The Pearl, By John Steinbeck's The Treasure Of Lemon Brown

Have you ever acted in a certain way and then later changed your attitude or outlook based on events or situations that have taken place? In the novel, The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck and the fictional short story “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers, this is exactly what happens. The Pearl is about a man named Kino who finds a large pearl to help his son who was stung by a scorpion. However, men try to steal the pearl and attack Kino, leading him to show no mercy and kill them, which causes him to run away and ultimately the death of his son. “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” is the story of Greg Ridley, who needs to study for math but is disrespectful, and goes to an abandoned building where he meets Lemon Brown. Thugs try …show more content…
One quote that shows his satisfaction with his life is. “There is no need for speech if it is only a habit anyway. Kino sighed with satisfaction and that was the conversation” (Steinbeck 4).Kino enjoyed the mornings when his wife was making breakfast, or caring for their baby, and listening to the song of the family without having to speak. Furthermore, Kino is content with his life even though he doesn't have much, he is happy with his family and the roof over his head. “An insult has been put on me that is deeper than my life. For on the beach my canoe is broken, my house is burned, and the brush a dead man lies” (Steinbeck 5).With this in mind Kino had some good things or opportunities that happened to them but other things and people were holding him back from enjoying his good fortune. Under those circumstances Kino has to figure out what he is gonna do with the pearl because everyone is trying to get to the pearl and everyone all knows that Kino has it. In the meantime while Kino is trying to figure out what he is gonna do with the peal Greg is trying to get his dad to let him try out for the Viper Basketball …show more content…
The old man carefully took of the plastic and unfolded it. He revealed some yellowed newspaper clippings and a battered harmonica …They told of Sweet Lemon Brown, a blues singer and a harmonica player who was appearing at different theaters in the South” (Myers 13). This shows that Lemon Brown didn’t really have a good looking or expensive treasure but it is valuable to him so it was a treasure. Additionally he wasn’t really fighting for the old newspapers and the harmonica he was fighting for memories from his old days and his son. Lemon Brown was explaining how he was famous and when he was going around singing famously even though he was poor now and how his son died from the war. “I used to travel around and make money for to feed my wife and Jesse -- that’s my boy’s name. Used to feed them good, too. Then his mama died, and he stayed with his mama’s sister. He growed up to be a man, and when the war come, he saw fit to go off and fight in it ...I traveled around, and one time there was this letter saying Jesse got killed in the war.Broke my heart it truly did. They sent what he had with him over there, and what it was is this old mouth fiddle and these clippings” (Myers 14). This shows that Lemon Brown stilled thought and cared about his son after he died so he kept the things that he had before he died. Also Lemon Brown was gonna never forget his son and everytime he looked at the things he thought of his son.