CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Kino
Kino is at first characterized in very simple terms as a man of few wants; he is
content with his family life, proud of his son and his heritage, and satisfied
with his meager living that provides his basic needs. Because he is calm and pea
ceful, Kino lives in harmony with nature. He enjoys the simple things around him
, including the sounds of the night, the movements of the ants, the splendor of
the sea, his wife lying beside him on the cot, his child lying in the hammock, a
nd the "little splash of morning waves on the beach." He and his wife have been
together so long that words are unnecessary between them; they communicate their
feelings with signs and music. Kino's music in the beginning is the "Song of Fa
mily." He is a picture of total contentment.
To provide for his family, Kino is a pearl-driver. He works hard each day, weigh
ing himself down with a stone and repeatedly diving down to an oyster bed. He dr
eams about finding a large pearl, but is happy that he can provide food for his
family through his efforts. He is also thankful to have a fine canoe to use in h
is work; it has been passed down from his grandfather to his father to him. Kino
values the canoe as a tie to his past and as his "bulwark against starvation."
Kino, though a poor man, is extremely dignified. He is proud of his past, his wi
fe, his son, his canoe, and his home. He is also aware of his place in society.
He realizes that the "civilized" world of the people in town has no place for hi
m since he is poor and uneducated. He wants to give his son the opportunity to e
nter this world and, thus, dreams of his son getting an education and learning t
o read. Kino cannot be married in the church because he cannot pay the priest pr
operly. He cannot get medical help for Coyotito from the doctor in town because
he is poor and cannot pay the medical fee. In frustration over his situation, Ki
no bangs on the doctor's gate and hurts his hand. Throughout the book, the injur
ed hand serves as a reminder of Kino's place in the poor, native, lower class.
When Kino finds the greatest pearl in the world, he is unprepared to handle the
jealousy and envy generated by his treasure. Kino has never possessed anything m
ore valuable than his canoe; thus, he is naive about the reactions of other peop
le to someone's wealth. He looks at the pearl and sees its rare beauty; he also
sees it as a means of providing a proper wedding for Juana and himself and an ed
ucation for his son. Other people see the pearl and selfishly want it to bring f
ortune their way. The priest sees the pearl as providing a means for getting the
needed repairs for his church. As a result, the priest, filled with hypocrisy,
goes to call on Kino. He tells Kino to thank the Lord for his treasure and to re
member his duty to the church (the one that has refused to marry him and Juana).
Then the doctor comes to call on Kino and now offers to treat Coyotito. In orde
r to ingratiate himself to the owner of the pearl, he first gives the infant a "
medicine" to make him appear sicker. Then the doctor returns and pretends to cur
e Coyotito. While at Kino's hut, he tells the Indian that he is worried about hi
s safety and suggests that he keeps the pearl for him. Through these two visitor
s, Kino begins to understand the envy and evil that now surrounds him.
Next Kino must deal with the pearl buyers, who try to trick him out of the pearl
. In a united front, they all tell him the pearl is worthless and offer Kino a r
idiculously low sum. Kino bravely stands up against them breaking native traditi
on, and refuses their offer. Instead, he plans to leave the security of his home
and go to the capital to sell his pearl. Before he can leave, he is attacked th
ree times in the darkness of night and is forced to kill one of his attackers. H
is canoe is destroyed, and his hut is burned. In spite of these horrendous event
s, Kino refuses to part with the pearl. He still naively believes it is the answ
er to his dreams and the security for his family. When Juana tries to throw it b
ack into the ocean, he wrestles the pearl away from her. In his rage against her
 actions, he also hits and kicks the woman that he loves. The pearl is obviously
changing him.
When Kino leaves La Paz with Juana and Coyotito, he feels like a hunted animal.
They travelLa Paz to bury his son, he and Juana go to the beach and fling the pe
arl back into the sea. While he possessed the "treasure," Kino lost the real tre
asures in his life, his peaceful lifestyle, his contentment, his appreciation of
nature, his canoe, his hut, and his only son. It is no wonder that at the end o
f the book he stands as a bitter and defeated man who feels he has lost everythi
ng. in the darkness of night and leave false trails for the trackers who seek th
em. When the trackers finally close in, Kino decides to attack them. He stabs tw
o of the men and fires a rifle at the third. Ironically, one of the stray bullet
s hits and kills his greatest treasure, his son Coyotito. Now Kino accepts that
the pearl has produced only evil effects in his life, and he chooses to get rid
of it. After returning to
PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS
The Pearl is one of John Steinbeck's outstanding novels because of its simplicit
y and authenticity. The author combines a few events to develop the essential pl
ot, but he culminates it into a powerful novel filled with emotion, action, and
meaning. The author also makes the story seem very real. In order to understand
and develop the characters he was creating, Steinbeck studied the daily existenc
e, the culture, the traditions, and the thinking of primitive races, like those
pictured in the novel. As a result, the story and its characters are very believ
able.
