The Great Pearl


How would you feel if you put your family in danger for riches? The Author of The Pearl is John Steinbeck. This book is good for young adults because it teaches you that riches aren’t everything. The book is about family and greed. Kino found a magnificent pearl that he hopes will make him rich, instead it nearly destroys himself and his family.
John Steinbeck uses nature many times. It describes the people. It explains the natives as small ants. But the colonists are big ants stronger and have more control. So the natives are weaker than the colonists.
Many things in nature were symbols. Kino one of the main characters found a symbol. It was a great pearl. But that’s not the only symbol, his family was another symbol. They are symbols in the story because of the music and become the songs in Kino’s heart. The music is the final symbol. It represents evil, good, the pearl, and the family.
The pearl was supposed to bring riches to Kino. But the opposite happened. People fought over the pearl. The pearl was special evil. It was special because it was big and beautiful. It was evil because people fought for it such as the doctor, the pearl buyers, the native islanders, and the priest. They all wanted it for themselves. Greed was slowly destroying everyone especially Kino’s family.
As said in the introduction, this novel is about family and greed. Kino was trying to save his family. But it caused destruction throughout the village.