The Pearl Greed Quotes

“And to Kino the secret melody of the maybe pearl broke clear and beautiful, rich and warm and lovely, gloating and glowing in triumph.” (Steinbeck 20). This is one of many memorable quotes from John Steinbeck’s classic, The Pearl. While this story is composed of only eighty-seven pages, the author packs the book with more meaning and teaching than many authors have been able to in hundreds. Set in a small village in La Paz, Mexico, the tale deals with many topics, themes, and issues.

The person that greed affected the most was Kino. He wanted all the treasures of the pearl, and became a vicious and slightly insane man because of it. In the beginning, the pearl gave him happy thoughts, such as him and his wife getting married. He also saw through the pearl: his family affording new and clean clothes, and Coyotito receiving an education. He then started getting greedy and desiring the deepest riches of the pearl. He wanted a rifle, and then went on from there. This quote from page 12 can prove so, “Then to the lovely gray surface of the pearl came the little things Kino wanted: a harpoon to take the place of one lost a year ago, a new harpoon of iron with a ring in the end of the shaft; and - his mind could hardly make the

Kino in The Pearl creates the theme of greed and power can make one’s downfall. In the book Juana (Kino’s wife) hears evil music with the pearl and fears it will tear apart the family and the village. So she sneaks out in the early morning with it and tries to get rid of it to free her family from evil but gets caught in the action by her husband who goes savage. “Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side...Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared. He hissed at her like a snake…”(page 58-59) This shows how greed and power can make one’s downfall because the greed of the pearl and the idea of what riches it could bring to the family and the whole village which makes Kino fill with rage when he sees Juana trying to get rid of

When Kino finds the “Pearl of the World,” they’re faced with conflict. Throughout the scenario “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, Juana traverses through advancements of realization of what is actually occurring, and what is best for her family. “Kino had wondered often at the iron in his patient, fragile wife. She, who was obedient and respectful and cheerful and patient, could bear physical pain with hardly a cry. She could stand fatigue and hunger almost better than Kino himself.

In the world, greed is extremely powerful and can take over someone in the blink of an eye. It is not something that people can quickly recover from, and this is beautifully portrayed in the novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck. In The Pearl, greed overtakes a man named Kino who has a wonderful family. He ends up finding a pearl and wanting more than he can get. This destroys his family and shows him that he should be grateful for what he has.

One character who displays a lack of greed is Juana, in the book she is always an advocate to get rid of the pearl in any way possible even if it means destroying the pearl and getting no money form it, this shows that she sees past the value of the pearl and realizes it is causing more harm than good. The pearl buyers show a lot of greed, they show the greed by teaming up and saying that the pearl is not worth much at all when in reality the peal is priceless it is so expensive, they do this in hopes that Kino will sell the pearl to them for less than its worth. Kino starts of as a very humble person. In the first chapter of the book it describes his calm every day life were he knows every thing that is going to happen.

     John Steinbeck’s The Pearl is a Novella, which is longer than a short story and shorter than a novel. The story is about a poor mexican family and the father Kino, whose occupation is diving for pearls off the Baja peninsula. After retrieving the pearl the family becomes wealthy and content and soon after the father turns into a criminal. This shows how greed and aspiration can demolish innocence. Steinbeck's motive for creating the book was to show the reader that the cause of all this stress and chaos is because of poverty. As illustrated in The Pearl, people call for desperate measures when poverty

Another example of greed is shown when Juana takes the pearl from Kino to throw back into the sea. Kino realizes what she is doing and goes after her. Just as Juana is about to discard the pearl, Kino grabs her arm and wrenches the pearl from her. He punches her in the face and when she falls on the boulders, he kicks her in the side. The following quote establishes the violence that Kino unleases on his wife in order to protect his precious pearl from harm, due to his greediness of what the pearl will bring to him and his family: “…Rage surged in Kino. He leaped at Juana and wrenched the pearl from her…with clenched fists, struck her in the face…kicked her in the side…Greedy fingers went through his clothes” (58-59).

