The Pearl

I'm a huge fan of Steinbeck and couldn't believe I hadn't read "The Pearl" in high school. So, I bought it at the store and wasn't impressed with the book. While some of the author's observations about people, human nature, and towns/communities are really good, this book is somewhat blah. It's based on a Mexican folk tale, so I can't fault Steinbeck for the lack of plot, but something just seems to be missing. I also didn't like the end, it was somewhat gory and made me think "ewww" just like the scenes in the "Red Pony" with the flies buzzing around the pony. There are just times the Steinbeck is gross, I can think of an example from each of his books. You can also get Steinbeck's discriptions of towns as a functional unit in "Sweet Thursday" which is, by far, a better book.

"The Pearl" by John Steinbeck, is a novella about a family and their journey after finding a magnificent pearl. I would highly recommend this book as a lesson to all. It depicts how going from extreme poverty to possibly extreme wealth can effect a man. Also, this novella serves as a lesson that a person can still be happy with not much. Kino enjoys a simple before he discovers the pearl. After, his life becomes full of violence, anger and loss. Furthermore, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a shorter read with a powerful message.

It surprises me to see so many negative reviews for The Pearl. In many ways, it is a typical Steinbeck book. The familiar vivid characters, thorough details, and moral lesson are compressed into just over 100 pages. The nature story itself is the main detractor.

The general theme of the story is greed/wealth. A large pearl promises to bring wealth and security to Kino and his family. Unfortunately, the pearl only creates havoc in the life of Kino's family. With his home burned, after nearly had the pearl stolen, and after being assaulted, the family to flees the vilage with the pearl. After the family could run no longer, the pearl became a potential source of wealth that never came to fruition.

Perhaps the fact that the story is rather cliche that makes it so unpopular. In some ways, the story is hard to visualize. For example, how did the trackers blow the head off of Kino's baby when it was dark, the baby was on a mountain, and the tracker thought he was shooting at a coyote? It is not that hard to see why some readers can't buy into the story.

The Pearl is the shortest novel that Steinbeck wrote but is one of his best.The book is about the large pearl that is found and the trouble and tragedy it brings. The novel is a parable on how the obsession with wealth when put to the detriment of humane values such as love compassion othercenteredness becomes not a dream but a nightmare.It has much the same message as Matthew 6:19-34 that a man cannot serve God and money. Themessage is more like a man cannot serve his family and money and that a mans love for his family is more important as an evaluation of that man instead of wealth.Aclassic only outdone in my view amongSteinbecks works byThe Grapes of Wrath Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony

Walking through middle school corridors, I'd spy kids in the grade above mine carrying John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and think them lucky. Judging from the cover it was some kind of sea adventure, probably involving sharks and Jacqueline Bisset. This was back in the 1970s, and I was obviously confused.

Flash forward to the present. Feeling nostalgic, I decide to take the book on after years of wondering. It was certainly short, and Steinbeck is a classic writer, so it seemed a good idea.

A terse morality play about the pitfalls of materialism and the depravity of man, "The Pearl" is clearly a think piece rather than a conventional novel focused on characters and storyline. It made me think, too: However bad middle school was, it could have been worse.

Kino is a poor Mexican Indian who lives off the meager pearls he finds swimming for oysters in the Gulf. One day, desperate for a miracle as his infant son squirms from a scorpion bite, he finds the largest pearl anyone has ever seen, large as a gull's egg and jet black. Kino sees a brighter future for himself and his family, but the jealous villagers and the plutocratic pearl buyers conspire to keep him in his place.

"The pearl has become my soul", Kino tells his wife, who begs him to get rid of it before someone gets hurt. "If I give it up I shall lose my soul."

Steinbeck does nothing to make you care about Kino, his soul, or his wife and child, other than relate their poverty. They aren't people with personalities, but constructs designed to trot out points Steinbeck wants to make. Published in 1947, when socialism was fashionable and Steinbeck a recognized purveyor of the worker ideal, "The Pearl" might pass as a message about the folly of wealth and the value of living within one's means. Yet Kino and his family are clearly living below any decent standard. Collectivist comradeship may be the hallmark of socialist society, but the village Kino lives in is full of thieves and cheats.

As the novel moves slowly on to a finale obvious from the midpoint of the book, one wonders what Steinbeck is trying to say. "The Pearl" is not supposed to be just a story, it's so unsatisfying in that department its clear the Bard of Salinas had other fish to fry. But what?

You are left in the end not really knowing. As a classroom exercise, I guess it can provide some lively discussions if the teacher isn't too much of a tool. There's bits of good Steinbeck prose here and there, like his description of a watering hole where cats take their prey and lap water "through their bloody teeth" and the last image of the pearl itself, which captures a sense of otherworldly menace quite unexpected from this otherwise realist story. As an account of cruel nature, it works in a reductivist way.

But I can't see it as a "classic" in the same sense as other Steinbeck novels I've read. It's no "Grapes Of Wrath". Maybe because it's short it makes for a more popular scholastic reading assignment than "Grapes Of Wrath". But "The Pearl" is no easy read, nor is it satisfying.

