The Theme of Wealth in The Pearl
Wealth is something that all people want. It was no different in The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Wealth is a major theme in the book. Wealth can bring a lot of good, but also can be very destructive if it is abused. The symbols, imagery, and characters all bring out how wealth can be helpful or destructive.
The animal imagery in the book shows how wealth is destructive. The animals and people start off happy in the book. However, at the first mention of potential wealth, this scene changes. People begin to act like animals. Kino throws back his head and howls like a wolf when he discovers the pearl. The use of animal imagery showed how money makes people act. Words like “hawk”, “lizard”, and “snake” were used to describe people or things that related closely to people. These descriptive words were used to describe people after the pearl was found. The greed for wealth destroyed people and caused them to act like animals as shown by the animal imagery. However, after the pearl was thrown back into the sea, the animal imagery changed again. All mentions of animals were about real animals. People were described using words that generally describe people. The animal imagery mainly supports the destructive power that wealth had. Man turned the pearls into something evil by his greed and that is how it became destructive.
The Essay on Inequality In Society People Today Wealth
In Britain today there is great inequality particularly in wealth. Is this a good or bad feature of society? It could be argued that the inequality in society today particularly in wealth is acceptable. In society the divide between rich and poor is necessary because we need the poor and un-educated people to perform the menial work e. g. cleaning, tillers, bus drivers, street sweepers etc. The ...
The characters also support wealth as both helpful and destructive. Kino, as the main character in the book, is one example of this. At the beginning of the book, he was mainly concerned about making a living and living with other people. However, when the possibility of wealth arose through the discovery of the pearl, he changed a lot. He realized all the good things that wealth would make possible for him. Wealth could have changed the way they lived. It would have provided Coyotito with an education. It would have bought them new clothes. Their lives would have improved a lot. In this way wealth would have been very helpful. However, it was also very destructive. Kino changed into an animal-like person. He became mean and hurtful to his wife. As a result of how wealth destroyed his character, he killed several people. His own son was ultimately killed. Wealth also affected the pearl-buyers for the worse. They became greedy and “as watchful as hawks”. The doctor as well was affected by wealth. When no money was involved, he didn’t want to help Kino. When he realized he could make money, he made Coyotito, who by this time was getting better, sick again. Wealth had so corrupted him that he stooped so low as to make a child sick for his own financial gain. All of this destruction was caused by the potential power and greed that wealth brought.
Finally, the symbols show the destructive power of wealth. One major symbol is the symbol of the music. The music showed throughout the book what Kino was feeling and thinking. When he was pearl hunting, he heard the “Music of the Pearl that Might Be” (p. 17).
It promised much for Kino and Juana. This was good music. There was also the evil music or the music of the enemy. This music was prominent when bad things happened as a result of the greed for the pearl. The Music of Evil was at times intertwined with the Music of the Pearl. This happened after the pearl caused Kino to kill the man who had wrecked his canoe. This symbolism shows the how the pearl was causing evil. Kino continued to hear the Music of Evil when he and Juana were taking the pearl to the city. When he was sneaking up on the trackers to attack them, the music of evil became quieter. The music of the family was what drove Kino to attack the trackers. Kino continued to hear the music of the family as he and Juana went back to their hometown. The Song of the Family was the driving force behind Kino as he threw the pearl into the sea. The music as a general symbol in the book shows how wealth is destructive. When Kino thought only about what wealth the pearl could bring him, he heard the music of evil. This turned to the music of the family when he thought about his family as it related to the pearl. When his focus was no longer on wealth, he made better decisions for himself and his family. Focusing on the pearl caused him to be greedy as was shown by the music of evil.
The Essay on The Pearl Kino Family Juana
Kino's lack of material items did not keep him from happiness. That is until he thought it was possible to acquire a greater amount of wealth and increase his happiness through the pearl. In turn, this resulted in the downfall of Kino and his family. Kino's life before the pearl brought him satisfaction and contentment. He was a loving husband and father. "Juana is driven, although instinctively ...
The helpfulness or destructive power of wealth in The Pearl was shown by the imagery, characters, and the symbols. Wealth in itself is very helpful. It could have improved the lives of Kino and Juana very much. Wealth in itself is not bad, but greed for it and the abuse of it was what turned the pearl into evil.
