Yet Another The Pearl Essay, Research Paper

Kino, a poor Indian

fisherman, lives on the Gulf of California with his wife Juana

and son Coyotito. Their simple hut is made of brush, and the

couple sleeps on mats thrown on the dirt floor, while

Coyotito sleeps in a hanging box. Like others in their poor

village, they depend on nature for survival. As The Pearl

begins, dawn is breaking. Kino watches the sun rise and

listens to the sounds of the morning. But within moments, a

dangerous situation develops. A poisonous scorpion stings

Coyotito, Kino’s infant son, and the baby’s screams draw

people from all over the village. Juana insists that the doctor

be called, but Kino knows the physician is Spanish and

considers himself above treating poor Indians. This does not

satisfy Juana, who announces that if the doctor will not come

to the village, then they will go to his house. But the doctor

refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino is too poor. Later

that day, while Kino and Juana are fishing in the Gulf, Kino

finds an enormous pearl and cries out in joy. He believes the

pearl will make him rich and enable him to provide security

for his family. But Kino discovers otherwise. The pearl stirs

envy in the villagers, and that night Kino is attacked in his hut

by a thief. The following day, he tries to sell the pearl to

buyers in town, but he is offered only a small amount of

money for it. The buyers all work for the same man. They

know the pearl is worth a fortune but hope to buy it cheaply

by pretending that it is worth little. Kino says he will sell his

pearl in the capital city, where he believes he will get a fair

price. This amazes the villagers because Kino has never

traveled so far. After dark that evening, Kino is attacked

again. Juana is sure the pearl is evil and will destroy the

family. During the night, she quietly removes it from the spot

where Kino has hidden it and tries to throw it back into the

ocean. He stops her before she succeeds and beats her for

trying. As he returns to the hut, Kino is attacked again, this

time by two men. He kills one of them, and the other

escapes. Because of the killing, Kino knows that he will be

hunted as a murderer. As a result, he and Juana must leave

the village the next morning. However, before they can

escape their canoe is destroyed and their hut is burned. They

hide until the next night in the hut of Kino’s brother, Juan

Tomas. The following evening, Kino and Juana begin their

journey to the capital. Soon they realize they are being

followed by three people, so they flee up the mountain and

hide in a small cave. Their followers set camp in a clearing

just below the cave. Kino decides the only way to survive is

for him to kill the person on guard, take his rifle, and kill the

other two, who are sleeping. Kino goes to the followers’

camp and is about to attack them when his son Coyotito

cries out. Kino knows that he must act immediately upon his

enemies, but he is a second too late and one of them shoots

toward the cave. There is a struggle and Kino kills all three

of his enemies. The earlier shot has killed Coyotito. The

following afternoon the villagers witness the return of Kino

and Juana, carrying the rifle and their dead child. Without a

word to anyone, they walk through the village to the shore.

Kino lays down the rifle, takes out the pearl, and throws it

into the sea. It is difficult to get to know the characters in

The Pearl in the same way you might get to know the

characters in other novels. They say very little, and you see

them in few situations. Their actions seem to be based more

on ancient habits than on free choice. Like in one of his other

books that I have reed, Of Mice and Men, the characters

were not developed thoroughly and stood as more of

symbols than actual characters in the story. However, the

strong symbolization made by the pearl is a great asset to the

story. The pearl in the story has a strong allegorical message

to the reader about human greed. Kino becomes a symbol

of the poor but happy man who is destroyed when he

becomes obsessed with his wantings of the material world.

The pearl that was supposed to bring him happiness and

contentment brings him only death and destruction. At the

end of the, both Kino’s dream and his son are dead.