Kino: Good Father and Husband, or Bad?

Angelica Pearson
April 12, 2008

Kino: Good Father and Husband, or Bad?

Kino is the main character of The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino is a good father and husband because he is always there for his family when there is trouble. Kino stays very close to his baby and wife all the time and is very watchful of evil. If something ever happened to Juana and Coyotito he would search high and low for both. Kino shows his bravery through out the story, not for greed, but for the betterment and protection of his family.

Kino is a man who doesn’t have a lot of possessions. He has a child, a brush house with a dirt floor, a canoe, a knife, and a wife. Kino lives in a town where native people live in poverty and European people have great rock and plaster houses.

Kino showed he was a good father from the beginning of the story when a scorpion stung Kino’s son. Kino was so angry that in less then a minute all that was left of the scorpion was a piece of its shell and a wet spot in the dirt. He was so desperate to be sure that his son was okay that he wanted medical help, but a doctor costs money. Kino went to search for a pearl to pay for the doctor. Only then would the doctor come to a native’s house. The doctor told Kino that his son would be fine.

The pearl that Kino found was the size of a seagull egg and all the natives thought it was worth a lot of money. Kino realizes he can do much for his family with the money from the pearl. Kino is a good father and husband because he plans to educate his son, buy a gun for protection, and marry his wife in a church. All things he thinks he needs to better his family. Kino negotiates very hard with the cheating pearl buyers, and even decides to take a dangerous trip to the capital in order to save his plan to improve his family.

Kino wants to improve his family with that pearl but people are trying to steal it. With only a knife and his hunting skills, he and his family aren’t protected so well against thieves with guns. Kino and his family were attacked three separate times, but his keen senses and strong desire to keep his family safe, helped Kino to defeat the attackers. Kino is a good protector and father.

Kino is a good husband because he is very observant of Juana’s actions and reactions. He is very thoughtful; most of the time he thinks first before he speaks or acts. They don’t talk much but they understand each other. In the book Juana talks the most and Kino chooses his words carefully.

Kino throughout the novel shows his love for his family through bravery and protection from bad guys. Kino proves he is a good husband when he does what Juana wanted to do in the first place, and throw the pearl back into the gulf. When Kino finally gets rid of the pearl, there is no more bad luck, and his family is safe. Kino understands that maybe not having the pearl is better than the dream of what the pearl might bring.

This book was boring the second time because it is like a rerun of a show. The baby gets stung by the scorpion, the doctor doesn’t help, Kino finds the pearl, tries to sell, he travels to the capital, those goons the pearl buyers hired find, the baby dies, and lastly, he throws that stupid pearl back into the gulf. That was painful to read it again if it was a movie I’d watch it again. Watching the same movie again is way better then reading the book the movie was based on again. I never read the same book twice but I watch the same movie many times because it is better then picturing it when reading a book. I am never reading that book again because I hate sad endings. I like happy endings when the good guy(s) wins and the bad guy(s) are nowhere to be found. The book did teach a very good lesson, greed brings the evil out in men, so if you find the pearl of the world, give it to a museum so no one can ever touch its beauty ever again in this or any century. Greed is one of the evils in this world so be careful with your valuables or you will probably lose them to someone blinded by greed.