Perhaps, one reason why Steinbeck uses the idea of God and the Church is that he uses it as an avenue to criticize religion and the society that believes in God. Moreover, the elements of the Catholic religion, which dominate Spanish culture, are also present in the story such as the Church, God and heaven. He also introduces a Catholic priest, who is a major character in any setting involving criticism of religion. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses Spanish in the names of the characters Juana, Coyotito, Juan Tomas and Apolonia, as well as the place called La Paz. Obviously, Steinbeck had considerable exposure to the language.
In fact, according to Steinbeck himself, his boyhood friend Max Wagner had lived in Mexico for a number of years and had learned Spanish from him, and that Steinbeck’s father was able to learn Spanish while “cowboying for the Post family” (82). One writing technique that Steinbeck employs in The Pearl is the deliberate use of Spanish and local color to show “ affinity for the people depicting, to position them with, rather than above, the working class” (Gladstein 81). Throughout the novel, Steinbeck employs various writing techniques not only to teach the moral lesson of the story but to demonstrate the theme of naturalism. The Pearl shows that we should do what is right rather than be greedy.However, everything turned out to be the opposite of what he expected. Through out the pearl there are many examples of how greed clouds emotions and decisions and how people are easily people become greedy. ” Due to greed caused by the pearl Kino now has turned against his family. See if he has any money! ” The doctor is already rich yet he still wants money, he cannot think about what is right he only thinks about himself and money.Īnother example of greed in The Pearl is when Juana tries to throw the pearl away, Kino acts very violently towards her:” And rage surged in Kino… he struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders and he kicked her in the side. I, I alone in the world am supposed to work for nothing – and I am tired of it. ” “Has he any money? ” the doctor demanded. In these two scenes, they show how greedy the doctor instinctively is greedy even when he knows Coyotito has been stung by a scorpion: “Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little Indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary. In the parable, Steinbeck shows how greedy people naturally are. In the pearl John shows how our emotions and decisions can be easily clouded and changed by greed. Instead of everything going their way they are plagued by misfortune and violence due to the pearl and its immense value. In the pearl Kino and Juana find “the pearl of the world”, they think that everything will be fine for them and their baby Coyotito, and that they will get everything they want.
Theme of the Pearl In the pearl, John Steinbeck includes many themes, but to me the main theme in this parable is greed.