Greed As a Destructive Force, by Nicole Malapit

A poor family, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito, lived in a poor village. Everyday, life was the same. They ate the same meals, which were hotcakes, saw the same people, wore the same clothes, and lived in the same kind of small huts. The sea was their source of income, and their future was pretty much made up. They would continue their predictable life, and die in the village. But this was not the case with Kino's family. The beginning of all their troubles was when Coyotito had been bitten by a scorpion. This caused a great commotion in the village, so when Kino and his family went to the doctor, the entire village came with them. Kino didn't have enough money to give the doctor, so the doctor sent them away, without examining Coyotito. Later that day, Kino and his family took their canoe and went out to the ocean in search of pearls. At the ocean floor, Kino found a huge oyster, and in it, was a huge pearl. From this day forward, with the money from this pearl, Kino was sure he and his family would live in luxury. When the doctor heard Kino had a great pearl, he came to Kino's hut, to treat Coyotito, and to try to steal the pearl. Throughout the night, robbers came to steal the pearl, but were not successful, and they physically hurt Kino in the process. Later, Kino took his family to sell the pearl. The whole village came with them, as a sign of loyalty. The pearl buyer offered a small amount of money, telling Kino the pearl was too big, and had an ugly color to it. Kino refused to sell it. To prove he wasn't being unfair, the pearl buyer had other pearl buyers come and appraise the pearl. The amounts the pearl buyers mentioned were about the same, and were too little for Kino to settle for. Kino took the pearl and stormed off with the village. No villager really knew how much the pearl was worth, so Kino made plans to go north to see what other pearl buyers thought of the pearl. Kino was knew he made the right decision, but Juana thought otherwise. She thought Kino should have sold the pearl, and get its evilness out of their lives. That night, Juana couldn't stand still having the pearl. Too many horrible things were happenning to them because of the pearl. So, in the middle to the night, she took the pearl and headed out to the ovean. Kino had awaked because of Juana's movement. He grew suspicious of what Juana was doing, and secretly followed her. When Juana noticed Kino following her, she broke into a run. She was just about to throw the pearl into the ocean to rid them of evil, when Kino caught her arm, hit her, and kicked her in the side. Kino then ran toward the brush house. On his way, a man attacked him, trying to steal the pearl. Kino unknowingly dropped the pearl, and tried to protect himself. He took out his knife, and killed the stranger. Juana found the pearl Kino had dropped, and came to Kino's aid. Kino was afraid of the consequences of just killing someone, so he told Juana to get Coyotito, and they would run away. When Juana got Coyotito, Kino saw a bright flash, and knew it was his brush house. Someone had torn their house apart trying to look for the pearl, and when they couldn't find it, they burned the house down. Kino decided to hide in his brother's house, just until it got dark enough to run away to the mountains. That night, Kino and his family ran away, on a trail to the mountains. He knew he would never see the village and the people in it, ever again. They walked for miles until they rested. Trackers had been looking for them, so Kino tried to avoid them. Kino found a small pool of water where they could drink, and saw a cave in the mountain. They hid there, until the trackers set up a place for the night, right below them. Kino couldn't leave now, or else they would spot them, and Coyotito would probably cry. If they were to stay hidden until the next day, the trackers would find them in the morning. The only way they would live is if Kino got to the rifle, and killed all three of the trackers. Kino climbed out of his cave, and hid behind the bushes. Coyotito made a cry, which caught the attention of the trackers. They thought it was a coyote pup, and one of them shot into the cave. Kino leaped up, and stabbed the tracker with the rifle. He took the rifle, and killed the other two. Coyotito screamed, and Kino Knew the tracker had killed him. Kino and Juana knew the best thing to do, was go back to the village, and get rid of the pearl. They went back, side by side, and stood at the ocean's edge with dead Coyotito in a sack, and threw the pearl into the ocean. The evil subsided, and was no more.

My Reflection:
Steinbeck's novel, The Pearl, describes how man lives for himself, and how man longs for materialistic and secular things. The pearl Kino found could have gotten them a relaxing, rich, life. This is what everyone in the village wanted, and they'd do anything to get it. Because of the greed the doctor had, the doctor made Coyotito sick, then cured him, making Kino think the doctor altogether healed Coyotito. This would cost Kino extra money he didn't need to pay. Also because of the greed everyone around Kino and his family had, robbers came to Kino's hut to steal the pearl. The pearl buyers were greedy, and offered Kino a small price for the great pearl. This was very unfair to Kino and his family. Juana had been wise to try to get rid of the pearl before more destruction came, but Kino had prevented that from happening. Because he wanted his family to live a better life, he attacked Juana, and physically hurt her. This hurt their marriage, and they would never forget this, causing their relationship never to be as close as it was before. Because of greed, someone who Kino had probably grown up with, and was a friend to, attempted to kill Kino and steal his pearl. In self defense, Kino murdered this man. People back at the village tore apart their brush house, then burned it to ashes, barely killing Coyotito. Because of all of this, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito had to flee into the mountains, leaving their family and all they knew to be home. If the tracker found Kino, they would kill him and his family, and take the pearl. They too, were greedy. Because of this, Kino had no choice but kill all three of them. Coyotito died because of the trackers. Every horrific instance happened because people had wanted the pearl. When you think about how people live their lives, pretty much everything they do, is to benefit themself. Many people hurt others for their gain. They are always trying to elevate themselves with worldy pleasures. This is what our world has come down to.