The Price of Prejudice
Reading old books in seventh grade would not be the most fun activity for most of us, but The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird and "Twelve Angry Men" would be an exemption from that category. Each story has racism, which causes the reader to pity the victim and detest the offender. Also in all of the books, the main characters go through a very life threatening and life changing attack, which makes the characters change substantially. Furthermore, all of the stories teach a moral to the readers, which make them learn a lesson and become a better person. In The Pearl there is racism toward Kino. The white priest and doctor discriminated against him until he found the pearl and became rich. Kino's baby had just been stung by a scorpion. Kino and his wife, Juana, went to see a doctor. When the doctor's servant asked Kino if he had any money, he pulled out a paper will small, ugly pearls. When he came back to the gate, he gave them back. "The doctor has gone out,' he said. "We was called to a serious case.' And he shut the gate quickly out of shame." The doctor did not want to treat Kino's child because of the amount of money they had, and their race. The doctor was in the middle of eating on his bed and lied about going out. (Steinbeck, 11-12) …show more content…
They are taught the danger of greed. In the story Kino becomes a different person mentally after he finds the pearl. He suddenly was so focused on money that he had to leave the town he was in to get the best deal. After the death of his son, Kino realized that Juana was right, and the pearl was bad for him. "And Kino drew back his arm and flung the pearl with all his might. Kino and Juana watched it go, winking and glimmering under the setting sun. They saw the little splash in the distance, and they stood side by side watching the place of a long time." Juana helped Kino recognize the danger of his greed, and helped him fix what was wrong. (Steinbeck,
Reading old books in seventh grade would not be the most fun activity for most of us, but The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird and "Twelve Angry Men" would be an exemption from that category. Each story has racism, which causes the reader to pity the victim and detest the offender. Also in all of the books, the main characters go through a very life threatening and life changing attack, which makes the characters change substantially. Furthermore, all of the stories teach a moral to the readers, which make them learn a lesson and become a better person. In The Pearl there is racism toward Kino. The white priest and doctor discriminated against him until he found the pearl and became rich. Kino's baby had just been stung by a scorpion. Kino and his wife, Juana, went to see a doctor. When the doctor's servant asked Kino if he had any money, he pulled out a paper will small, ugly pearls. When he came back to the gate, he gave them back. "The doctor has gone out,' he said. "We was called to a serious case.' And he shut the gate quickly out of shame." The doctor did not want to treat Kino's child because of the amount of money they had, and their race. The doctor was in the middle of eating on his bed and lied about going out. (Steinbeck, 11-12) …show more content…
They are taught the danger of greed. In the story Kino becomes a different person mentally after he finds the pearl. He suddenly was so focused on money that he had to leave the town he was in to get the best deal. After the death of his son, Kino realized that Juana was right, and the pearl was bad for him. "And Kino drew back his arm and flung the pearl with all his might. Kino and Juana watched it go, winking and glimmering under the setting sun. They saw the little splash in the distance, and they stood side by side watching the place of a long time." Juana helped Kino recognize the danger of his greed, and helped him fix what was wrong. (Steinbeck,