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1. MAN AS PART OF NATURE Steinbeck was fascinated by natural science. He had taken science courses at Stanford University, had worked in a fish hatchery, and was a good friend of Ed Ricketts, a marine biologist. While studying the shallow waters off the coast of Baja California, Steinbeck witnessed the war for survival among the various ocean species, as well as their many forms of interdependence. He saw striking similarities between human beings and other species. When you read Chapters III and IV you'll notice Steinbeck's comparison of a town to a "colonial animal." Very primitive single-celled organisms (paramecia, for example) often group together into colonies- sometimes called aggregations- for the purpose of feeding or mating. Steinbeck used this biological aggregation as a model for the social groupings of higher level animals, including human beings. Human society is composed of individuals (like the single-celled animals), whose survival depends on interrelationships. Kino is alone when he finds the pearl, but the discovery of the pearl quickly travels throughout the village- the social, or colonial, animal- which reacts as an entirety with greed, envy, and dreams. Kino is an impoverished Indian fisherman, but more important is his allegorical role as a man faced with the temptation of wealth beyond his wildest dreams. Because the novella is concerned with Kino's moral obligation and not his civic obligation, it concludes with Kino's casting the pearl back into the sea, a renunciation of material wealth that indicates he has learned a moral lesson. It is important that the novella does not conclude with Kino's arrest or continuing flight from justice, as a realistic novel concerned with civic punishment for ethical transgression might. Kino Kino is at first characterized in very simple terms as a man of few wants; he is content with his family life, proud of his son and his heritage, and satisfied with his meager living that provides his basic needs. Because he is calm and peaceful, Kino lives in harmony with nature. He enjoys the simple things around him, including the sounds of the night, the movements of the ants, the splendor of the sea, his wife lying beside him on the cot, his child lying in the hammock, and the "little splash of morning waves on the beach." He and his wife have been together so long that words are unnecessary between them; they communicate their feelings with signs and music. Kino's music in the beginning is the "Song of Family." He is a picture of total contentment. To provide for his family, Kino is a pearl-driver. He works hard each day, weighing himself down with a stone and repeatedly diving down to an oyster bed. He dreams about finding a large pearl, but is happy that he can provide food for his family through his efforts. He is also thankful to have a fine canoe to use in his work; it has been passed down from his grandfather to his father to him. Kino values the canoe as a tie to his past and as his "bulwark against starvation." Kino, though a poor man, is extremely dignified. He is proud of his past, his wife, his son, his canoe, and his home. He is also aware of his place in society. He realizes that the "civilized" world of the people in town has no place for him since he is poor and uneducated. He wants to give his son the opportunity to enter this world and, thus, dreams of his son getting an education and learning to read. Kino cannot be married in the church because he cannot pay the priest properly. He cannot get medical help for Coyotito from the doctor in town because he is poor and cannot pay the medical fee. In frustration over his situation, Kino bangs on the doctor's gate and hurts his hand. Throughout the book, the injured hand serves as a reminder of Kino's place in the poor, native, lower class. When Kino finds the greatest pearl in the world, he is unprepared to handle the jealousy and envy generated by his treasure. Kino has never possessed anything more valuable than his canoe; thus, he is naive about the reactions of other people to someone's wealth. He looks at the pearl and sees its rare beauty; he also sees it as a means of providing a proper wedding for Juana and himself and an education for his son. Other people see the pearl and selfishly want it to bring fortune their way. The priest sees the pearl as providing a means for getting the needed repairs for his church. As a result, the priest, filled with hypocrisy, goes to call on Kino. He tells Kino to thank the Lord for his treasure and to remember his duty to the church (the one that has refused to marry him and Juana). Then the doctor comes to call on Kino and now offers to treat Coyotito. In order to ingratiate himself to the owner of the pearl, he first gives the infant a "medicine" to make him appear sicker. Then the doctor returns and pretends to cure Coyotito. While at Kino's hut, he tells the Indian that he is worried about his safety and suggests that he keeps the pearl for him. Through these two visitors, Kino begins to understand the envy and evil that now surrounds him. Next Kino must deal with the pearl buyers, who try to trick him out of the pearl. In a united front, they all tell him the pearl is worthless and offer Kino a ridiculously low sum. Kino bravely stands up against them breaking native tradition, and refuses their offer. Instead, he plans to leave the security of his home and go to the capital to sell his pearl. Before he can leave, he is attacked three times in the darkness of night and is forced to kill one of his attackers. His canoe is destroyed, and his hut is burned. In spite of these horrendous events, Kino refuses to part with the pearl. He still naively believes it is the answer to his dreams and the security for his family. When Juana tries to throw it back into the ocean, he wrestles the pearl away from her. In his rage against her actions, he also hits and kicks the woman that he loves. The pearl is obviously changing him. When Kino leaves La