“...there are only good

and bad things and

black and white things

and good and evil

things and no in-

between anywhere.”

This pearl is like a sin! It will

destroy us. .

Throw it away, Kino. Let us

break it between stones. Let

us bury it and forget the place.

Let us throw it back to the sea.

It has brought evil. Kino, my

husband, it will destroy us.

I will fight this thing. I will

win over it. We will have

or chance. . No one

shall take our good

fortune from us.. Believe

me, I am a man

In the early 20th century, when the idea that God

is dead was first introduced into the general

culture, it caused infinite anguish and a great

sense of loss. Writers and artists, and then people

in general began to question the very meaning of

life, and finally arrived at the conclusion that, if

there is no God, life is inherently meaningless.

Objective truth does not exist; all we have to rely

on is our own perspective--our own truth--since

that is all we can see.

By the end of World War II, after the

atrocities of the war, it wasn't so hard to

accept the idea that there was no benevolent

God watching over every little sparrow and

life had been thrown away on too large a

scale for people to deceive themselves that it

had any real meaning. Even in the midst of

their joy and relief that the war was over,

the predominant attitude was

disillusionment: "Okay, so God is dead and

life is meaningless. Now what?“

Contemporary literature reflects our political,

social, and personal disillusionment.

contemporary literature accepts as given the idea,

handed down from the early 20th century, that

everything we know is dependent on our

perspective. I see things one way, and you see

them another. Thus, since there is no truly

objective observer, there is no such thing as

"Truth." There is only my truth and your truth,

and those can change at any moment with the

addition of more facts.

The Pearl is quite different from most of

Steinbeck's other works. While he is a master of

creating interesting stories and complex

characters, he was very disillusioned after World

War II and became more concerned with a more

philosophical approach to figuring out the

meaning of life.

Steinbeck was born in

Salinas on February 27,1902.

Steinbeck grew up in this

beautiful, fertile California

valley, where he found the

material for most of his

novels.

His mother was a school

teacher in the public school

system of Salinas, California.

He entered Stanford University

in 1920, and even though he

remained until 1925, he never

graduated. In fact, he earned

very few college credits. He did,

however, contribute some

poems and short stories to the

Stanford literary magazine.

During his formative years,

he played various sports in

high school, worked at many

different jobs, and wandered

around the countryside

observing the phenomena of

nature.

He married Carol Henning

John Steinbeck was the

type of author who liked to

know his material first hand.

He was not contented to

narrate a story which had

no basis in fact.

Juana told Kino to go to town and

get the doctor, but Kino and their

neighbors tell Juana that the

doctor will never come to where

they live, so Juana decided to take

matters into her own hands and

sets off with Coyotito to the doctor.

Kino accompanies Juana, and

many members of the village

follow them to see what will

happen.

Kino is a young Mexican-Indian

pearl diver married to Juana. They

have a baby named Coyotito. Their

lives seem rather peaceful, but

their tranquility is threatened when

a scorpion bites Coyotito.

At the doctor's house, the

doctor's servant told Kino and

Juana that the doctor is not at

home but the truth is, the doctor

is at home but would not help

Coyotito because Kino cannot

pay the doctor as much as the

doctor wants and the doctor is

prejudiced against Kino's race.

Kino goes to work diving in the

Gulf for oysters from his canoe;

Juana tends to Coyotito in the

canoe by applying brown

seaweed to his shoulder, which is

swollen from the scorpion's bite.

As Kino is collecting oysters on

the ocean bottom, he spots a

larger-than-usual oyster, collects

it, and returns to the canoe. Kino

does not want to open the oyster

immediately, but Juana prompts

him to open the oyster; when he

does, he finds a pearl the size of a

sea gull's egg. Juana gazes at the

immense pearl.

Kino is immensely

happy about both

the pearl and

Coyotito and yells

loudly enough that

he attracts the

attention of the

other oyster divers,

who race toward

his canoe.

Before Kino reaches home with

his great pearl, the news of his

discovery has already reached his

village and the town. Everyone

fantasizes what he or she would

do with the wealth that the pearl

represents, including the doctor,

who previously refused to help

Coyotito but now says that the

baby is a patient of his.

