Six Paragraph Essay on the Pearl by John Steinbeck

What price would one be willing to pay to achieve all of their wildest dreams? 1,000 pesos? 50,000 pesos? What about the respect of their community? Even worse, the life of their child. While Kino did not intend to lose any of these attributes in his quest for a better life, his stubbornness guided him to murder and ultimate heartbreak. It leaves the reader questioning, what price should be paid to attain the luxuries one wants from life? John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, follows a poor Indian/Mexican pearl diver as the best find of his life slowly morphs into the greatest misfortune he had ever known. Blinded by opportunity, Kino discovers too late that his treasure is a magnet for destruction. Through Kino’s adversity, the reader†¦show more content†¦Without a doubt, Kino would have thrown the pearl back to the sea upon its discovery had he known that the price he would have to pay was Coyotito’s life. For example, Steinbeck writes, â€Å"He looke d into its surface and it was gray and ulcerous. Evil faces peered from it 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. And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth .† Also the pearl tore the family apart and led Kino to hurt Juana for trying to send the pearl back. These examples illustrate aptly why the themes â€Å"greed is the root of all evil† and â€Å"family is the greatest pearl of all† fit perfectly within this story. It is no wonder why this book is considered a classic. With an original plot and setting, Steinbeck engages the reader from the first sentence. Unlike many authors, Steinbeck does not spend copious amounts of time describing each blade of grass on the valley floor. The most important scenes and people are explained thoroughly without quoting the entire dictionary. To describe Kino, Steinbeck wrote , â€Å"Kino was young and strong and his black hair hung over his brown forehead. His eyes were warm and fierce and bright and his mustache was thin and coarse .† It is an admirable feat, to remain brief yet concise,Show MoreRelated Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay example9610 Words   |  39 PagesOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was born on 27 Feb 1902 in Salinas, California, not far from the area where Of Mice and Men is set. He attended Stanford University, but never settled to one area of study and left without obtaining a degree. In his twenties, he pursued a varied working life, including that of an itinerant ranch worker, similar to the characters portrayed in the novel. His early writings had some success, and established him as an author interested in