Effects of the Pearl
Sister Mary Cathrine
April 7, 2014

In the story The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the Pearl has many effects on the people it comes in contact with. As people see it, their imaginations take over and they can see all the things they could buy with it to make their lives better. Kino imagines that he will have a rifle and his baby, Coyotito, will be educated. He expressed this when he said “My son will read… and open books, and my son will write and will know writing. And my son will make numbers, and these things will make us free because he will know— he will know and through him we will know.” (Steinbeck, 1994, Pg. 41) His people have always been trapped through illiteracy but Coyotito would learn and teach everyone else how to read. They were constantly trapped by the doctor, the pearl buyers, and the Priest. As said in the book: “He [Kino] did not know, and perhaps this doctor did. And he could not take the chance of pitting his certain ignorance against this man’s possible knowledge.” (Steinbeck, Pg. 36) Kino became obsessed with the pearl and expresses it when he says “This pearl has become my soul. If I give it up, I shall lose my soul.” (Steinbeck, Pg. 83) It is also expressed when he says “‘I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We will have our chance.’ His fist pounded the sleeping mat. ‘No one shall take our good fortune away from us.” (Steinbeck, Pg. 73) The pearl buyers had a secret monopoly in which they had set prices and pretended to compete against each other to give the illusion that the person is getting a better deal. Steinbeck made this clear when he said “Now the dealers glanced at one another. They knew that had played too hard…” (Pg. 57) Kino figured this out and decided to travel to the capital to sell it fairly. The pearl changed Juana’s life forever too. Kino and Coyotito meant everything to her and she tried her best to protect both of them. The pearl drew a lot of attention to the family along with people who tried to steal it and kill Kino. After this, her opinion quickly changed and she made several attempts to convince Kino to destroy it or destroy it herself. Some of her quotes are listed: “It will destroy us all, even our son” (Steinbeck, Pg. 44) and “This thing is evil. This pearl is like a sin! It will destroy us.” (Steinbeck, Pgs. 49,50) Kino’s brother, Juan Tomas, agrees with Juana by saying “It is the pearl. There is a devil in this pearl.”(Steinbeck, Pg. 64) She and Juan Tomas are correct in saying “it is evil” because the trackers did kill Coyotito with a stray bullet. Kino convinced Juana that they were going to be married in a church. Steinbeck mentions this in a vision of Kino’s by saying “In the pearl he saw Juana and Coyotito and himself standing and kneeling at the high altar, and they were being married now that they could pay.” (Pg. 30) Coyotito was the most obviously affected by the great pearl because he was consumed by everyone else's greed and eventually he was shot by trackers who were following the family on their trip to the capital. Steinbeck hints that they will eventually catch up to the family by saying “The trackers whined a little, like excited dogs on a warming trail. Kino drew his big knife to his hand and made it ready. He knew what he must do. Many people outside of the family were affected outside of the family too. After Coyotito was stung by the scorpion, Kino and Juana take him to a doctor. Before Kino found the pearl, the doctor said “Has he any money… No, they never have any money. I, I alone in the