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The Pearl

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The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a short and poignant novella that tells the story of Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, who finds a valuable pearl that promises a better life for his family. However, as he tries to sell the pearl, he faces greed, corruption, and tragedy, leading to a heartbreaking conclusion. The writing style is described as poetic prose, spare, and vivid, with a fable-like quality that brings out the beauty of Kino's world and the sorrow he faces.

Characters:

Characters are deeply symbolic, with Kino representing aspiration and vulnerability, while Juana embodies practical wisdom amidst the chaos.

Writing/Prose:

The prose is characterized by simple yet impactful language, vivid imagery, and the use of musical themes to convey the emotional landscape.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot presents a timeless tale centered on Kino, a poor diver who finds a pearl that he believes will elevate his family's status but ultimately leads to tragedy and moral dilemmas.

Setting:

The setting is a poverty-stricken fishing village in Mexico, which reinforces the themes of social disparity and human struggle.

Pacing:

The pacing is swift and efficient, maintaining tension while still allowing for moments of reflection.
Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and the early pigs were...

Notes:

The Pearl is a novella by John Steinbeck, published in 1947.
It tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver, and his wife Juana, who find a huge pearl.
The narrative explores themes of greed, ambition, and the consequences of wealth.
Kino dreams of bettering his family's life, including education for his son, Coyotito.
The pearl brings unexpected hardships and tragedies upon the family.
The story is based on a Mexican folk tale and is rich with symbolic elements.
Steinbeck's writing style in this novella is described as both simple and poetic.
The conclusion of the story is tragic, illustrating the destructive nature of greed.
Many readers find the themes and messages of the book relatable and thought-provoking, despite its grim storyline.
The Pearl is often taught in schools, but reactions to it can be mixed, with some finding it impactful and others feeling it is bleak or depressing.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of violence, death, and despair.

From The Publisher:

"There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon."

One of Steinbeck's most taught works, The Pearl is the story of the Mexican diver Kino, whose discovery of a magnificent pearl from the Gulf beds means the promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His dream blinds him to the greed and suspicions the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors, and even his loving wife Juana cannot temper his obsession or stem the events leading to tragedy. This classic novella from Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck examines the fallacy of the American dream, and illustrates the fall from innocence experienced by people who believe that wealth erases all problems.

Ratings (60)

Incredible (5)
Loved It (20)
Liked It (12)
It Was OK (11)
Did Not Like (10)
Hated It (2)

Reader Stats (83):

Read It (61)
Want To Read (16)
Not Interested (6)

4 comment(s)

Hated It
10 hours

John Steinbeck was my favorite author before I read this book. This book was exactly that bad. All of the classic pieces of literature written by Steinbeck shine a little less bright in retrospect. The plot is thin at best until you get to the final scene. Then Steinbeck illustrates the most ridiculous and unfounded confluence of events ever put into writing. I'd like to shoot a gun blindly into a cave and have it magically bounce and hit the original manuscript of The Pearl.

 
Loved It
6 days

Been meaning to read this for a while and found this while browsing a library. It's on the shorter side for a classic but throws a punch and won't soon be forgotten. Need to revisit this someday as I think it will go well as a reread too

 
It Was OK
1 week

In John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl,” the author retells an old Mexican folk tale about a great pearl and the evil that befalls the finder of the pearl and his family.

Kino is a pearl diver and lives as near the water with his wife Juana and their baby son Coyotito. While at home one day, a scorpion invades their home and stings Coyotito in his shoulder. Although Juana sucks some of the poison out of her son’s body, enough poison has entered Coyotito’s body so that he is deathly ill. Since their family is poor, the doctor will not come to their home to see their son. Juana refuses to accept that her son is going to die due to the doctor not seeing them so the three of them, along with everyone is their village, make the journey to the doctor’s home. The doctor is mainly motivated by getting money and upon finding out that Kino and Juana has no money, he sends them away.

The next day while doing his usual diving, Kino discovers a large pearl. Upon discovering this pearl, the causes tensions to rise not only is the village but also cause tension between Kino and Juana. Although Kino and Juana are initially happy about their new good fortune, as the days pass, Kino is soon having to fend off attacks from those who want to kill him into order to take the pearl from him. Kino places all of his hopes and dreams on the pearl while Juana is acting as a voice of reason and tells him the pearl is evil and will lead to the destruction of their family.

Although this story was originally published in 1947, the theme of hope, greed, and desperation are as relevant today as when it was first written. This book operates as a vehicle to show how quickly humanity can regress as well as how a person’s personality can change when they are placed in a stressful situation.

 
Incredible
1 month

beautifully written and a great way to start the year

 

About the Author:

John Steinbeck, born in Salinas, California, in 1902, grew up in a fertile agricultural valley, about 25 miles from the Pacific Coast. Both the valley and the coast would serve as settings for some of his best fiction. In 1919…

 
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