The priest arrives at Kino and

Juana's hut and tells Kino that

he needs to give thanks for

finding the pearl.

The doctor visits Kino and Juana

and tricks them into allowing him

to treat Coyotito even though

Kino knows that Coyotito is

already cured; in fact what the

doctor has done is to make

Coyotito sick so that the doctor

can then cure the baby and get

paid more. Coyotito indeed does

get sick, and the doctor returns

and gives the baby a different

medicine that "cures" the baby.

When the doctor asks Kino for

payment, Kino says that his plan

is to sell the pearl the next day.

The doctor offers to keep the

pearl for Kino, and Kino refuses

the request, but the doctor tricks

Kino into revealing where Kino

has hidden the pearl.

That night, Kino hears someone

in the hut, draws his knife and

strikes out at the figure and

draws blood, but is hit over the

head with a heavy object. Juana

senses that the pearl is evil and

begs Kino to throw the pearl back

into the sea, but Kino refuses,

believing still that the pearl will

give them better lives than they

have.On the day that Kino is to sell the

pearl, the other divers do not go

diving. Kino and Juana begin the

trip to the pearl buyers, followed

by the entire village. The first

pearl buyer to whom Kino offers

to sell the pearl offers Kino a one

thousand for the pearl, saying

that the pearl is too big and no

one else will buy it.

He sends word to the other pearl

buyers in town to come to his

office and appraise the pearl.

500.When the three new pearl

buyers arrive at the first's office,

the three of them have already

planned together what each will

offer Kino. The first two buyers

offered him nothing because they

said that the pearl is priceless

while the third one offered him

Kino, realizing that the pearl

buyers are working together to

get the pearl for the least amount

of money, says that he will go to

the capital to sell his pearl.

The first pearl buyer raises his

offer from one thousand to one

thousand five hundred to buy the

pearl, but it is too late; Kino

leaves. Back in the village, Kino's

neighbors discuss whether or not

Kino should have accepted the

main buyer's last offer.

That night, Kino hears noises

outside the hut and goes outside

to check on what is making the

noise. Juana listens inside the hut

to Kino's being attacked and

rushes out with a brick to help

him, but it is too late; Kino is

bloodied and beaten, and the

attackers have escaped without

Kino being able to identify them.

Again, like the previous night,

Juana begs Kino to throw the

pearl back into the sea, but Kino

again refuses to because he

envisions the pearl being sold and

the money being used to fund

Coyotito's education. He resolves

to sell the pearl in the capital.Later, Juana rises in the dark,

takes the pearl from the hut, and

goes to the beach. Kino follows her

and catches up with her at the

beach just as she is ready to throw

the pearl into the water. He hits

her and saves the pearl from going

into the water, but he is then

attacked by some figures he

cannot identify. The pearl is

knocked from his hands, but he is

able to stab one of his assailants

before he is knocked unconscious.

Juana regains consciousness and

finds Kino lying unconscious, a

dead stranger next to him. When

Kino regain consciousness, Juana

returns the pearl to him from

where she found it lying behind a

rock and tells him that they must

flee the village because he has

killed a man. Juana leaves to

gather their belongings; Kino

goes to check on their canoe and

finds that a large hole has been

smashed into its bottom. As they

approach their hut, they see it

burning in flames. Taking

Coyotito, they go to Kino's

brother's hut and spend the day

hiding there.

Kino's brother, Juan Tomás, lets

the other villagers think that Kino

and his family have run away, all

the while gathering provisions for

when Kino and Juana will flee.

Kino continues to believe that the

pearl is not something evil but

instead offers a more promising

future for him and his family.

Kino, Juana, and Coyotito left

their village and headed toward

Loreto. Kino is careful to make

sure that they leave no tracks but

knows that they will be followed

because of the pearl's great value.

Because they are traveling at

night, the next dawn they conceal

themselves and settle down for the

day. Juana and Coyotito fell

asleep, and soon Kino does too.

