The Pearl (novel)

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The Pearl is a 1947 novella by John Steinbeck. Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the Gulf beds that once brought great wealth to Spain and now provided Kino, Juana, and their infant son Coyotito, with meager subsistence. Then, on one day like any other, Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. Kino can't pay for a doctor to heal Coyotito, so he searches for a pearl. Kino then emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as "perfect as the moon."With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security at the cost of defying the system. A story about a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the disastrous effects of stepping out of the established system. Due to the novella's negative portrayal of opportunity and ambition, many suspect that, like much of his work, it advocates socialism. The novel is still widely read and fairly popular.

Plot summary

It is the late 1800s (based on the Winchester rifle still being popular) in the Baja peninsula, and Kino's family awakens in the morning in a tranquil setting near the beach. Coyotito, his son, is stung by a scorpion, and his wife, Juana, tries to cure him but to no avail. They travel to the local doctor, who refuses to treat him because of their lack of money. Kino is angered by this, and decides to go diving to find a valuable pearl in order to pay for Coyotito's treatment. He eventually finds an enormous pearl, which he names the "Pearl of the World." In the interim, Coyotito has recovered from his sting. Word of the pearl spreads, and many people attempt to get at it. The doctor poisons Coyotito under the pretext of giving him medicine (claiming the scorpion venom could return), then administers an antidote, all in order to take the pearl as payment. After this and more attempts to steal the pearl, Kino decides to sell it. However, he feels cheated by the offers he receives in the town and does not sell it. After a vandal's attempt to steal the pearl by damaging all of their property, Kino and his family fake their deaths and travel north to sell the pearl. They realize they are being followed by the trackers, a group of bounty hunters trying to kill them. Kino ambushes and kills all 3 trackers, but a warning shot fired by one of them accidentally kills Coyotito, who was hiding in a cave with Juana. Juana and Kino return to their village with the dead baby, and throw the pearl back into the sea.

Characters in The Pearl

Kino - Young Spanish man living on the beach of La Paz in a small hut with his wife, Juana, and son, Coyotito. He values his family deeply and is the main victim of the Pearl throughout the story.

Juana - Kino's wife who tends to be emotionally stronger than him.

Coyotito - The baby of Kino and Juana. Shot and killed at the end when mistaken for a coyote.

Juan Tomás - The older and wiser brother to Kino is consistently loyal to his family. One can see his concern for Kino and his pearl. Even though Kino refuses to listen to his concerns and advice, Juan still agrees to help him escape from the people who are after him. He and Kino share simple, unaffected love even in their most difficult times.

Apolonia - The matronly wife of Juan Tomás and Kino's sister-in-law. After learning that Kino had murdered a thief, she and Juan Tomás both helped Kino and Juana escape the town.

The Priest - When he hears news of the discovery of the Pearl, he reminds Kino to give thanks to God. The priest imagines improvements to the church that could be managed with funds from the pearl.

The Doctor - Known as "the doctor." He is disliked in the community, especially due to his racism toward the people of the village. He refuses to help Kino's family due his stereotypes toward the native people. He states that he is not a veterinarian, thus, referring to Kino's family as animals. His interest in the family only occurs after he hears of Kino’s find of "The Pearl of the World".

The Trackers - A group of bounty hunters who track down Kino, Coyotito, and Juana in an attempt to steal the pearl.

Symbolism

The Song of the Family - The Song of the Family is a melody that Kino hears when he is happy or in a positive presence. It is an indication of satisfaction or peace. However, he loses this song as the story progresses. As he begins his descent into insanity, consumed by greed and fear, he stops hearing the melody as it transforms into the sounds of war drums.
The Song of Evil - It is the opposite of the Song of the Family. Kino hears this song when he senses evil or negative feelings. Due to the finding of the pearl, greed consumes the village and Kino's ears are filled with the song more and more often.
The Pearl - The path out of poverty, the pearl seemed to be majestic and powerful to Kino at first. In his eyes, he sees a future with his son in school and owning what he could not before. However, selling the pearl proved to be futile, and as each day progresses, greed fills other towns folk's eyes. Thieves come to steal it and misfortune plagues the family. The pearl eventually leads to the loss of his canoe, house, and his son.
The Canoe - A treasured heirloom, the canoe has been passed down from generation to generation to Kino. The canoe is one of their only valuables, and acts as a source of food, income, security, and welfare. Canoes were considered to be vital to survival in the community.
Juan Tomás - Juan Tomás is always there for his younger brother Kino, and would most likely do anything for the good of his family. He helps Kino when he murders a thief, and he also hides them from the rest of the village when Kino and Juana hide in his house. To Kino, Juan Tomás is a symbol of safety, security, and loyalty.
The Rifle - Rifles were commonly owned by the rich, wealthy Europeans. In Kino's eyes, the rifle is a symbol of power and equality among the Europeans. Later in the story, though, it becomes a symbol of death because of all of the lives lost at the rifle's hands.
The Scorpion - Triggered the song of the evil and is the trigger character of the story. Since it stung Coyotito that caused a crowd going to the Doctor which did not treat Coyotito. This was what drove Kino to want to find "The Pearl of the World".

References in other media

The movie, La perla, set in Mexico and closely following Steinbeck's storyline, was adapted by Emilio Fernández, John Steinbeck and Jack Wagner from the novella and stars Pedro Armendáriz and María Elena Marqués. It was directed by Fernández.

The Musical duo Fleming and John recorded a song called "The Pearl" which is based on the novel. It appears on their 1994 album Delusions of Grandeur

External links

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 02:10:54 PDT (GMT -0700)
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