The Pearl
John Steinbeck
Summary
The Pearl is about a fisherman, Kino who finds the Pearl of the World. Kino, and his wife Juana's baby boy Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. Juana calls for the doctor, and he refuses to see them because they have no money. They go back to the village, and Kino goes fishing for pearls. He finds one, and everything went bad from there. Kino got attacked, and many other bad things happened. Read the story to find out the outcome.
Main Charaters
Kino- He is a greedy, quiet, and fierce man. He refuses to throw away the pearl even though it's tearing his family apart.
Juana- She is Kino's young wife. She is caring, brave, and smart. Juana believes that the pearl is evil, and is bringing sins to the family.
Coyotito- He is Kino's, and Juana's baby. He doesn't have the best forcuene, he got stung, and poisoned twice.
The Doctor- The doctor is a rude, deceiving, greedy man. He said he was helping make Coyotito well again, but he poisoned him instead. He doesn't want anything except money.
“This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal.” Kino
The Doctor with Coyotito
Kino ready to attack
Kino and Juana in the canoe
“It is not good to want a thing too much. It sometimes drives the luck away. You must want it just enough, and you must be very tactful with Gods or the gods.” Kino
Setting and Theme
Setting- The setting of the story is in Laz Paz Mexico, around the 1800's. In the story it is hot, sunny, and dry.
Theme- The theme in the story is to not be greedy. The story tells you not to be greedy, because you may think you are getting something good, but bad things will follow.