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The Pearl

The Pearl. By John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck. 1902 -1968 California Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, The Red Pony, Cannery Row, East of Eden. The Pearl. Originally published in 1945 Setting: Baja peninsula of Mexico Around the turn of the century. Who are the main characters?

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The Pearl

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  1. The Pearl By John Steinbeck

  2. John Steinbeck • 1902 -1968 • California • Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, The Red Pony, Cannery Row, East of Eden

  3. The Pearl • Originally published in 1945 • Setting: • Baja peninsula of Mexico • Around the turn of the century

  4. Who are the main characters? • What is their life like? • Are they happy and content?

  5. What happens to threaten their simple, happy life? • Why does the doctor turn them away? • What does Kino see in the pearl? What does he wish for?

  6. What does Juana want to do with the pearl? • What happens when she tries to throw it back into the sea? • What happens when the group of men attacks Kino? • What does he lose?

  7. Theme • Greed as a Destructive Force • Kino seeks wealth and status through pearl • Transforms from happy, contented family man to killer • Greed leads him to behave violently towards wife, leads to son’s death • Complicated by greed, conflict, and violence • Ambition and greed destroy innocence

  8. Colonial Society’s Oppression of Native Cultures • Doctor refuses to save Coyotito’s life because Kino lacks money • Represents colonial arrogance and repression

  9. Motif of Kino’s Songs • Song of the Family • Song of Evil • Song of Danger • Oral tradition of Kino’s culture • Like songs in When the Legends Die

  10. Symbols • “The Pearl of the World” • Originally called this to refer to pearl’s great size and beauty • But also brings outside world’s destructive influence to Kino’s simple life • Comes to symbolize destructive nature of materialism • Scorpion – destruction of innocence (esp. infant)

  11. Canoe • represents link to cultural tradition • Means of making a living • Passed down for generations • Possession of pearl leads directly to canoe’s destruction • Event symbolizes Kino’s devastating decision to break with his cultural heritage to pursue materialism

  12. Parable • Simple story that relays a moral lesson • Also allegory – stories in which characters, objects, events hold a fixed symbolic meaning • Kino- allegorical role of man faced with temptation of wild wealth • Throwing the pearl back – renunciation of material wealth indicates that he has learned a moral lesson

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