Preview

Kino's Greed

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
964 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Kino's Greed
The concept of fortune is said to bring a bright future; not always. One valuable could bring one’s simple and innocent mind to the opposite direction, greed. Greed can change one’s outlook on life and their appreciation for the valuables they already have. John Steinbeck, the author of, “The Pearl” presents to the reader many examples of how Kino’s life changed dramatically because of this said to be, “fortune”. In the duration of the novella, the plot is to help the reader understand the difficult times of one’s life all because of greed. Steinbeck uses Kino’s thoughts, actions, and hopes to prove how fortune can change one’s innocent mind into a greedy mind.

Kino’s actions has changed throughout the novella from innocent to violent and
…show more content…
Before the pearl entered Kino’s life, he had once heard the song of evil, “In his mind a new song had come, the Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage,secret, dangerous melody, and underneath, the Song of the Family cried plaintively.” (3) but once the pearl entered his life, it was not uncommon that he heard the song of evil very frequently. This reveals that the pearl brings evil into Kino’s mind and it interfered with the peaceful life he had before. Before the pearl, Kino was satisfied with what he had but ever since he acquired the epearl, he has always thought of wanting more. “A vision thing in the air North of the city-the vision of a mountain was two hundred miles away.” (21) This reveals that one thought to be “fortune” changed Kino’s mind into always wanting more instead of being satisfied. The fortune brings one's mind to think about what they want money wise instead of what they have family wise. The more damage the pearl does to the family, the less Kino hears the beautiful song of the pearl when he looks at the pearl and the more he hears the battle cry song of the family. “In Kino’s ears the song of the family was as fierce as a cry. He was immune and terrible and his song has become a battle cry.” (47) As a result of Kino seeing the true colors of the pearl and what it can do to an innocent man’s mind, the song of in his head has changed from good to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    You hit the jackpot. Enough to provide for you and your family beyond your wildest dreams. Imagine the riches it would bring, but also the darkness of human nature. Kino lives contently in a small village with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. It’s a simple but happy life. That is until he finds “the pearl of the world”. Although it seems that all of their problems will be gone, in reality it gives way to evil and desire. John Steinbeck creates a remarkable novella following the story of Kino and his family as they are impacted by greed. In the story of The Pearl, characteristics of Aristotle’s System of Tragedy are evident through Kino’s demonstration of hamartia, catastrophe, and catharsis.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characters in Of Mice and Men and The Pearl desire land, money, and power. However, greed is harmful, deceiving, and controlling of the mind. People want to overcome fate. They want to be greater than what they are. However fate triumphs in the end.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This novella, “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck unveils reality’s harshest cataclysm of angelic friendship. Diving into the facade, manipulation creeps amongst the red string of fate, opening eyes of the ones who slumber through day. If we register details and what may seem light prudently, asserting connections wherever we go— the tale will come alive itself, viable sentences wait. And thus, once the dice of destiny is rolled, all will be eventual.…

    • 74 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values. ” In the short story, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown”, by Walter Dean Myers explores the values of Greg Ridley, a fourteen-year-old boy who wants to play basketball but can’t because of his low grade in math. John Steinbeck’s novel, The Pearl, is about Kino and his family, who are poor, but when he finds the pearl he thinks that it will help him and his family ,but that soon changes when he goes to sell the pearl and as he becomes corrupt with greed. In both the “Treasure of Lemon Brown” and The Pearl, the main characters experience conflicts that change their views of what is important in life.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the end of the story,Kino is dealing with anger and greed and tries to resolve them by throwing the pearl into the ocean. “I am cheated” KIno shouts fiercely. “My pearl isn’t for sale here, I will go even perhaps the capital”. Kino is saying this because he wants more than the dealers are offering and he knows that he is being cheated. Another reason is saying this is because he will get more money in the capital than the city. “And a searing rage came to him giving him strength”. The only reason the rage comes to him is because he wanted the doctor to come and he knew that the doctor is in his house.…

    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the novel, “East of Eden”, John Steinbeck uses the controlling power of money to overcome greedy, curious, and desperate characters. Knowing money is necessary in life, most people will desire it, but in East of Eden it affects the lives of some of the main characters. Some in the book have an aspiration for money, while others find it come into their lives out of nowhere. The perception of wealth changes in characters. While some may find that money is the only wealth in life, others may see past this greedy obsession. Either good or bad, these interactions with money change their lives and the lives of others around them. Steinbeck uses wealth as a catalyst for the decisions that his characters make- whether they have money or whether they do not.…

    • 958 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The vital theme that John Steinbeck has examined was Greed, Greed as a Destructive force in Kino’s life. Kino seeks to gain wealth and status through the pearl and he transforms from a happy and comfortable father to a brutal criminal, and it is demonstrating that desires and greed are the root of all evil. As well as it destroys the innocence, and it is found in the New Testament in Paul’s first message to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10) “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” This was the exact situation that happened to Kino. Kino’s greed led him to behave violently towards his spouse; it also led to his son’s death and it detached…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Critical Lens: the Pearl

