The Pearl by John Steinbeck

The Pearl is a 1947 novella by American author John Steinbeck. Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the Gulf beds that once brought great wealth to Spain and now provided Kino, Juana, and their infant son Coyotito, with meagre subsistence. Then, on one day like any other, Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. Kino can't pay for a doctor to heal Coyotito, so he searches for a pearl. Kino then emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a seagull's egg, as "perfect as the moon." With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security at the cost of defying the system. A story about a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the disastrous effects of stepping out of the established system. Due to the novella's negative portrayal of opportunity and ambition, many suspect that, like much of his work, it advocates socialism. The novel is still widely read and fairly popular.

 

 

  Easton Press The Pearl Edition

 

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The Pearl summary

The story focuses on Kino, his wife Juana, and their infant son Coyotito. Kino is a diver and a fisher, and although his family lives peacefully they live in poverty. As they have very little money, they are reduced to having their son sleep in a box.

One day a scorpion crawls into Coyotito's box and stings him. Juana attempts to suck the poison out of the wound. When this fails, Kino and Juana seek out a doctor. The doctor, hearing that they are poor, he tells his butler to send them away, not wanting to help them.

Kino goes pearl diving and finds "the Pearl of the World", a pearl which is the size of a seagull's egg. Meanwhile, Coyotito recovers from the scorpion's sting. Word of find the pearl reaching the doctor. The doctor, fuelled by greed to help the family, comes to 'cure' Coyotito, and gives the baby a medicine, saying the scorpions bite will continue to make him sick. Shortly after, Coyotito falls ill again, implying that the doctor poisoned him.
 

The local priest comes to bless Kino's family. Kino tells him that he will get married to Juana and will buy a rifle, using the pearl as funds. The next day Kino decides to sell the pearl to a local man, who insists to Kino that the pearl is "worthless". Kino, enraged, goes to several different places in order to sell the pearl, but each place is operated by friends of the first man. Kino realizes that they were conspiring to cheat him out of the priceless pearl.

Whilst enraged, Kino hears "the Song of the Enemy", which is used to describe how Kino feels when his family is threatened or under duress. After, Kino's house is destroyed by arson, and blinded by fury, Kino kills a man (presumably the arsonist).

Kino and his family decide to travel north to sell the pearl, but soon discover that they are being tracked by three men, two of which are travelling on foot and the third being armed with a rifle, each desperate to obtain the pearl. Kino and Juana try to escape late one night, trying to avoid detection by the men who are settled in a camp nearby. However, Coyotito begins to cry. Juana is unable to console him. The men, believe they hear a coyote in the cave in which Juana hid in with Coyotito. The armed man fires into the cave, subsequently killing Coyotito by ricochet.

An inconsolably angry Kino ambushes and kills the three men in a frenzy of blood lust. Kino and Juana, carrying the body of Coyotito, return to their village and return the pearl back to the bottom of the sea, in an act to ensure that no one would ever be hurt in the pursuit of obtaining it.

Setting

Steinbeck began writing the story as a movie script in 1944, and first published it as a short story called "The Pearl of the World" in Woman's Home Companion in December 1945. The original publication is also sometimes listed as "The Pearl of La Paz". He expanded it to novella length and published it under the name The Pearl by Viking Press in 1947. As he was writing the novella version, he was frequently travelling to Mexico where the film version, co-written with Jack Wagner, was being filmed. The film was also released by RKO in 1947 as a co-promotion with the book.

The Pearl was loosely adapted in 2001 for a film directed by Alfredo Zacharias and starring Lukas Haas and Richard Harris which was released directly to video in 2005.

The Pearl Characters

Kino - The protagonist of the story; he lives on the beach of La Paz, Baja California Sur in a small hut with his wife and son, who he values deeply. It is Kino who first discovers the pearl.

Juana - Kino's wife and Coyotito's mother who is portrayed to be emotionally strong and able to think quickly.

Coyotito - The baby of Kino and Juana. He is shot and killed at the end of the book by one of the trackers, who believed his crying to be that of a coyote.

Juan Tomás - The older brother of Kino who is consistently portrayed to be loyal to his family. He is shown to be concerned for Kino and his pearl. Although Kino declines to listen to his concerns and advice, Juan still agrees to help him escape from the people who are after him.

Apolonia - The matronly wife of Juan Tomás and Keno's sister-in-law. After learning that Keno had murdered a thief, she and Juan Tomás both helped Keno and Juana escape the town.

The Priest - A local priest who, when he hears news of the discovery of the Pearl, reminds Kino to give thanks to God and, perhaps greedily, suggests that Kino donate his pearl to charity and the church.

The Doctor - Known as "the doctor" throughout the story. He is disliked in the community due to his attitude toward the people of the village. He refuses to help Kino's family because Kino is poor and a Native American. He states that he is not a "veterinarian", implying that Kino's family are viewed by him as animals. His interest in the family only occurs after he hears of Kino's find of "The Pearl of the World".

The Trackers - A group of bounty hunters who track down Kino, Coyotito, and Juana in an attempt to steal the pearl.

The Beggers - A group of destitute people who loiter around the church. They predicted that Kino would not be accepted by the doctor.

 

 

Source and additional information: The Pearl (novella)