John Steinbeck was born in the early eighteenth century and had a proficient writing career throughout the 1900s. He was the recipient of a Nobel Prize award in Literature and had earned this right in leaving behind many famous classic novels such as Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Pearl. The tale of The Pearl follows Kino in his race to save his son Coyotito from the venom of a scorpion sting. Kino is too poor to hire a doctor, so he must depend on his pearl-diving skills to find a pearl worthy of enough money to treat his son. With the baby’s life on the line, Kino searches in the sea and finds “the greatest pearl in the world (12).” However, this pearl causes him to lose sight of his pure intentions and, in a twist of cruel
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The music that Kino hears throughout the story can be seen as a recurring motif. The first song described in the book is the Song of the Family as Kino goes through his morning routine and eats breakfast his wife has prepared him while the little one sleeps. Kino describes the song as, “saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole (Steinbeck 2).” He is given security and comfort by the Song of the Family, for his family is what he cherishes most in his life. However, it does not take long until the Song of Evil makes itself known as Kino and Juana spot a scorpion making its way down the rope of Coyotito’s hanging box. This song is also applied to certain characters such as the untrustworthy doctor and the greedy priest. The Song of the Pearl is heard when Kino finds the Pearl of the World, and at one point he states that, “the evil song was in his ears, shrilling against the music of the pearl (19).” By mixing the two songs, Steinbeck foreshadows the pearl bringing great misfortune to Kino. Literary analysist Mashkoor Syed wrote that “one must choose between what ‘appears’ to be good and what ‘appears’ to be evil, all the while knowing such absolutes are non-existent and that good may come from bad and vice versa (2).” Deep down Kino knew Juana was right about the pearl …show more content…
The first location the in which the book takes place is in Kino’s small brush hut, which is identical to the others within his village. The people of the village live in poverty but are very close like family. They are connected in that they work hard daily to make their livings and are oppressed under a system meant to keep livable wages out of their reach. Most of them are pearl divers who rely on selling their findings to the pearl buyers in the town to make their money, and it not uncommon for the villagers to be underpaid in this trade. Still Kino must go to the town pearl buyers in a desperate attempt to get the funds he needs to save his son. Syed states that Steinbeck was “cognizant that the American experience was basically founded on the very fact of endurance, sacrifice, violence, and disruption as necessary elements of progress and advancement (4).” The town, full of nice houses, a big church, the doctor’s mansion, and overall luxury, is built on the back of the workers. They were able to advance by keeping the poor villagers beneath them. Word travels fast through the town, and before Kino even arrives the buyers plan to cheat him out of making much money by down talking his Pearl of the World and buying it for cheap. Adrienne Warfield claims that, “the effects of the pearl on the residents of La Paz can indeed be linked to those of a virus (7).” This would explain how word traveled so
The music that Kino hears throughout the story can be seen as a recurring motif. The first song described in the book is the Song of the Family as Kino goes through his morning routine and eats breakfast his wife has prepared him while the little one sleeps. Kino describes the song as, “saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole (Steinbeck 2).” He is given security and comfort by the Song of the Family, for his family is what he cherishes most in his life. However, it does not take long until the Song of Evil makes itself known as Kino and Juana spot a scorpion making its way down the rope of Coyotito’s hanging box. This song is also applied to certain characters such as the untrustworthy doctor and the greedy priest. The Song of the Pearl is heard when Kino finds the Pearl of the World, and at one point he states that, “the evil song was in his ears, shrilling against the music of the pearl (19).” By mixing the two songs, Steinbeck foreshadows the pearl bringing great misfortune to Kino. Literary analysist Mashkoor Syed wrote that “one must choose between what ‘appears’ to be good and what ‘appears’ to be evil, all the while knowing such absolutes are non-existent and that good may come from bad and vice versa (2).” Deep down Kino knew Juana was right about the pearl …show more content…
The first location the in which the book takes place is in Kino’s small brush hut, which is identical to the others within his village. The people of the village live in poverty but are very close like family. They are connected in that they work hard daily to make their livings and are oppressed under a system meant to keep livable wages out of their reach. Most of them are pearl divers who rely on selling their findings to the pearl buyers in the town to make their money, and it not uncommon for the villagers to be underpaid in this trade. Still Kino must go to the town pearl buyers in a desperate attempt to get the funds he needs to save his son. Syed states that Steinbeck was “cognizant that the American experience was basically founded on the very fact of endurance, sacrifice, violence, and disruption as necessary elements of progress and advancement (4).” The town, full of nice houses, a big church, the doctor’s mansion, and overall luxury, is built on the back of the workers. They were able to advance by keeping the poor villagers beneath them. Word travels fast through the town, and before Kino even arrives the buyers plan to cheat him out of making much money by down talking his Pearl of the World and buying it for cheap. Adrienne Warfield claims that, “the effects of the pearl on the residents of La Paz can indeed be linked to those of a virus (7).” This would explain how word traveled so