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In The Pearl, John Steinbeck uses powerful symbols to show the enormity of Kino’s hope and loss. The most powerful and reoccurring symbol is the pearl itself. The pearl brought hope into Kino’s life, and then devastated him by taking everything he loves. Throughout the book Kino is fighting and battling for wealth and the equality of his people. However, the pearl brings evil to him and he loses his way of life, his sanity, and his child. The hope and respect that the pearl brought masked the pain and evil that came along with it. Kino hoped that the wealth of the pearl would allow Coyotito to go to school and receive an education and that Kino and Juana would be married in a church.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, both parables by John Steinbeck, are stories with different themes. Yet despite the differences in the dreams and ambitions of Steinbeck's protagonists, his characters all share the hardship of having the will of society pitted against them. George and Lenny, from Of Mice and Men, travel from place to place, wandering as vagrants and accepting whatever charity available. They hope to create a sanctuary to shield their disillusioned lives. Quite opposite in situation is Kino, the poor American Native from The Pearl. He finds a pearl with the potential to uplift his family from poverty and discrimination. While the lives of the people are quite different, what binds them is that their dreams clash against the fabric of society, inevitably leading to their demise.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning he saw the pearl as this great thing that would help his family live on and be happy. "Our son must go to school. He must break out of the pot that holds us in," he said this with hopes of using the pearl for Coyotito’s schooling and giving him a better future with that knowledge. Toward the end of having the pearl he becomes insane and insecure. Juana realizes that the pearl is evil and says to Kino, "Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us - let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs. Kino, it is evil, it is evil!” Kino then starts taking into consideration of Juana is saying and becomes more into the thought that the pearl is really evil. Kino believes different things about the pearl from the beginning to the end, he goes from seeing it as hope to destruction and…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greed, the narcissistic desire to have more and more. "Money is the root of all evil" was a phrase penned in the bible, and it certainly holds true in this story. During the events following the discovery of the pearl, Kino becomes more and more determined to sell the pearl for a hefty sum of money. You can easily tell when he starts to develop greed, and it starts to take him over. Multiple times Kino refuses to get rid of the pearl, and even attacks his own wife so that she would not get rid of it. He would even go as far as traveling for days on end just to get a good price on the pearl, so greed would be a good explanation for Kino's drastic behavior.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pearl Symbolism

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The pearl show kino that,” coyotito sitting on a desk and writing on paper”(steinbeck 13). This show hope because the pearl show that coyotito can have an education. This made the reader happy that kino hope for an education for coyotito comes true. This happen in the world because many parents wants their children to have an education. To be exact the author use hope to describe kino, when he saw hope in the future in the pearl.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pearl Essay

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Greed can emotionally change a person. When Kino found the pearl, suddenly everything was all about him and his new wealth. “The news came to the doctor… [his] eyes rolled up a little in their fat hammocks and he thought of Paris. He remembered the room he had lived in there as a great and luxurious place...” (22) When the towns people learned of Kino’s great wealth, they began let their minds wonder in search of things they desired that would bring pleasure to them. They became selfish as they only thought of themselves. “And in the incandescence of the pearl the pictures formed of the things Kino’s mind had considered in the past and had given up as impossible.” (24) Kino really only wanted to own objects he did not need that would only benefit him and his family. Lastly, the pearl emotionally changed Kino by making him greedy and selfish.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Others may not agree with the pearl being evil due to the fact that the pearl would have made Kino and his family rich enough to do the things they had always wanted to do if they would have been able to sell the pearl. Even though this is true it eventually brought bad luck. The riches made Kino very greedy and would not give up his fortune. “No one shall take our great fortune from us” (57). Another reason others may not agree with the pearl being bad luck is due to the fact that when Kino had the pearl he was immediately very popular in the town. Even though Kino was very popular, the attention got him into lots of trouble and when the people heard about his great pearl they would try to rob him and steal the…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What if a person's biggest dream became their worst nightmare? What if its ramification was losing what they loved most? The Pearl, a fiction novel by John Steinbeck, encounters the bittersweet situations in life. Steinbeck elucidates the story with a family of three-Kino, Juana, and their baby boy, Coyotito-who lived in La Paz, Mexico. When their son gets stung by a scorpion and they find the pearl of the world, their fate changes. Kino made an injudicious decision throwing away the pearl. Being unwise is about understanding things for a fact, but not comprehending it to see the outcomes. "A smart person knows what to say, but a wise person knows when and what to say"-Mario Karras. If Kino would have kept the Pearl of the World, he could…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays