Archetypes In The Pearl

The psychologist, Carl Jung, says that universal characters reside within the collective unconscious of people around the world. These characters are called archetypes. According to Jung, every story has similar archetypes to each other. The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, also has archetypes. There are many different archetypes in the novella, The Pearl. Three of these archetypes are the hero, the trickster, and the shadow. Kino is the tragic hero. “This pearl has become my soul. If I give it up, I shall lose my soul.” (page 67). This quote states that Kino won’t give up the pearl because he has become greedy. One of the reasons why Kino is a tragic hero is because he is greedy. “My son will go to school...we will be married...we will

“Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’s pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and the only person that stood in the way and that was Kino, so that he became curiously every man’s enemy.” (page 23). This quote states that everyone envies Kino and wants the pearl’s wealth for himself or herself. Later in the book, one of these people will try to take the pearl. This will cause Kino to try to protect the pearl at all costs. “And then Kino’s brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound - the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death.” (page 87). This quote states that Coyotito was killed, while Juana and Kino were running away. They were running away because Kino had killed someone, who was trying to steal the pearl. Kino was the one who in reality killed Coyotito. The pearl was the reason why everything bad started happening to Kino and his family. The pearl is the shadow because it opposes the hero.
In The Pearl, Kino is the hero, the doctor is the trickster, and the pearl is the shadow. There are many different archetypes, in The Pearl, that make a big impact. The message I took from this book was the importance of family and doing what is necessary to help them live a better