Summary:
Set in a small Mexican village, The Pearl centers on the risky trip of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their son, Coyotito, as they travel to sell an enormous pearl that becomes so important to Kino that he refers to it as his soul. The character development of Kino, Juana, and the events leading up to and supporting their decision to travel to the city to sell the pearl create an awareness of social and perosnal values.
"All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine." This quote by Socrates perfectly describes the feelings of Kino, the main character in John Steinbeck's The Pearl. Set in a small Mexican village, The Pearl centers on the risky trip of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their son, Coyotito, as they travel to sell an enormous pearl that becomes so important to Kino that he refers to it as his soul.
One day, Kino is plunged into a world of danger when he discovers a pearl the size of a great egg. After consulting the pearl buyers of the town, Kino decides to bypass the offers of the buyers and travel to the city to sell the pearl, as he believes it is his duty as a man. Kino also decides to leave because his home, boat, and almost everything he treasures, is destroyed.
Many things plague Kino as he travels to the city. At first he is distraught because of the destruction of his known life, and the fact that he killed a man in defense as he and Juana awoke to begin their journey to the city. He also finds out that white men are tracking him, so he and his family hide until they pass. Kino decides that he must kill the two men, so he takes off his clothes, so that his dark skin blends with the earth and prepares to attack. When Coyotito coos, the trackers hear him and mistake him for a coyote, and mistakenly shoot and kill him. Kino, unaware of this, attacks and kills the men.
After he finds out about Coyotito's death, he and Juana walk into town side by side, which is odd for natives. When the two arrive in town they seem transfigured and not themselves. Kino decides to throw the pearl back in the sea so that it can no longer plague his family's life. This decision is wise because all of the trouble they have gone through in the process of attempting to gain from the discovery of the pearl. While trying to gain from the pearl, they lost almost everything that matters to them-including the one thing that mattered to both of them, their son-except each other.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl is a powerful book about how things that may seem good and great can actually turn out to be terrible and destructive. Like Socrates said 3500 years ago, "All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine." Once he accepted the pearl as his soul all the goodness and divinity that may have settled in his soul was replaced by the evil of the pearl.
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