John Steinbeck's The Pearl Of The World

It is one of the great marvels of this world. It is capable of changing one’s entire world with its magnificent magic. It is so glimmering and shiny that you could never look away. It is the Pearl of the World. In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino, an impoverished man who lives in La Paz, finds an exquisite pearl that so great, shimmering, and magical. Kino and Juana, Kino’s wife, venture to the big, rich, nearby town to sell the marvelous pearl, but they fail because Kino thought it was worth more than what was offered. Soon enough, Kino’s house gets burned down by what are assumed to be jealous pearl-wanters. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito, their baby, have to leave because shortly after this, someone tries to kill them and steal the pearl, but

First of all, after the doctor “cured” Coyotito and left the hut, Kino had rehidden the pearl in a paranoid fashion and then gone to bed. A bit later, he wakes up because he heard what he thought was someone trying to steal the pearl, so: “... then he sprang like an angry cat, leaped striking and spitting for the dark thing… He felt cloth, struck at it with his knife and… felt his knife go through the cloth…” (37). This is really surprising because before Kino got possession of the spectacular pearl, he would’ve never ever thought of hurting or injuring someone, and he always keep to himself. But, Kino was willing to sacrifice his benevolence for this pearl which has taken over his whole life. Now, Kino is ready to kill for his precious pearl, and it really angered him that someone would have even thought to steal his pearl. It’s almost like he preschool skills of “MINE!!” are back at it again. Moreover, Juana had said that the pearl was evil and that they should throw it away. The next morning, before Kino awakened, Juana unburied the pearl and went to the beach to throw it away into the ocean. Before Juana can do this, Kino awakens, furiously marches over to the beach, and just as Juana was about to throw it bad luck away, Kino leaps right on her and: “he struck her in the face with his clenched fist, … and he kicked her in the side” (59). This comes as quite a shock, because Kino would’ve never done that before; he would’ve never even considered it! He would’ve found another way because family used to be more important than anything in Kino’s life. But now, the pearl has become more important than anything; this pearl has risen above his life, his family’s lives, and his compassion. He thinks he is helping his family in his own messed up way, but he hasn’t yet realized how much he is actually destroying it instead. Lastly, after the attack on Juana, he takes the pearl from her and