He chose an inanimate object that gave him the high of power, over his soul mate who followed him through the whole journey. His bitter selfishness has lead to major crimes and he was punished. The pearl was his justice; his eye for an eye. In this case it was a life for a life; sadly, the life was his son. His son was the reason he wanted this pearl in the first place and the pearl was the reason he lost him. The pearl itself was not the evil, for it was the judge; it weighed the wrongs and rights of the beholder.