He is suddenly awakened by

noises, creeps out from where

they are hiding, and sees trackers

who are following them. Once the

trackers pass by the hiding place,

Kino and his family head toward

high mountains. When they reach

the first rise of the mountains,

Kino tries to convince Juana to

hide with Coyotito while he leads

the trackers away, but she refuses

so they head higher up the

mountains to where Kino finds a

stream. There, Kino hides Juana

and Coyotito in a small cave and

makes false tracks up the side of

the mountain, hoping to mislead

the trackers; he then hides in the

cave with his family.

The trackers arrive at the spring

and make camp for the night.

Kino, realizing that the trackers

will discover them in the morning,

vows to attack the trackers before

the trackers attack he and his

family. As he moves more closely

to the trackers' campfire, one of

the trackers who is keeping watch

aims his gun toward where he has

heard a cry in the night and fires

his gun; Kino jumps on the

tracker and kills him with his

knife. Kino grabs the dead

tracker's gun and shoots a second

tracker. The third tracker

scrambles away from Kino, but

Kino shoots and kills this tracker

as well. He then notices how quiet

the night is.

This quiet is punctured by the

sounds of Juana's crying;

Coyotito has been killed by the

watcher's gunfire.

Later that day late in the

afternoon, Kino and Juana walk

side by side into town, with Juana

carrying a bundle that contains

the dead Coyotito. People watch

in silence as the two walk silently,

as in a trance. Kino and Juana

reach the beach, where Kino

offers the pearl to Juana to throw

it in the sea. She refuses, telling

Kino that he should be the one.

He cocks his arm and throws the

pearl as far out into the sea as he

can; it sinks to the sandy bottom

among the water plants.

The Characters

The young Indian pearl

diver who finds the

magnificent pearl and

whose life is greatly

destroyed by this pearl.

Kino's wife and faithful partner

in facing out a challenge in

living; an obedient and devoted

woman to her family.

Kino and Juana's infant son; he is

bitten by a scorpion and recovers

miraculously only to be later killed

by a bullet.

Kino's brother, advisor, and

his only protector when

Kino is hunted for murder.

Juan's fat wife.

A thoroughly heartless, self-seeking

man whose love of money is displayed

when he refuses to help Coyotito

because Kino cannot pay him his fee.

The discovery of the pearl is said to

"put a thoughtful look in his eyes and

a memory of certain repairs necessary

to the church."

They are unnamed in the story, and

as a group, they represent the

corruption and hypocrisy that the

Indians encounter.

The setting of The Pearl has a

dreamlike, surrealistic quality. A

small village in La Paz on the

coast of the lower half of the

Baja Peninsula.

PLOT

ANALYSIS

A scorpion stings Kino’s son and the

doctor refuses to treat him.

- What happened to Coyotito exposed the

characters of the people in Kino’s environment.

This scenario is the root of everything that will

happen in the story afterwards.

Kino finds The Pearl of the World.- The moment Kino found the pearl is also the

moment everything else turned into conflict. The

pearl controlled Kino’s decisions, behavior, and

even his morale just to have it kept. He became

inconsiderate, selfish, greedy, and evil.

The pearl-buyers try to scam Kino which

brought him to go out of town. He was

desperately forced to go away from the town

after unknown attackers tried to kill him,

destroyed his boat and burned his house.

- When the pearl buyers tried to scam Kino, he

decided to go out of town to find buyers that would

give him the real value of the pearl. However,

strangers attacked them, destroyed his boat, and

even burned his house. This has become the

breaking point of Kino wherein he killed the

attackers and finally decided to leave the town with

his family.

Trackers follow Kino and Kino brings

them down.

- Everything intensified when Kino decided to

attack the three armed trackers while two of them

were asleep because he knew they would find

them by the morning.

Kino hears a "cry of death" from the

cave . - Kino killed the attackers, but failed to save

Coyotito from being shot. Everything quieted

down and deafen Kino with Juana’s cry.

