of this novel, as for it teaches a valuable lesson, perhaps worth more value than the actual pearl which appears in the novel.

The story takes place within a Mexican community. Kino and Juana are couples who live in a modest house by a sea. One day, they face a terrible event when their son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion. Desperate to save their son, Kino and Juana find a doctor, but are dejected when the doctor refuses to help due to their insufficient amount of fund. Later that day, Kino searches out for a large pearl in order to pay for the cure and fotuanately, is able to find a humongous pearl. Therefore, the doctor provides medication for Coyotito, but many conflicts are aroused by this pearl. First, he encounters a thief, presumably the doctor, who attempts to steal the pearl which is buried in Kino’s house and after a violent struggle, Kino is left injured. Not only that, but Kino is filled with greed which leads him to beating his own wife for trying to get rid of the pearl because she felt the pearl was ill-willed. Afterwards, Kino is involved in another conflict with a group of men who tries to steal his pearl and later ends up murdering one of the men of the group. As if it’s resembling an omen, tragedy and conflicts follow the path of Kino, Juana, and Coyotito, as they possess the pearl.

“The Pearl” taught me many things, particularly in relation to the moral behaviors. This novel carries the theme of greed and how it can be detrimental if it is taken to an extreme point. The pearl found by Kino is the factor which causes Kino to become greedy, malicious, and vicious. Therefore, a lot of conflicts are also brought to his life. This reflects well back to the lives of many people. In the world, people have ambitions and certain ambitions aren’t always achieved positively. People use devious methods to obtain what they want and in this case, the pearl is the determinant which causes such excessive greed.

“The Pearl” is far more than just a portraiture of tragedy. It shows the extent of greed and all the kinds of atrocities it can bring when it is misused. “The Pearl” teaches the moral behaviors of human and it surely must be read by everyone in order to avoid such conflicts as Kino’s.

~ by DLee12 on . Tagged: eng10white, gr10