Kenzie Fuhr

10/31/18
Period 6 LA

The Pearl ​Theme Essay

John Steinbeck, one of the most talented authors in American history and author of many

classics uses many techniques when writing his novels and short stories. One of his most popular

stories is ​The Pearl. ​This book is about a native in the old times named Kino, who was faced

with fortune, but unfortunately his greed got the best of him. The story is full of surprise and

unexpected twists that leave the reader connected morally to Kino and his family. The story is

built with many techniques and is strongly dependent on literary elements. Steinbeck creates the

theme wealth can bring fortune as much as it can bring misfortune by using characterization,

symbolism, and motifs.

The first literary element Steinbeck used was characterization. This element was used by

building a perceived image of each character, as well as developing a perspective on the story.

An example of characterization was early in the story, “ She, who was obedient and respectful

and cheerful and patient, she could arch her back in child pain with hardly a cry. She could stand

fatigue and hunger almost better than Kino himself. In the canoe she was like a strong man”(7).

This piece of evidence is a clear representation of the way Steinbeck uses characterization to

propel the story. In the evidence above we learn about Juana and throughout the story we

recognize her as strong and intelligent. Another piece of evidence is describing the doctor, “ And

they knew the doctor. They knew his ignorance, his cruelty, his avarice, his appetites, his

sins”(9). From the evidence above, we gather that the doctor is not a good man, and all his flaws
are brought to the surface by Steinbeck. We gain knowledge that he is sinful and greed. This is a

good connection to the theme, because it provides an example of how the doctor falls short to

greed, and although Juana didn’t, she still was punished for her husband's actions. Later in the

story they both encountered misfortune and evil because of the pearl.

In the same way Steinbeck uses characterization, he also uses symbolism to develop the

theme. Symbolism is one of the most common ways that Steinbeck develops his themes.​ ​An

example of symbolism is found later in the story after Kino is overtaken with greed. For instance,

“the canoe of his grandfather, plastered over and over, and a splintered hole broken in it. This

was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a

boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal” (62).

This demonstrates symbolism, because Steinbeck uses it to portray the significance that the greed

has and what it will do. In this case the canoe’s destruction symbolizes the outcome of Kino’s

greediness. The canoe was a symbol of not only history and cultural importance, but now of evil

and the effects great fortune can bring. A second example of symbolism is when tragedy has

been brought upon Kino and his family, “ … he held the great pearl in his hand. He looked into

its surface and it was gray and ulcerous. Evil faces peered from it into into his eyes, and he saw

the light of burning. And in the surface of the pearl he saw the frantic eyes of the man in the

pool. And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his

head shot away”(89). In this section we recognize the pearl’s meaning and how it conveys the

theme. He tells us that the pearl is the cause for all the misfortune that has been brought upon

him. The pearl is symbolizing the death of the stranger, trapper, and Coyotito. It shows the

burning of Kino’s house and the fear in the eyes of witnesses to its great evil. Both pieces of
evidence portray the theme well and connect strongly to it. Both pieces are examples of the evil

and tragedy caused by the pearl, the destruction of his grandfathers boat and the innocent lives

lost due to its discovery.

The final literary element Steinbeck used to write ​The Pearl ​is the use of motifs. Motifs

are the repetition of an idea throughout a piece of writing. In this case, Steinbeck took great

advantage of them and they appeared many times throughout the story. The first motif found in

The Pearl,​ ​ w
​ ould be the different songs Kino hears when different things occured. In the

beginning of the story we see the first appearance of a motif, “...Kino closed his eyes again to

listen to his music. Perhaps he alone did this and perhaps all of his people did it. His people had

once been great makers of songs so that everything they saw or thought or did or heard became a

song”(1-2). In this section the motif is the music and songs Kino heard. As he said, everything

that was seen or thought or did or heard, was a song of some sort, and throughout the story

various songs are heard. The song of his family or the song evil are very apparent throughout the

story and are great examples of a motif because they are repeated so many times. A second motif

I found was the appearance of dark figures and shadows. In chapter 5 the motif appears, “... the

light came again, and she saw two dark figures lying in the path ahead of her”(60). The

reappearance of dark figures and dark shadows are what make them an important element to the

story and obviously they hold symbolic significance because they are continually reinforced and

embellished into the story. Both of these motifs are strong contributors to the development of the

theme because as the songs of family and peace “quiet” down as the songs of evil become louder

and soon represent the overwhelming greed. And the dark figures begin to appear frequently
until soon Kino is surrounded with them as he is greed. The motifs and theme are aligned with

one another and they build off each other in order to build a central idea in a passage.

Steinbeck creates the theme wealth can bring fortune as much as it can bring misfortune

in ​The Pearl ​by using characterization, symbolism, and motifs. Each element he used contributes

to the development of the theme. Steinbeck uses characterization to represent how both the

doctor and Juana became greedy from the hope of fortune and both of them experienced

misfortune and tragedy. He also takes advantage of symbolism to connect to the theme by

representing the effect the fortune of the pearl had on different things in the book. He symbolizes

the destruction of his grandfather’s canoe as the effect of the greed, as well as the innocent lives

lost due to the greed as well. The final element Steinbeck uses is motifs. The motifs he uses are

the occurrence of dark figures and different songs. Both of which build up to the theme because

they both signal the misfortune that is to come to Kino. Steinbeck created this tale of greed and

misfortune by using the literary elements to portray the effect that fortune can take on somebody

who is not wise and stays grounded. Unfortunately, Kino and his family were caught in the

crossfire of being content and being greedy and soon enough Kino felt the tragic effects it can

have.