Living more than once - Essay Example

I am fascinated about the title of the book, which I believe grabs the attention of the reader. As the wise saying goes, the container (title) is as important as the contents. The Pearl by John Steinbeck is one such novel. The title appealed to me instantly and kindled curiosity to know about its contents. The Pearl is a function novella. It tells the story of a poor family and their only son is bitten by a scorpion and the family does not have money to provide him with proper medical treatment.

Pearl is a precious item and so is the life of an individual which is comparable to the pearl. Some select and unique experiences fall to the lot of each individual and they are like pearls and at the given time no one realizes their importance, until one happens to lose them. At that stage the individual realizes the difference in life the pearl makes, in possessing it and in not possessing the same. Through this great function novella one can easily connect its contents to one’s real life situations.

I think John Steinbeck’s main purpose of writing this novella is it to make the reader reconsider the importance of owning the things and count their blessings with a positive frame of mind. Others may not possess half of them. The novella begins with the introductory remarks about the man named Kino and his lovely wife Juana and their son Coyotito. They are poor and live near the sea shore. Kino has a boat which was given to him by his grandfather and the family is having a wonderful life.

It is full of love, family warmth and safety. Most of us are not aware in the real sense what the advantages we are blessed with in life. They hanker in pursuit of more wealth and articles of luxury, which one does not really need and lose track of the real purpose of life. The family, though poor, happens to acquire a pearl and soon the situation changes for the worse. A scorpion bits his son and that provides the