preview

John Steinbeck Symbolism

Decent Essays

The Pearl, a book written by John Steinbeck, teaches a lesson about how a person can be swayed by greed. In the story, John Steinbeck uses three literary devices to help the reader understand the story better. Through foreshadowing, John Steinbeck explains how others are swayed by greed. For example, Kino himself, the villagers, and the pearl buyers are mesmerized by the pearl. Lastly, symbolism is used in the story, such as the pearl being evil luck. The author shows how Kino is overcome with greed, using characterization. Through characterization, foreshadowing, and symbolism, John Steinbeck explains how people can be affected by greed. One of the ways John Steinbeck explains greed is through characterization. In the beginning of the story, Kino was just a normal brush house person. Later, after he found the pearl, he was overwhelmed by greed, as he thought about having new clothes, being married in the church, having his own rifle, sending Coyotito off to school, and anything else he wanted. Even after all the warnings and attacks, Kino continued to hold onto the pearl. Kino himself said that the pearl “Has become my soul….If I give it up I shall lose my soul, ” (Steinbeck 65). Only after he lost his house, his …show more content…

In the book, the main example of symbolism is the pearl itself. When Kino first found the pearl, it was “The great pearl, perfect as the moon…. It was the greatest pearl in the world, ” (Steinbeck 20). At first, the pearl was a symbol or riches, but then it became a sign of evil. Juana knew of its evil, because she said, ”Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us.” Kino replied that the pearl was his soul, for he could not bear to part with it. As a result, he ended up losing his son and most of his material things to this curse. There are other examples of symbolism, but the pearl is the main one in John Steinbeck's cautionary

Get Access