The Pearl

4 Pages 934 Words

Ever since Midas' lust for gold, it appears to be that man has
acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. Juana, the Priest, and the
doctor have all undergone a change due to money. They are all affected by
their hunger for wealth and inturn are the base for their own destruction,
and the destruction of society. Steinbeck's "The Pearl" is a study of man's
self destruction through greed.
Juana, the faithful wife of Kino, a paltry peasant man, had lived a
spiritual life for what had seemed like as long as she could remember.
When her son Coyito fell ill from the bite of a scorpion, she eagerly
turned towards the spiritual aspects of life. Beginning to pray for her
son's endangered life. The doctor who had resided in the upper-class
section of the town, refused to assistant the child, turning them away when
they arrived at the door. Lastly they turned to the sea to seek their
fortune. When Juana set sight on the "Pearl of The World." she felt as
though all her prayers had been answered, if she could have foreseen the
future what she would have seen would have been a mirror image of her
reality. Juana's husband was caught in a twisted realm of mirrors, and
they were all shattering one by one. In the night he heard a "sound so
soft that it might have been simply a thought..." and quickly attacked the
trespasser. This is where the problems for Juana and her family began. The
fear that had mounted in Kino's body had taken control over his actions.
Soon even Juana who had always had faith in her husband, had doubted him
greatly. "It will destroy us all" she yelled as her attempt to rid the
family of the pearl had failed. Kino had not listened however, and soon
Juana began to lose her spiritual side and for a long time she had
forgotten her prayers that had at once meant so much to her. She had tried
to help Kino before to much trouble had aroused, only to discover that she
was not competent enough to help.
A hypocra...