Analysis Of The Pearl Essay Research Paper

Analysis Of The Pearl Essay, Research Paper In “The Pearl,” by John Steinbach, Kino, the poor fisherman, finds a magnificent pearl that changes his life and that of his family. Throughout the novel, the pearl has a wide variety of symbolism that changes progressively. This ever-changing pearl represents hope, healing, jealousy, Kino’s manhood, and destruction and death. At the beginning of the novel, the pearl symbolizes hope. Kino, Juana, his wife, and their son, Coyotito, live in the outskirts of La Paz. They are in hopeless poverty, but have good hearts. Living in a wretched hut outside the walled city, this family tries to make the best of things with the lack of education. When they find the pearl, their whole life changes. The whole town finds out about the pearl.

Kino’s family receives hope for the future with the help of the lustrous pearl. The narrator states the different varieties of hope that the pearl could bring, And the beauty of the pearl, winking and glimmering in the light of the little candle, cozened his brain with its beauty. So lovely it was, so soft, and its own music came from it – its music of promise and delight, its guarantee of the future, of comfort, of security. Its warm lucence promised a poultice against illness and a wall against insult. It closed a door of hunger. This pearl of the world is a symbol of anything with a promising thought. Hope is a word with many different meanings. Kino and Juana’s meaning for hope of the future is their freedom. Freedom from oppression and poverty is what they hope can be

achieved by the great pearl. The many feelings of being lower than everybody else and having to deal with the state of living in poverty washes out of Kino’s head when he finds the pearl. Many other hopes fill Kino’s head when he finds the pearl. A marriage between Kino and Juana is brought to his mind. Since, they have ragged clothes, they decide to get new clothes. Kino and Juana have no education, so they decide to have Coyotito go to school. He could be educated very well and could teach Kino and Juana what he will learn. The last two things that comes in Kino’s mind are a rifle and a new harpoon for material reasons. Hope is the key word for what the pearl represents at the beginning of the novel. The pearl also represents a time for healing. This symbolism of the

pearl is not just healing, but even a magical healing. For example, Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion before they find the pearl. Coyotito needs help or he might die. Kino and Juana take Coyotito to the doctor, but the doctor refuses. The doctor does this because they are considered to be poor indians. They find the magnificent pearl later on that day. This begins the act of healing. Juana, an expert of motherhood, places a piece of poultice of seaweed on Coyotito’s bite hoping the swelling will go down. Surely, the swelling went down. Her remedy is working. Juana does not know that her remedy is working. There fore, she still wants the doctor to treat Coyotito. This pearl represents healing because of Juana wanting to take Coyotito to the doctor to be treated and for Juana’s

remedy to actually treat Coyotito’s poisonous bite. Another symbolism of the pearl is greed and jealously. The word about the pearl spreads throughout the town very quickly. This pearl is the pearl of the world and could cost a fortune. Everyone begins to envy Kino and Juana because of their good fortune. The townspeople become very sneaky and cunning. They will do whatever it takes to capture this pearl of the world. For example, the town’s priest came to visit Kino’s family. He slyly suggests how the church needs money and how it is one of the major functions of the town. Another example is the doctor. The doctor finds out about the pearl and decides to stop at Kino’s hut. The doctor cunningly says he is going to treat the baby. Coyotito is already well, but only the