The Pearl, John Steinbeck

The Pearl takes place on the Gulf of Mexico, and it follows the story of a man named Kino, who is, like his ancestors, a pearl diver. Unfortunately, his son, Coyotito, is bitten by a scorpion, and the doctor will not help him since he has no money. So he goes diving for pearls the next day, and finds a pearl, large as a seagull egg and as perfect as the moon. He goes to the doctor, and since he now has the pearl, which we will sell, he treats Coyotito and is cured of the poison. The next day, he goes to town to sell the pearl, but they tell him that his pearl is not worth much because most people will think it is fake. It is then up to him to leave, or to settle for the price they are offering him.

This book really emphasizes the nature of man, greed, ambition, and music. When Kino initially finds the pearl, he is very hopeful because the pearl represents the answer to all his problems, but when he is lead to believe that it is not worth as much as he thought, he becomes crazed and leaves his town to go to a bigger city to get a better price and becomes obsessed with the pearl, greed overtaking him. The people in this book spoke english, but certain words would be spoken in spanish. The author would speak from a third person view, but would focus on the thoughts of Kino, never delving into the people around him, making the story feel like it was someone else telling Kino's story. Ambition and greed are issues that are prominent in my life, as well as many other people's. The pearl represents hope for many people of better opportunities to get things, like money or other possessions, and if they don't get it, people will get caught up in it and do anything to succeed.

I noticed similarities to nothing that we have studied in class so far, however, I noticed certain similarities with Animal Farm. In animal farm, the people are promised a better life by overruling the establishment, but are jilted of their dreams by the pigs subtly taking command. This is similar to The Pearl because it shows that people's ambitions and hopes are often twisted and taken advantage of, like how Kino is led to believe that his pearl is worth little. The author wouldn't have to do anything to improve this book, because it is a very well written story about the hopes of a man that led him astray, and gives a strong moral lesson to anyone who reads the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes books about Mexico, lower-class struggles, and books with strong and harsh moral lessons.

He uses themes of greed, ambition, and hope to outline the rise and fall of the life of Kino. He also makes great use of symbolism, making the pearl a symbol of hope, promising him lots of money, but eventually greed and trickery, making him think that the pearl is worth a lot but not letting him get his rightful money and making him greedy enough to go out to try to get the money, killing someone on the way.