The Pearl - John Steinbeck - Essay Example

The story takes a turn when the son of Kino named Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion; however he feels helpless when he doesn’t have enough money to pay the doctor for the treatment. The story reaches its climax when Kino finds a huge pearl in the sea which he perceives as a life changing chip towards an extravagant lifestyle. However, as soon as the news reaches the people of the town conspiracies and evil plots overhaul the scenario, and a serious threat strikes Kino owing much to the valuable asset he now owns.

Bewildered by the situation, his partner Juana steals the pearl and throws it into the ocean, and when Kino discovers the fact he leaves her back to the ocean, and only takes her back when she recovers the pearl. Soon, they decide to leave for the capital as they weren’t getting the desired value for the pearls in the town and on their way they come across trackers who end up killing their son. Hopeless and full of regret, the couple returns to the town and Kino throws away the pearl into the ocean himself, as he realizes how the greed corrupted his soul and brought him to the edge of the life he was standing on then.

He then remembers the words of his father describing how bad things are bound to happen when the station of life is disturbed. The book can be analyzed in many different layers and all of them carry distinct messages regarding the possession and the pursuit of wealth. Every character is symbolic for a value or for an element of lust, and every phase of the story is unique for the essence it portrays reflecting the evils associated with capitalism. The title of the novel in itself symbolized the message he wants to convey, i.e. a pearl can be associated with many different values or even assets.

A pearl can symbolize beauty, at the same time wealth and lust as it possesses the shine as well as the monetary value which anyone would drool for. The title is the perfect choice for the writing as it complements the theme of the book, and provokes the readers as the interpretation is left totally upon the readers. The story is merely a journey of a mediocre individual who is a part of a larger social spectrum, living in the town called La Paz situation in Mexico, who strives hard to cash the pearl he finds in the ocean but in the struggle he ends up losing everything, and is left with nothing but regret.

The story in itself is a depiction of the perils of capitalism, as it defines the perimeters of a good life not by virtue of emotional satisfaction in fact by acquiring a lot of wealth to be able to afford the luxuries of life. Capitalism is itself a corrupt system, as it creates class differences in the society where the worth of an individual is weighed against the amount of money they own. This creates a feeling of restlessness amongst the individuals who lie at the lower end of the spectrum, thus in the struggle for acquiring money they tend to corrupt themselves in order to comply by the system.

That is exactly what Kino did, as he was helpless against the power which money carries, and the greed compelled him to even kill people who came in his way. Thus, Kino is a perfect illustration of a pure individual who ends up losing his values and even his child as he gets corrupted by the corrupt system. It all started when the doctor refused to treat his child as he was demanding a higher amount as his worth was much higher. The doctor is representing the powerful and the corrupt segment of the society who controls the resources