The Pearl

• Title of book               : The Pearl
• Author                      : John Steinbeck
• Publisher                    : Penguin Books
• Year of publication     : 1992

         Kino was a man with a wife named Juana and a baby boy named Coyotito. He lived in poverty. He loved his family and he works hard to make their life better. One day, Coyotito was stung by scorpion and because of that, Kino brought him to the doctor in the town. But the doctor didn’t want to help him because of his poverty. Then, he tried to find a pearl that can pay the doctor to cure Coyotito. He found The Pearl of The World and suddenly he became a wealthy man. Then he dreamed of marrying Juana in a church, buying a rifle, and sending Coyotito to school so that he can learn to read and go out from the poverty. 

         Then, the doctor came to Kino’s house and wanted to cure Coyotito, in order to know where Kino hide The Pearl. Kino didn’t believe him at the first time, but because the doctor talked that the baby might die, Kino let the doctor cure the baby. At the night, an intruder came into Kino’s house and tried to take the pearl. But he didn’t success.

         On the next day, Kino tried to sell the pearl. The pearl buyers had planned to talk to Kino that his Pearl is too small, so the price isn’t high. But when Kino knew about that, he was angry and refused the price. He wanted to sell it in another city. He believed that the pearl is priceless. At that night, Juana tried to throw away the pearl into the sea, but Kino knew about it and felt angry. He beat her. On the way to go back to his house, Kino was attacked by someone and he killed the man. When Juana went home to see Coyotito, someone lights her house on fire.

         Kino and Juana decided to go to another city. They hide in Juan Tomas’ house and at night they went quietly. On their journey, some trackers followed them that Kino thought want to take the pearl, so they hide in a mountain’s cave. Kino tried to kill the trackers, but before he can attack them, Coyotito cried. The men, thought it's a wild dog, shoot at the dark cave where Juana and Coyotito hide. As the shot is fired, Kino moved suddenly to the trackers and killed them all. Unfortunately, Coyotito was killed by the first gunshot, and Kino's journey with the pearl ends in a disaster. After that, Kino and Juana went back to the village and threw away the pearl into the sea.

Money can’t buy happiness and peacefulness. Material can bring disaster, as we can take a look the condition in our society, where most of people killed each other because of money.  Love must be sincere. People must love each other without asking or expecting to be loved, and do it sincerely. Family is important and be replaced by anything else. It can’t be bought.

Like or Dislike:

            Actually when I read this novel for the first time, I was confused and not really interested in this novel, because the language of the story is very difficult. But when I read it more and understood the content, I become interest with the story that has much education to the reader because Kino’s condition or story can be found in our social life.