Kino and Juana return to La Paz. Coyotito

is dead and Kino throw the pearl into the

ocean.- Kino finally realized where the pearl has

gotten him and decided to throw it back into the

ocean.

• Man against himselfIn the story, the main antagonist was Kino himself. It was his greed, his eagerness to become successful that lead him to be a selfish man risking his own family’s safety. It was not the pearl, but the belief that the pearl would give him fortune that made him hurt his wife, kill people, and even cost the life of his son.

• Man against SocietyIt was clearly shown in the story that every man was interested in the pearl of Kino and most of them have personal intention for the pearl. People tried to scam Kino, destroyed his canoe, burned his house, and even tried to kill him and his family.

With this omniscient point of view, we get the benefit of

hearing multiple perspectives and opinions. The text

spends a lot of time observing, reporting from a

distance on the goings on of the town, but it also gets

us into Kino’s head, Juana’s, the doctor’s, and even the

thoughts of minor characters like the priest.

Steinbeck based The Pearl in part on a legend he heard during a six-

week expedition in the Sea of Cortez. Elements of the story, then, have

been passed down as part of folklore – which means the novella itself

belongs to that tradition.

We call it a "parable" because the story is fairly simple in nature (Man finds pearl; pearl destroys man) but illustrates a larger, moralistic

truth (greed will corrupt and destroy all that is good in the world).

What’s interesting is Steinbeck’s twist on this classic parable in the light of a more modern topic: the American Dream, which

means his tale is not only parable for the ages, but a parable for our particular age.

Tranquil, Anger and Desire

We definitely get a sense of fatalism reading The

Pearl. The narration declares with removed,

pensive observation that all are greedy, that the

pearl brings evil, that Kino has become an

animal, etc. The mystical, dream-like quality of

the setting complements this well: there is no

urgency or concern here, since the tale is simply a

parable being told by a story-teller.

GREED FOR MONEY, POWER,

WEALTH AND SUCCESS

Steinbeck paints an incredibly simplistic

portrait of greed in The Pearl. It is always

evil, it always corrupts, and it brings nothing

but suffering. All competition in this novel is

unhealthy, and everyone is motivated by self-

interest, not concern for others.

Pearl- a thing for a good future but because of the

human’s selfishness and un-satisfaction it turned to be a

thing for a bad luck.

Song of the family- plays every time goodness is present

Kino- brave enough to dream for good but he let his

dreaming over rule him, which cause his misfortune.

Doctor- stands the greediness and materialistic behavior

of people

Scorpion- root of the trouble; destruction of simplicity

and innocence

Song of Evil- plays every time danger is sense

“Money can't buy happiness“

“Money is the root of all evil”

“The things you own end up owning you ”

There is a lot of moral we can get from this

story…

First, let not the love for money nor material

things own you.

Second, be contented with what you have. Know

your limitations and don’t push your luck.

Third, keep things private. People shouldn’t

know everything that’s happening in your life.

Inspiration

John Steinbeck La Paz means PEACE in

Spanish

In 1829, it became the capital

of Baja California Sur

Strong pearl diving industry

until 1930’s, when oyster beds

destroyed by disease

Folktale

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he

had and bought it

The Parable of The Pearl of Great Price was one of the inspirations of John Steinbeck to write The Pearl. In the parable, Jesus represents the merchants who had

given all that he had for the great pearl which represents the Church, the people Jesus saved from

their sins.

Steinbeck found a second inspiration for The Pearl in

the tale of a young Mexican boy told in Steinbeck’s Sea

of Cortez. However, the boy in the original form of the

story which to use the pearl to buy clothing, alcohol and

sex. The story contains several similar plot points,

including the rapacious dealers and the attacks on the

boy to find the pearl that would recur in the story’s

final form.

The Pearl of John Steinbeck represents also the value of

the pearl, however in this story, Kino was willing to

give and risk it all, even his family’s peaceful life and

living just to keep the pearl.

The

End-

Olaes, Laurisse Kay R.

Pena, Alexandia Kamille

Penascoza, Rodiahlyn

IV-8 BEEd

Dr. Heidi B. Macahilig