The Pearl
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Kino, a character from the story “The Pearl,” is a prime example of a developing character. From the start through to the end, he develops drastically. At the beginning, he was thought out to be a good loyal husband but as time went on he became a selfish, greedy person who would do anything for money.
When the story began Kino seemed to be a good husband who wanted nothing more than to be able to support his family. After a scorpion had stung Coyotito, Kino prayed that he would find a pearl not to become a rich man but so that he could pay the doctor to heal the baby, as he would not work free.
After Kino had spent long hard hours searching the ocean floor, he finally found the pearl he had worked for. At first when he found it, he only wanted to pay the doctor to cure Coyotito. However as time passed he began to think of all the things that he could acquire with the money form the pearl and began to develop greed and selfishness. When people asked him what he would buy now that he was a rich man, he was quick to list several items that came to his mind. One of these items was a rifle. Kino wanted a rifle because he wanted to show power over the rest of his village.
When Kino took the pearl to the pearl buyers to sell, he was offered one thousand pesos. Kino declined that offer claiming that his pearl was “The Pearl of the World.” By reacting in such a manner he yet again demonstrates his greed. It is not about saving Coyotito anymore, for he is already feeling well, it is now about the money. Although one thousand pesos was more money than Kino had ever seen he demanded that he would get fifty thousand pesos.
Later in the text, Kino discovers Juana trying to destroy the pearl, causing Kino to become very angry, and resulted in him beating her. Although Juana was in very much pain she accepted the beating as if it were a punishment and stayed with Kino. A while later Kino was attacked by another man who wanted the pearl for himself and defended his pearl by killing the man. It is around this point in the story where Kino displays his greatest point of greed and selfishness.
When Kino gets ready to attack the trackers Coyotito lets out a cry awakening one of the sleeping trackers. The tracker on watch described the cry as being the cry of a baby, however, the tracker who had just awaked described it as being a coyote. The tracker on guard then lifted his rifle and shot in the direction of the sound. This sparked the deadliest of fuses in Kino, which turned him from a normal man into a fearsome, uncontrollable, machinelike man killing everything in its path.
When Kino returned to the village he looked at the pearl and began to realize the effect it had on him, his family, and his village, and decided to throw it back into the ocean where it came from.
Kino has paid a large price to learn such a valuable lesson, that we should not let greed and our want for something to overcome us and let us lose sight of the important things in life such as family, health, and life itself.
2nd –
The Pearls protagonist, is an extremely simple character, motivated by basic drives: his love for his family, loyalty to the traditions of his village and his people, and frustration at his peoples oppression at the hands of their European colonizers. Kino also possesses a quick mind and a strong work ethic, and he feels a close, pure kinship with the natural world, the source of his livelihood.
At the beginning of the novella, Kino is essentially content with his life. However, two seemingly chance occurrences–Coyotitos being stung by a scorpion and Kinos discovery of the pearl–open Kinos eyes to a larger world. As Kino begins to covet material wealth and education for his son, his simple existence becomes increasingly complicated by greed, conflict, and violence. The basic trajectory of Kinos character is a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and disillusionment. The forces propelling this decline are ambition and greed. At the end of the novella, Kinos tranquil relationship with nature has been perverted and reversed, a change signified by the fact that Kino finds the sounds of the animals at night threatening rather than reassuring.
Because The Pearl is a parable, Kinos character can be interpreted in many ways. It can be seen as a critique of colonial politics, an exploration of how good motives can bring a person to a bad end, or even an attack on the idea of the American dream. But on the most basic level, Kino represents the dangers of ambition and greed. Kinos ruin, caused by his lust for the pearl, illustrates the extent to which ambition and greed poison and jeopardize every aspect of a humans familial, cultural, and personal well-being.
3rd –
Kino, a poor Indian fisherman, lives on the Gulf of California
with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. Their simple hut is made of
brush, and the couple sleeps on mats thrown on the dirt floor, while
Coyotito sleeps in a hanging box. Like others in their poor village,
they depend on nature for survival.
As The Pearl begins, dawn is breaking. Kino watches the sun
rise and listens to the sounds of the morning. But within moments, a
dangerous situation develops. A poisonous scorpion stings Coyotito,
Kinos infant son, and the babys screams draw people from all over
the village. Juana insists that the doctor be called, but Kino knows
the physician is Spanish and considers himself above treating poor
Indians. This does not satisfy Juana, who announces that if the doctor
will not come to the village, then they will go to his house. But the
doctor refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino is too poor.
Later that day, while Kino and Juana are fishing in the Gulf,
Kino finds an enormous pearl and cries out in joy. He believes the
pearl will make him rich and enable him to provide security for his
family. But Kino discovers otherwise. The pearl stirs envy in the