The Pearl is a timeless novel that was published in 1947, written by John Steinbeck. ". . . the secret melody of the maybe pearl broke clear and beautiful, rich and warm and lovely, glowing and gloating and triumphant. In the surface of the great pearl he could see dream forms," page 26. The story takes place during the late 1800s in a village on the Baja peninsula. The main character is Kino, a poor pearl diver that is struggling to provide for his young family. This family consists of his wife, Juana, and their first child, Coyotito. As this story begins, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion, which would usually kill an infant. Juana did all that she could to save her child by sucking the venom out of his wound. When that did not help, she sent for the town doctor, who, even though he was disliked by local villagers due to his racism, was the only person with the ability to help. When he did not come, the family set out on foot to find him. However, he chose to not help the young family since they did not have any money. With both desperation and hope, Kino and Juana paddled out to the deep, blue sea in their treasured canoe to search for a grand pearl that they thought could pay for the doctor. After hope began to fade, they miraculously found a pearl that was the size of a bird egg and the biggest and most beautiful that they had ever seen. Gazing deep into its beauty, Kino saw wonderful possibilities of a new life free of poverty and burden, the life of a rich man who could take care of his family.
By the time they had exuberantly paddled back to shore, the story of Kino finding the "Pearl of the World" had spread and the baby Coyotito recovered from his sting. When they arrived home, the doctor had also heard of this pearl and was there waiting for them, not to help the child, but in hopes of making the family indebted to him so he could get the pearl. Diabolically, he secretly administered poison to the poor child, saying that the poison of the sting came back, and then gave the antidote. That night, there was an attempt by some of the villagers to steal the great pearl, so in the morning Kino tried to sell it to the local vendors. Time after time, he felt cheated by the amounts he was offered for the huge, beautiful pearl, so he kept it another night. The very next day, Juana began to feel the greed and evil that was beginning to form around people's hearts due to the pearl, so she tried to get rid of it. Kino caught her and sent her home. While he was walking home, Kino was attacked by a man and they fought until Kino finally killed the attacker.
The next day before anyone could stop them, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito left their village for good and began to travel North in hopes of selling the extraordinary pearl in the great city. Once on the road, they soon realized that they were being followed by trackers who would kill them to steal the pearl. After being followed quite some time, Kino attacked and killed all three of the criminals that were following them. However, while Kino was trying to protect his family, Coyotito was killed by a stray gunshot. Brokenhearted and disappointed in themselves, Kino and Juana returned to their village alone. Knowing that the pearl was the source of all of the evil that entered their lives, they threw the pearl back into the depths of the sea.
This story of good, evil, and greed in human's hearts teaches us many lessons as we see the disastrous consequences when greed and evil take over a village and simple family's life. Before the pearl entered the villager's lives, everyone seemed to be humble and content with their life. What brought the pearl into the lives of Kino and his neighbors was the need for a cure of Coyotito's wound. But, once the pearl entered the lives of many, their list of wants and desires escalated. In this story, the destructive force of greed took its tool on both Kino and the villagers who wanted the pearl for their own gain.
As I have already stated, the lives of Kino and Juana before the pearl were humble, but seemingly simple, normal and similar to their neighbors. Then their child's life was in jeopardy, and the first need in this story was created: the need for money to pay a doctor to see Coyotito. The need was fulfilled by the pearl and at first it was the most wonderful, beautiful, and lovely thing they had ever had in their life. However, Kino grew grew boastful around his neighbors, and professed to all of his increasing desires, now that they could be satisfied (see pages 31-33.) This list included being married in a church, his son attending school and gaining "freedom" with knowledge, a gun, and possibly a better home. He tried to sell the pearl, but his heart was greedy and he did not accept any of the offers for it. When his family was being chased by the bounty hunters, it was due to his greed for the pearl that he did not give it up to the men to possibly save the lives of his family. Once he began to unconsciously develop greed and kept wanting more, his life seemed to go downhill, resulting in the death of men and his child. It seemed as if the greed that this pearl represented ruined his life.
The destructive force of greed for the pearl also greatly affected the villagers and neighbors of Kino and his family. When Kino found a pearl, at first his fellow friends and divers seemed to be pleased for him. But, then they thought of how they could gain this pearl for themselves. Even the priest who heard about the pearl first thought of how much it must be worth and if he married Kino or baptized his son, for those things often cost money money that poor villagers could usually not pay for. After Kino boasted to the villagers about all the things he could buy, "The music had gone out of Kino's head, but now, thinly, slowly, the melody of the morning, the music of evil, of the enemy sounded. . . Kino looked at his neighbors to see who might have brought this song in," page 35. Evil, greed, and desire began to form in the minds of the priest, doctor, and villagers. Some villagers became jealous, and this resulted in people attacking Kino and destroying his home and canoe so they could get the pearl for the money it was worth. Slowly but surely, this greed began to destroy the lives and the innocence of the village in Baja.
". . . in the surface of the pearl he saw. . . Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of is head shot way. And the pearl was ugly; it was grey, like a malignant growth. And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane," page 177. Kino was heartbroken at the end of the story. What seemed to be at first an answer to his prayers, turned out to be a nightmare that destroyed his simple but adequate life and killed his son. This novel by John Steinbeck helps to remind us that greed is a very destructive force, and that wonderful things in our lives may be ruined if we let greed control us. It also teaches us that things may happen in our lives that at first seem to be good, may not always be, and vice versa.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment