The Pearl

A loving couple on the island of La Paz dive for pearls for a living. They soon find a pearl which will bring great wealth to their lives. How will they handle their new wealth? The book The Pearl by John Steinbeck explains how sudden wealth can be troublesome. The pearl brings various changes to the lives of everyone

Greed is one of these changes. Greed is something that spreads fast. Steinbeck really shows what the people did to get the pearl. They would cheat him, try to steal it and even burn his house down for it. It shows that not only is everyone else getting greedier, but Kino himself is wanting more and more from the pearl. No matter what Kino does, everyone else in the town will try to take it.

Greed isn't the only thing the pearl brings, it also has the power to deceive, to corrupt, and to destroy and these powers change everyone. Lots of the important things in Kino's life are gone because of the pearl. His house was burned down, his canoe was destroyed and his only son was killed. the pearls appearance deceives it of its value. The pearls buyers won't offer a high price because of its appearance. They also won't offer a high price because they want to cheat him out of the pearl.

As these powers take over the lives of the people, Kino's life is all but gone. His neighbors want the pearl so much they'd do anything for it. They destroyed his canoe so he couldn't escape with it. The pearl has taken over the lives of the people. It has enclosed them in greed, so they'd do anything and everything to take away Kino's life and the pearl.

The lives of everyone on the island are really changed and morphed by the pearl. The pearl mostly bought greed to the people and it impacted them greatly. What would you do if you were Kino?