Greed is perhaps one of the most destructive forces in this world, it breeds anger, hate, jealousy, and more. The novella “The Pearl” is based on how the finding of a pearl causes greed to be awakened in the hearts of people and cause them to commit evil. During the Novella, Steinbeck develops the theme that greed left unchecked can cause immoral behavior and that is show in the doctor, the attackers, and Kino. All of them are forced by greed to commit sins that they otherwise would not do.

Our protagonist was not satisfied with his wealth and let the monster that is greed overtake him. In the story The Pearl we see Kino’s relationship with his family spiral out of control. We perceive Kino devolve from valuing his time with his family to lusting after more and more earthly belongings.

What price would one be willing to pay to achieve all of their wildest dreams? 1,000 pesos? 50,000 pesos? What about the respect of their community? Even worse, the life of their child. While Kino did not intend to lose any of these attributes in his quest for a better life, his stubbornness guided him to murder and ultimate heartbreak. It leaves the reader questioning, what price should be paid to attain the luxuries one wants from life? John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, follows a poor Indian/Mexican pearl diver as the best find of his life slowly morphs into the greatest misfortune he had ever known. Blinded by opportunity, Kino discovers too late that his treasure is a magnet for destruction. Through Kino’s adversity, the reader

However, two vibrant changes occur as the story progresses —Coyotito, his son, getting stung by a scorpion and Kino’s discovery of the pearl—broaden Kino’s horizons and outlook on the world. As Kino begins to strive for wealth and education for his son, the simplicity of his life becomes increasingly complicated by greed, conflict, and violence. Kino’s character then falls through a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and disillusionment. The factors promoting this decline are ambition and greed. Thus, when going got tough for Kinoo and he had to escape town he faced a lot of hardships, since he had to go into hiding and the only immediate help he had was from his brother. This had an adverse effect on his personality as he became increasingly negative, given the way he hit his wife shows how the pearl preoccupied his mind to such a great extent that he grew indifferent to everything else as evil and restlessness eloped him. In addition to these social changes, Kinoo, after attaining the pearl was on the move to gain economic sustenance, but not being able to find the right price to sell his pearl got him feeling even more uncertain and disappointed but he continued to strive and was reluctant to give up because he wanted everything in his reach for his son, who he consequently ended up losing in the

Kino, the novel's main character was content with his life before discovering the pearl. Kino changed dramatically from the beginning of the story to the end. To Kino the pearl meant wealth and change for both himself and his family. Before the scorpion bite Kino had no need for change or power in his life. He lived a simple life with his family and worked as a pearl diver. When the doctor denied his son treatment because Kino could not pay the fee, was when Kino realized the power the upper-class had over people like him. After discovering the pearl, Kino’s ambition to escape and protect himself from the persecution grew. Kino wanted to improve his life quickly, and the pearl was the answer to all his goals. In the pearl he saw a rifle, marriage and education for his son Coyotito. His thoughts on what to do with the pearl, were first based off his family’s needs. That slowly changed when the

John Steinbeck’s The Pearl follows the story of a Mexican-Indian family who lived in a small village on the coast of the Baja peninsula during the colonial era in Mexico. Kino works tirelessly as a pearl diver to provide for his wife, Juana, and Coyotito, his son. Although he was poor, he and his wife were initially satisfied with their lives. However, Coyotito’s scorpion sting and the discovery of the Pearl of the World opened Kino’s eyes to a much larger world. His simple, peaceful life was marred by the violence and conflict that the pearl brought. The pearl, which incited greed in all who come in contact with it, changed from a symbol of hope to that of chaos and misfortune.

​“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed (Mahatma Gandhi).” The Pearl signifies the greed of people by delineating the reactions and responses of the townspeople. The struggle of greed on a person’s psyche is depicted in the diction and symbolism of The Pearl. Greed is a powerful emotion and can have dangerous consequences. It can cause a friendly and kind person to suddenly cheat, lie, steal, and even kill. In The Pearl, John Steinbeck depicts a world where greed causes Kino's entire life to fall apart. As Kino tries to gain wealth and prosperity throughout the book, he changes from a wholesome man to a treacherous beast. Kino's desire to acquire wealth changes the Pearl's natural beauty and good luck,