In truth, The Pearl is not a novel, but a novella, a type of fiction that is lon
ger than a short story, but not as long as a novel. But in this short book, Stei
nbeck's narrative power is exemplary. Throughout the novel, there is a thread li
nking together all of the characters, including their faults, foibles, manners,
thoughts, and deeds. In the process of developing his characters, Steinbeck leav
es no one half-sketched; all characters, both major and minor, are fully describ
ed.
The Pearl can also be viewed as a sociological novel, for it presents man's pere
nnial struggle with society. The poor Indians struggle against their poverty and
the higher classes, who constantly and oppressively push the Indians down the l
adder towards poverty. The book also presents a conflict between the simple pear
l divers and the conniving pearl buyers. The pearl divers, having no clue to the
real worth of a pearl, leave it totally in the hands of the pearl-buyers, who u
nanimously exploit the naivet¨¦ of the divers. Similarly, the doctors oppress these
simple natives, seeking the wealth for themselves and refusing to help the India
ns in or out of their poverty. The priest also authoritatively teaches the nativ
es to be content with what they have and not strive for more.
Finally, the novel can be viewed as a parable, a story whose purpose is to teach
a lesson. Through his book, Steinbeck warns about the greed and envy that is br
ed by wealth, especially with newly acquired treasures. Thus, the structure of T
he Pearl can be interpreted on different levels, as a novel, as a simple, well-t
old tale, as a parable, and as a sociological novel. But most of all it must be
viewed as a simple and beautiful story about the struggles of Kino over his pear
l.
THEMES ANALYSIS
John Steinbeck, with a very simple storyline, develops several deep Themes in Th
e Pearl. The first theme is that most people are envious of wealth of other peop
le, especially newly inherited wealth; many people will try to take part of that
wealth by any means possible, both legal and illegal. When Kino acquires the pe
arl, the townsfolk grow jealous and plot ways to seize a portion of the riches.
The doctor and priest call on Kino at his humble hut, probably for the first tim
e ever in hopes of ingratiating themselves and receiving large payments out of K
ino's wealth. The pearl buyers try to swindle Kino out of the pearl, telling him
it is worthless and offering a low sum to buy it. Several "dark forces" sneak i
nto Kino's hut at night and try of steal the pearl. The trackers hunt Kino down
in the mountains in search of the pearl. The greed and envy of all this people d
estroy the peace and happiness that Kino has always known. In the end, Kino deci
des that the pearl only causes misery and pain and tosses it back into the sea.
In showing the effects that the pearl has on other people, Steinbeck is also dev
eloping the theme of man's cruelty to his fellow man. The doctor cruelly refuses
to treat Coyotito. The pearl buyers try to cheat Kino out of a fortune. The "da
rk forces" break into Kino's house and wound him, destroy his canoe, and burn hi
s hut. The trackers force Juana and Kino to run through the desert and seek refu
ge in a cave, where their young son is accidentally shot. Truly, man can be inhu
mane to his fellow man.
Steinbeck also points out the cruelty of social classes in the novella. A huge c
hasm exists between the poor, native Indians (the have-nots of the lower class)
and the well to do townsfolk (the haves of the upper class). The people in the l
ower class know and accept their place on the social scale. They realize that th
eir poverty and lack of education prevents them enjoying the conveniences of the
modern world found in the town, and they accept this position without a fight.
During the course of the book, Kino challenges the upper class two different tim
es. He seeks the doctor's help when the scorpion stings Coyotito. As expected, t
he doctor rejects his pleas; in rage, Kino strikes the doctor's gate, in an atte
mpt to fight the upper class and all that it stands for. As punishment, he suffe
rs from an injured hand throughout the book.
When Kino refuses to sell his pearl to the greedy dealers, he again challenges t
he modern world symbolized in the town. Again he is punished for breaking with t
radition, for he is pursued by trackers throughout the desert and into the mount
ains. The upper class is relentless in its pursuit of what it wants, and will us
e any means to obtain it. It is also determined to keep the chasm between themse
lves and the lower class.