The Pearl
參賽者：施〇輝（財法四）
名次：第一名
書名：The Pearl
得獎作品：
‘The Pearl’ is a heartfelt story written by John Ernest Steinbeck who wrote it soon after his overnight success with ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. The Pearl reveals how people in poverty struggled to stay alive, especially after the discrimination that Steinbeck witnessed against the Mexican people in the 1940s. This is a story that portrayed how greed can devour a man.
Kino was a young pearl diver who led a simple life with his wife Juana and son Coyotito in La Paz. He loved his family and remained faithful to the traditions of his village and his people. One day, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion while sleeping on his bed. However, the mercenary town doctor refused to treat the baby because Kino could not pay the exorbitant treatment fees. That day, Kino went diving and obtained a great pearl. Both Kino and Juana thought that their prayers were answered as they would be able pay the doctor to treat their son. News travelled quickly about the pearl and many people in the town plotted to steal the pearl from Kino. While the townspeople plotted against Kino, he dreamt of marrying Juana in a church, buying a rifle, and sending Coyotito to school so that he could learn to read. Kino believed that an education will free his son from the poverty and ignorance that have oppressed their people for more than four hundred years.
The doctor came to treat Coyotito when he learnt of Kino's pearl, and even though Coyotito was already healed by Juana's remedy, the doctor took advantage of Kino's ignorance and convinced him that Coyotito would die without the care of a doctor. The doctor tried to con Kino into revealing the place he hid pearl. The doctor is an important character in The Pearl because he represents the colonial attitudes that oppressed Kino’s people for years. The doctor symbolizes the colonists’ greed and arrogance towards the natives. Like the other colonists, the doctor displayed no interest in Kino’s people. His warped values made him there simply only to make money out Kino. As a physician, the doctor is duty-bound to save lives, but when faced with someone whom he considered as status that is beneath him, the doctor felt no obligation at all. His unsympathetic refusal to treat Coyotito for the scorpion sting simply because Kino did not have the money to pay him exhibit the human costs of political conquest embedded in the desire for financial profit.
Greed contaminates their once simple way of life. When Kino tried to sell the pearl in town for fifty thousand pesos the dealers only wished to pay one thousand for, the pearl buyers tried means to convince Kino that the great pearl he found was worthless because it was too large. Kino made the decision not to sell the pearl and intended to travel to another city to sell the pearl at a fair price. His brother, Tom Juan, felt Kino was foolish because it defied his usual way of life and placed his family in great danger.
Juana warned Kino that the pearl was evil and would destroy the family, but he refused to throw it away because it was an opportunity to provide a different life for his family. That night, Juana tried to throw the pearl into the sea, but Kino managed to stop her in time and gave her a beating. From a simple and contented man, Kino became aggressive against people who showed interest in the pearl and the tragic break from the family he longed to support. The pearl finally led Kino into corruption, and he slit a man's throat who attempted to steal the pearl from him.
Eventually, the price of the pearl was higher than anyone could imagine. It was paid in the price with the cold blood of Coyotito. While they were travelling to another town, Kino discovered trackers following them. He knew that they would steal the pearl and kill his family. Kino and Juana took the baby and hid in a cave at nightfall. Kino sneaked down in the night to kill the trackers but before he could attack them, Coyotito gave a loud cry. The trackers thought that it was a coyote and shot at the dark cave where Juana and Coyotito hid. As the shot was fired, Kino attacked the trackers and killed them all. Unfortunately, Coyotito was already killed by the first gunshot and Kino's journey with the pearl ended in a tragedy. Filled with redemption and sorrow, Kino and Juana decided to return home and get rid of the trouble source. They returned to La Paz and threw the pearl back to the ocean.
Steinbeck has written a parable about how wealth and greed may deplete innocence and bring evil into our lives. With his expressive and beautiful writing style, he brought the story to life.
In the beginning of the story, Kino is a simple man who is essentially contented with his lot in life. However, Coyotito’s scorpion sting and discovery of the great pearl opened Kino’s eyes to a larger world. The portrayal of Kino’s character is a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and delusion. The forces propelling this decline are desires and greed in human. In the story, Juana symbolizes wisdom and common sense. She supports Kino’s dreams and idealism but was vigilant and guarded against the pearl’s temptations. Juana was at first seduced by the luxury that the pearl will bring for them, but she recognized the pearl was a potential threat as Kino’s character changed and their family might be broken up because of it. Contrary to Kino, Juana believed that their lives would be better if they maintained things as they were. Kino could only see what they can gain from the pearl, but Juana understood they were on the losing end. Juana’s presence in the story capped Kino’s enthusiasm and serves as a warning to the readers that Kino’s desire to make money was dangerous. Kino’s brother represents the voice of reason and caution. He recognized the fact that they must not show too much ambition or else everything good will be torn from them.
In a story that is less than a hundred pages, Steinbeck managed to captivate the readers and empathized deeply with the characters. Readers are lured into turning the pages knowing that an impending disaster awaits Kino and his family as the pearl starts to devour Kino’s soul. The story is considered as a classic because it portrays ideas that are common to all people. In this world, everyone has greed and the desire to become wealthy. Steinbeck made use of simple music like the song of family, the song of evil, the song of the pearl to create a surreal story. The Pearl displayed an exploration of how good motives can bring a person to a bad end.
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