I believe that many factors have contributed to Kino’s thoughtless behavior and his desire for wealth. First, the pearl has indeed had a negative effect on Kino. Kino slowly changes from the content husband that we see him in the first chapter to the paranoid man who harms his wife (a woman he once admired greatly) and makes impulsive decisions for the benefit of wealth. Second, Kino is keeping the pearl for the pearl has some ties with his dignity as the other critics have concluded. Before the pearl, Kino only had his canoe as a way to support those he loves, but within the pearl he sees new opportunities and luxuries, and, as head of the household, he must try to better his wife’s and son’s life.