How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Materialism And Greed

“Nothing is enough to the man for whom enough is to little.”- Epicurus. In John Steinbeck's “The Pearl” there are multiple themes that are illustrated repeatedly throughout the course of the book. One of these themes expresses that materialism and greed left unchecked can lead to immoral behavior such as violence. This theme can be seen in several different ways throughout the book. Specifically, the main character Kino, Kino’s attackers and the fights he had with Juana, his wife develop the theme. Written sometime after the Spanish invaded Mexico, Kino, a descendant of the natives, and his family live in a poor village along the Gulf. One morning Kino awakes to find a scorpion crawling down the ropes of Coyotito’s crib. Alarmed by the sight, Kino rushes to kill the vile creature, but before he can the baby stirs and knocks the abomination into the baby’s basket below. Then the scorpion acting on its natural instinct stings the innocent child. The baby then quickly falls ill and the shaken couple takes the child to town to try to convince the greed and heartless doctor to treat the baby without proper payment, which he rudely declines, but as fate would have it after all the misfortune a miracle happens. Kino and Juana find the Pearl of the World. This event will change Kino and his life forever, but maybe not all …show more content…
Three reasons were given, The main character Kino goes through obvious character change due to his sudden change in wealth, The people who attacked the innocent and simple Kino because of their blindness of their own desires, and lastly Kino and Juana’s fights are a clear window into how the greed that came with the pearl develops inside the unsuspecting Kino. In short, it can bee seen through the characters that greed and materialism can lead to violence, whether that be at the hands of our main character Kino or even the fantasies of the people that weren’t as lucky as