Paz with Juana and Coyotito, he feels like a hunted animal. They travel in the darkness of night and leave false trails for the trackers who seek them. When the trackers finally close in, Kino decides to attack them. He stabs two of the men and fires a rifle at the third. Ironically, one of the stray bullets hits and kills his greatest treasure, his son Coyotito. Now Kino accepts that the pearl has produced only evil effects in his life, and he chooses to get rid of it. After returning to La Paz to bury his son, he and Juana go to the beach and fling the pearl back into the sea. While he possessed the "treasure," Kino lost the real treasures in his life, his peaceful lifestyle, his contentment, his appreciation of nature, his canoe, his hut, and his only son. It is no wonder that at the end of the book he stands as a bitter and defeated man who feels he has lost everything. CONFLICT Protagonist: The protagonist of the novel is Kino, the pearl diver, and the entire plot revolves around him. At the beginning of the play, Kino is described as a simple family man, content with his surroundings and wanting nothing more than a full stomach and a placid life. When the scorpion bites his son, he takes him to the doctor. The doctor's curt response and refusal to help Coyotito causes Kino to search for the pearl. He discovers the greatest pearl in the world, which seems to incur the wrath of the gods. After finding the pearl, Kino must endure continuous hazards, which leave him afraid, yet unrelenting and defiant. Although he fights the evil forces behind the pearl, he cannot overcome them. He finally loses his most precious possession, his only son to the evil forces. The novel comes full circle with Kino flinging the pearl back to the sea from where it had come. Kino's character as a tough, resilient hardy man has been beautifully depicted. Antagonist: Kino's antagonist is the beautiful pearl, which breeds greed, envy, and evil amongst the people around Kino, who are jealous of his newfound wealth. Climax: In chapter six, Kino and his family flee from their country to go and sell their pearl. Evil trackers, hoping to steal the pearl, follow them on their journey. Coyotito's cry reveals the presence of Kino and his family, and the trackers shoot and kill their son. Finally, Kino hurls the pearl back into the sea. Outcome: The novel ends in tragedy. After the death of Coyotito, there is nothing left for Kino and Juana. The pearl has no value to them, for the main reason for selling it is to provide for their son. Now he is gone. The novel ends with Kino and Juana returning to their country, utterly forlorn and defeated. As the entire village follows them, the couple walks to the sea. There, Kino takes the pearl in his hand and flings it into the water, where it slowly disappears. For me, Kino is heroic. He is forced into an adventure (or misadventure) with his discovery of the "Pearl of the World" -- a discovery beyond anything he could imagine. His love of home and family, however misguided, is genuine. What makes Kino a modern heroic figure is his lack of a guide or god to intervene on his behalf. Kino has only the ancient "songs" to direct and warn him. The bravery he possesses is visceral and almost bestial rather than rational and divine. The scene where Kino strips off his clothing to pursue his trackers comes to mind. For him, there is no gift from the gods. Kino and Juana are wiser at the end of the story when they decide to return the pearl to the sea, but at what personal cost? Steinbeck leaves me with a sense of hopelessness. The Pearl may be a modern parable, but the face of poverty seems all too real. Kino is a tragic hero whose ruin illustrates the extent to which greed and ambition can destroy one's life. Although he is much wiser by the novel's conclusion, he has paid too costly a price. I don't see Kino as a hero. To me he seemed more to symbolize "The average Joe". Nor do I agree that he paid a price because he was greedy. The things he imagined that the "Pearl of the World" would bring him were, in my estimation anyway, very humble, modest improvments to his family's quality of life. Nothing he dreamed of was symptomatic of greed. The greed that was described in this story was exhibited by the doctor, pearl buyers, and whoever it was who hired the trackers. Kino was not particularly brave either was he? I mean, his struggles with the night visitor, the attacker by the boat, and the trackers were pretty much unavoidable (and self defense). I think if I ever find a treasure, I'll keep quiet about it. If Kino had not howled in joy at his discovery, no one would have known that there was a pearl to steal. His ignorance of the ways of the world doomed him. He didn't stand a chance. The narrator says that the story is a parable and, as with all often-told tales, there is only good and bad. This statement prepares us for clear-cut judgment of things to come -- for an "either/or" type of view of the events yet to happen. The narrator states there is black and white; with no distinction in between. [Thus Steinbeck prepares us for his packaged presentation of good versus evil, and the fact that evil does exist in life in society.] In chapter one we meet with Kino and his good wife, Juana, both living in a village just outside La Paz, Baja California in Northwestern Mexico. Their lives follow a pattern which is greatly established since they follow the same pattern of life their ancestors led. Juana always awakens before Kino, fans the fire, and prepares the same breakfast. Always the same simple and humble breakfast of corn cakes, for they have not for more. Kino always knows exactly what Juana is doing, even without watching. Juana faithfully goes about her tasks, always humming the same ancient song of her ancestors. [This shows us how unified they are with their past and with their predecessors -- how traditional they are in their ways.] Kino is content with his routine, unbothered at all by it.
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