The Pearl By John Steinbeck

1 Pages 329 Words

Pearl Essay Sammi Moyer


In John Steinbeck's The Pearl, Kino finds-you guessed it- a pearl. When he held it in his hand, he thought of what he could get with the money. Some things he gets, but others, he will never get.
First, he thinks of Juana. When Kino had been diving for pearls, Juana silently prayed for him to find a pearl so they could pay the doctor. When Kino looked at the pearl, he pictured him and Juana at a church wedding with new clothes. This dream may never come true, because of the pearl. When Juana realized all the trouble the pearl has caused so far, she tries to throw it back into the ocean. Kino catches her, and after beating her, takes the pearl away from her. Their marriage will never be as peaceful as it once was.
Then he thinks of Coyotito. In this village, it is very rare to see a person who is able to read. That’s why Kino wants to use the pearl to give him a chance to go to school. The reason he even went diving for pearls in the first place was to get treatment for Coyotito’s scorpion bite. It is not poison that kills Coyotito, it is a gunshot wound to the head. Coyotito will never go to school.
Finally, Kino thinks of himself. He wants a rifle. He had been using his knife to defend himself so far. When they run away from the village and are being followed by trackers, he kills all 3 of them and takes the gunman's rifle. When he returns to the cave, he finds Coyotito killed with the same rifle he stole. He keeps it anyway.
Kino and Juana return to the village, with their dead son in a blanket. The pearl got Kino his rifle, but at the same time corrupted a marriage and killed a baby boy. Two dreams were horribly corrupted, and only one was fulfilled....