Gender Roles In Heywood Broun's The Pearl

Tragedy is the catalyst of adversity. People often attempt to right wrongs that have occurred, whether they be by their own hand or by the power of circumstance. Unfortunately, not all wrongs are remedied as planned by those who seek rectification. Heywood Broun once said, “The tragedy of life is not that the man loses, but that he almost wins,” which is especially true in the case of Kino. The tragic incident of his son, Coyotito, being bitten by a venomous snake incited Kino to desperately attempt to save his son’s life by finding a valuable pearl that would pay for treatment.
“Even though he lives in poverty, Kino is content at the beginning of the story because he is surrounded by the family he loves. It is only after his child 's life is threatened by the …show more content…
In The Pearl, the role that gender plays is not ambiguous to say the least. Kino is the man of the house and Juana the woman, both of which maintain a stereotypical depiction of these roles. Juana, though given little credit as a result of society’s view on her gender, was the wisest character of the novel. Kino however, failed to see this and lashed out at her for her …show more content…
Occassionaly, tragedies are inevitable and the only help that one can offer is actually more agony in disguise. In the larger picture, Coyotito died and all that Kino did was hurt himself and his family more than was necessary. Kino has changed since the beginning of the story; evolving into a wiser man who now knows the repercussions of greed and selfishness. Kino lost direction of what should have been his main focus, which was to get clinical help for his son. He was acting partially upon his own bitterness towards the community as stated in the