The Pearl: sample 1

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  • Steinbeck in his novel, The Pearl, portrays humans as being inherently greedy. Show the validity of this statement with reference to The Pearl. 

The actions of various characters in The Pearl exhibit greed. They want too much ofsomething when it is expected  that they should want it just enough. The discussion below illustrates the same.

The priest shows his greed when he suddenly remembers that the church needs repairs. This is not something he had previously thought about. On the contrary, Kino's finding of the pearl of the world makes him remember this. He also wonders whether Kino and Juana have been properly married in the church or not. Apart from this, he also wishes to know whether Coyotito was baptized or not. He makes a trip to Kino's house to find answers to these questions. Though he uses an indirect approach; telling them to remember giving some share to God, it is clear that he wants to also benefit from the pearl. The many things he wishes to have done qualify him as one of the characters that want more than they should have.

The doctor also shows greed in his behaviour. When Kino visits him with the sick child, he refuses to treat him. However, when he hears that Kino has found the pearl of the world, he "voluntarily" visits Kino with a view to "treating" Coyotito. While at Kino's home, his eyes search for clues on where Kino could have hidden the pearl. Worse still, he poisons Coyotito in order to be asked to come back and treat him again. This is how far he goes with his greed for the pearl.

The pearl buyers are another bunch of greedy people. They have several offices whose main reason of existence is to exploit pearl sellers. Their most satisfying thing is to buy the pearls at the lowest prices possible. They fail to trick Kino into their trap, and they are not happy about this. The efforts they put in in order to buy the pearls at the lowest price possible are a clear indication of their greed.

Those after Kino's life are also driven by greed. They would stop at nothing in their quest to steal the pearl from him. They are even ready to kill him. In fact, they make several attempts to kill him without success. In the first instance, he hits someone who then sweeps him off his feet in his house. Later, he kills someone by stabbing him on the neck. Before he dies, the stranger searches Kino's pockets for the pearl. A few days later, some trackers go after Kino determinedly wanting to take the pearl from him and maybe kill him. This determination and their readiness to kill Kino in order to take away his pearl are evidence of their greedy nature.

Kino also shows a lot of greed in the way he defends the pearl and in the many things he wishes to do with the help of the pearl. He hits Juana so hard when she attempts to throw away the pearl. This shows that he has many expectations in the pearl. These expectations also help bring out his greed. He has too many of them. He wants an education for his son, a good marriage in church and a rifle. Therefore, he wants more than enough.

The beggars are also not satisfied with what they have been receiving from the rich. They expect to get more from Kino because they believe that a poor man who suddenly gets rich gives more alms that seasoned rich people. This is greed since they want to have more money than they should have.

These illustrations appropriately bring out greed in the characters mentioned

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