The Motif Of Music Depicted In The Pearl By John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, is filled with literary devices. The main character, Kino, lives in a Mexican coastal town and does not have much money. In the story, Kino finds the Pearl of the World and becomes a rich man. He hopes to marry his wife, Juana, in a church, educate his son, Coyotito, and buy a rifle. Many people make Kino offers for the pearl, but he turns them down thinking his pearl has more worth than what others offer him. Kino’s greed begins to get the best of him. John Steinbeck uses the motif of music, the motif of nature, and imagery to convey the theme, which is greed changes people and makes them do evil deeds.
Music is a motif that occurs periodically throughout the entire story. The two most mentioned songs Kino hears in his head are the Song of Family and the Song of Evil. The Song of Family is heard more commonly towards the beginning of the book, but after Kino finds the pearl, he begins to hear the Song of Evil more often than any other. The Song of Family is a relaxed, gentle, and joyful song. The text says “Kino felt all the warmth and security of his family behind him, and the Song of Family came from …show more content…
The motif of nature reveals how greed changed Kino and made him dangerous and animal-like. Lastly, the imagery informs the readers Kino was getting exremely greedy and the pearl caused evil. The moral of this book, greed causes wickedness, is a universal and timeless lesson. Although the world is different today, the readers can learn money and riches do not always bring you happiness. They can apply this to their lives and learn not to always strive for more money, but instead be content and joyful. If people make the same mistakes as Kino did, their lives could be ruined because of all the selfishness and evil. Through the motifs of music and nature, along with imagery, readers can learn from Kino and not become