At the end, they are left with less than what they started with. But she is right, no good comes of the family while they are in possession of the pearl. Kino’s treatment of Juana is also shocking to a modern eye – hitting her when she wants to get rid of the pearl. Looking at this through a modern lens, it’s shocking, as is the violence the couple experience. Once they come into money, all these people immediately think about how to swindle them out of their fortune. As poor people, Juana and Kino have few rights and are looked down upon by the rich – the doctor, the pearl dealers and the priest. It gets right to the heart of the main issues – money and greed. Juana wants Kino to throw the pearl away, but he refuses until tragedy strikes.įor a slim read, The Pearl packs a lot of punch. Forced out of their home, the family leaves their town in search for a better price for the pearl and a better life. People attempt to harm them and the pearl buyers try to swindle them. The whole community is overjoyed, but the pearl doesn’t bring the happiness Kino expected. He and Juana can get married, Coyotito can go to school and they will have the money to pay the doctor when they are ill. Convinced that this will be the solution to all his problems, Kino is ecstatic. One day when Kino is diving, he finds an oyster that contains a huge pearl. They live in relative poverty, but have each other and their families. Kino and his wife Juana are poor but happy in their relationship and delighted with baby Coyotito. The Pearl is a parable retelling of a Mexican folktale. I was impressed and looking forward to see how his style changes with his longer fiction and non-fiction. Why? Because even though I haven’t yet read a lot of Steinbeck, his style in this novella was completely different to the last book of his I read. The Pearl by John Steinbeck surprised me. Why I chose it: Enjoying making my way through Steinbeck’s works. The not-so-good: Somewhat predictable ending. The good: An enjoyable story that is very visual in its telling. When Kino finds ‘the Pearl of the World’, their fortunes change, but not for the better. In brief: Kino and Juana live a poor but happy life.
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