The Challenges Of Greed In The Pearl By John Steinbeck

Written by John Steinbeck and published in 1992, The Pearl is about a young pearl gatherer, Kino, who is content with his life, living in a brush house with his wife, Juana and son, Coyotito in La Paz, Mexico. One day, while gathering pearls, he comes across ‘the pearl’, which is an abnormally large, valuable pearl. His fate completely changes upon the discovery of this pearl. However, rather than changing his situation from good to better, it changes from good to worst. Kino’s first intention about the pearl is to use it to pay for his son’s medical treatment for the scorpion bite on his arm. However, as he becomes more and more attached to the pearl day by day, his greediness grows and he does things which he had never even thought of. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck teaches his readers the many lessons of greed. However, his characterization of Kino and his conflicts among other characters in The Pearl, prove that the earth provides enough to satisfy one’s need, but not one’s …show more content…
However, the earth is not responsible for satisfying one’s greed, as there is no end to the level of greed. Through the characterization of Kino, Steinbeck shows that one’s greed can never be satisfied, rather it leads to conflict and more greed. Kino believed ‘the pearl’ would bring him goodness and happiness, however it did the opposite by taking away what he already had, rather than giving him more. He thought it would bring him contentment, but instead it took it away from him. Furthermore, even though he already had everything to satisfy him in life, the pearl led him astray, and made him think otherwise. As he became more attached to the pearl day by day, his greediness grew as well. Hence, through Kino’s characterization and his attempt and struggle to satisfy his greed, Steinbeck proves that the earth can never provide enough to satisfy one’s