The ability to be content, the ability to restrain oneself in the possibility of more wealth, is incredibly difficult to gain.
Yet what is it inside humans, represented by Kino, that spurs them to keep going, in pursuit of something luring and foreign that has cost them so much already? About halfway through the novella, it is already clear that Kino has lost more than what he can regain with the pearl. Violence, hatred, and deceit enter his simple life, all rooted in greed. Although alluring and happy at first, it is slowly merged with the “music of evil” as things start spiraling downward. Kino then begins to hear the “music of the pearl”. Desperate to save their baby by obtaining money to pay the doctor, Kino happens to find a great treasure in an oyster underwater. The reader can, then, perhaps catch a glimpse of the “music of the family”, a melody that flows through the harmonious landscape, a melody that constitutes Kino’s peaceful life before the pearl.Įverything begins when Kino and Juana see a scorpion crawl down into Coyotito’s hanging box. Just as he is prepared to pounce on them, Coyotito lets out a cry, waking the sleepers.The Pearl by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck begins with one of the most picturesque, idyllic scenes in literature: a pearl diver, Kino, awaking at dawn, gazing lovingly at his wife Juana and their baby son Coyotito, listening to the sounds of the sea. He strips naked and sneaks up to striking distance. Kino decides that he must attempt to attack them unawares before the late moon rises. When the doctor inquires about payment, Kino explains the story of the pearl to him. After the doctor returns, he feeds Coyotito a potion to quiet the baby’s spasms. In this period, Coyotito grows violently ill and Kino decides to bury the pearl under the floor in a corner of the brush house. He administers a powdered capsule and promises to return in an hour. Shortly after, the doctor arrives, explaining that he was out in the morning but has come now to cure Coyotito. Toward evening, the local priest visits Kino, to bless him on his new fortune, and to remind him of his place within the church. The neighbors marvel at Kino’s boldness, wondering if he is wise or foolish to hold such ambitions.
Kino names a list of things that he will secure for his family with his newfound wealth, including a church wedding and an education for his son. In the afternoon, the whole neighborhood gathers at Kino’s brush house to celebrate his find. Kino lets out a triumphant yell at his good fortune, prompting the surrounding boats to circle in and examine the treasure. Juana’s prayers for a large pearl are answered when Kino surfaces with the largest pearl either of them has ever seen. Juana makes a poultice for Coyotito’s wound while Kino canvases the sea bottom.
Later that same morning, Kino and Juana take their family canoe out to the estuary to go diving for pearls. However, when they arrive at the gate, they are turned away because they are poor natives and not paying customers. With hopes of protecting their son, Kino and Juana rush him to the doctor’s clinic in town. One morning, calamity visits their home when Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion. Kino, Juana and their infant son Coyotito live in a modest brush house by the sea.