Kino's Hut For The Pearl example essay topic

753 words
The Pearl By John Steinbeck The setting of the story was primarily in an impoverished Mexican-Indian community in La Paz, roughly around the 1900's. Kino is a prime example of a developing character. From beginning to the end, he develops drastically. At the beginning, he was thought out to be a good loyal husband, but as time went on, he became a selfish, greedy individual who would do anything for money. Juana was Kino's young wife. She was respectful, and very tolerant towards Kino.

Coyotito was Kino and Juana's only child. Juan Tomas was Kino's brother, and A polonia was his wife; both had four children, and very little is known about both of them. The doctor was a very stout, and greedy man, and didn't heal, or treat his patients if they didn't have money. The conflict began when a scorpion stung Coyotito. He became very ill, and the doctor refused to cure Kino's son for the reason that they had no money. On that very same day, Kino found the pearl that would change his life, as well as the people around him.

The pearl brought great danger to Kino and his family. Everybody in the community knew about Kino's finding, which resulted in everybody desiring the pearl. Ever since King Midas' lust for gold, it appears to be that man has acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. Kino, Juana, and the doctor have all undergone a change due to money. They " re all affected by their hunger for wealth and are the base for their own destruction, and the destruction of society.

The theme of The Pearl is mainly of man's self-destruction through greed, and the hunger for wealth. There are several different symbols in this story. The scorpion that stung Coyotito could simply mean the vulnerability and the possibility of danger that Kino and his family face ahead. The pearl may also symbolize evil, and how it brought the radical change in Kino and his wife. The pearl was thought to be the stability and prosperity that Kino hoped for his family. However, there were also alternate feelings of jealousy and greed in the community.

The pearl was intended to solve all of Kino's problems, but it ended up destroying his life, dreams, and the death of his son. Kino lived with his wife Juana, and his baby son Coyotito in a brush hut. Coyotito got stung by a scorpion, and got very ill. Kino and Juana both discovered a pearl that same day, which would be their ticket to nurse back the health of their son. The doctor eventually knows about the pearl, and heals Coyotito.

Eventually, trackers start trying to invade Kino's hut for the pearl, but all fail miserably. Kino's only way to get rid of the trackers was to kill them all. Kino and Juana left their small community, and headed up north to Loreto. There, they hid in the Granite Mountains.

Later on that night, Kino noticed a couple of trackers, and suggested to Juana that he would leer in the trackers into the mountains and kill them one by one. Juana and Coyotito hid somewhere else in the mountains. One of the trackers was a couple of meters away from Kino, which resulted in attacking him. As Kino was fighting with the tracker, Coyotito let out a cry, which caught the attention of another tracker and shot at the direction of the sound. In a cruel fight, Kino murdered all of the trackers, and when he returned to Juana, Coyotito was dead. Going back to their community, Kino took the pearl in his hands and threw it back into the ocean.

Kino's troubles were over, but paid a big price to learn a valuable lesson. In the story, The Pearl, the story expresses the fact that man's manifestation for wealth and property leads to the self-destruction of man, both mentally, and physically. The doctor, Kino, and Juana were all affected by the affects of greed. Whether they are striving for wealth or are in the path of those that are, they are all equally affected. The story of King Midas lives on, as a caution to those who crave the warmth and comfort of money will lead to self-destruction..