Guess what everyone...Teens like Steinbeck. Thank you FTP (who gave a great review and I am not surprised you liked the book in only "8th grade"). I am 16 years old and have read all of Steinbeck's novels -- with the exception of some non-fiction -- and have enjoyed the richness, the quality, and the profound details of real human beings. Those of you who are stereotyping my generation are probabley reading crap like Grisham and Steel right now. The Pearl is not my favorite Steinbeck book, but it is very good in showing a light theme within the evil of greed. I felt that it was well worth my three hours of reading and was not a waste of time in anyway. If you have never read The Pearl, I would suggest reading Of Mice and Men or The Red Pony, then progress onto The Pearl.
One thing about The Pearl is, is that it proves Steinbeck's understanding for culture and socitey and the human being within it, which is how he earned the Noble Prize. It is a simple allegory that can easily identify with America right now, denoting to the fact that American's are greedy and want praise -- and feel as if they can not act as one in society without it. Norman Mailer follows this philosophy within his novels (The Executioner's Song & Tough Guys Don't Dance) by themes of the following nature. It should be able to teach you a harsh lesson about what can happen if you do not manage yourself mentally and physically when coming of sudden wealth. For those who have read the novel, note how Kino was attacted and encountered a mysterious person whom plotted attempted murder, and even how much the towns people respected him even more after the discovery of the "Pearl of the World." If you are planning to read this novel, pay close attention to the social description of the doctors actions in the first, and I believe third chapter, denoting to the time period when Kino's son was on the brink of death and how the doctor lied and refused to treat them, speaking pompously: "...I am not a veterinarian!" Then observe what happens after the pearl is found.
Sorry for my long-winded triangle of a review...Read the book with respect...you just might like it...And any comments...my e-mail address is on the top and I would Love to hear from you.
Thanks
Happen...

Still a Classic...one that should be read annually to keep us grounded in reality...

What a blessed world we live in and sometimes don't even know it, all the time worrying about what we don't have rather than being grateful for what we do have...even in poverty, that can be true...and be careful what we wish for...we may get it and it may ruin our lives....sometimes through no fault of our own...Rarely are so many life-lessons contained in just 90 pages...there is goodness and humanity, there is evil and greed, there is happiness and despair, there is hope and the dashing of hope. The long awaited Pearl brings great happiness, but with it, a whole new set of problems. Still a classic..

I was warned about the horribly tragic theme of this novel, but I fell in love with "Of Mice and Men", so I decided to crack open the shell and grab The Pearl as well.

Admittedly, the sadness and sense of hopelessness of human dreams, similar to that found in "Of Mice and Men" pervades this novel. If you want to read something fun and light, then this novel is not for you and John Steinbeck is not the author for you.

The plot is simple, like other Steinbeck's novels, but the emotional journey the heart and mind takes with this novel has no equal. "The Pearl" is yet another Steinbeck masterpiece, worth exploring time and time again.

The story of Kino and his wife, Juana, and their little baby son, Coyotito, and of what happens when Kino finds a pearl in an oyster bed. Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion, and they go to the doctor, but the doctor will not treat him. Then the family goes out to the oyster bed and Kino finds the biggest and most splendid pearl, the Pearl of the World. He goes later to the pearl handlers and they only offer him 1500 pesos when he thinks it should be worth 50,000 pesos. Someone or several someones attempt to rob him several times and at one time, Kino accidentally kills a man, so the family goes on the run to the big city. They hide in a cave in the mountains, and the trackers almost catch up to them. The story is complex, with a moral and fantastic descriptions of the surrounding countryside and the culture there. I would recommend reading.

The Pearl
by: John Steinbeck

In the book The Pear the author does an amazing job on telling every detail of the story. It's not a big book 90 pages exactly. The author does have a rather good tone to keep you fixed on the story ready to read more. The authors writing was formal and just well put together. What this story taught me is that some things are just not worth the trouble if it brings harm to the people you love. This is what I believe that the author was trying to show in this story. I liked and disliked the descriptiveness of the story because some places it was good to describe and other spots in the book didn't need to be described as much. "He smelled the breeze and he listened for any foreign sound of secrecy or creeping, and his eyes searched the darkness, for the music of evil was sounding in his head and he was fierce and afraid." For example the end of this quote which personally I do not think really needs to be said. So in the end I thought this was a good book. I enjoyed the story line and the descriptive writing was well done. I would recommend this book to anyone it's not a hard book to read and it is worth reading.

This was a good book in terms of the writing per se, particularly for visual imagery, and the moral themes, but I found it too black-and-white and not much depth into the characters. It was surprisingly shallow after all the accolades I heard about it.

The Pearl is a remarkable short story that you can never forget. "And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away." (pg 117) The book's moral was that, to be happy with what you are in your society and Kino tried to rebel against it and he did not succeed. In the parable, it is all about Kino trying to break out of the circle of poverty, which does not happen, regardless of his efforts. The parable is stressing that you should be satisfied with who you as in the society. It states in real life that you can shape your destiny for the most part but for the others they are predestined.

I like mainstream fiction. Seldom do I venture into the morbid world of Literary Fiction where self-pity and amorality hide behind artsy verbiage. Steinbeck is about as far as I can go-a tame Literary Lion. I don't sense in his works the pretentiousness and elitism that is so prevalent among his peers. Steinbeck's writing style and themes are accessible, and thankfully lack the dark, labyrinthine prose of Joyce, Faulkner, et al. John Steinbeck achieves with words what Mozart does with music. They are both masters of taking ordinary ideas to extraordinary heights, transforming the common into a higher, creative realm.

As I much as I like The Pearl (especially Frank Muller's splendid audio rendition) the practical-realist in me is stubbornly put off by its high-handed preaching against materialism. The book's main character, Keno, wants to sell his pearl and secure a better future for his family, exactly what my Irish ancestors sought when they traded potato patches for Streets Paved With Gold. A fundamental problem I have with this book, and Literary Fiction generally, is that it paints such a bleak picture of humanity. I agree that rampant, unchecked greed and materialism is bad, but give poor Keno a break! He only wants what my Irish immigrant ancestors wanted-a way out of grinding poverty. Would it have been better if Keno had passively accepted his lot in life? Millions of immigrants who came to America were looking for their pearl. Were they wrong too?

The Pearl is a classic John Steinbeck storyline, oddly enough the main plot is from an old Mexican folk tale. John Steinbeck took the storyline and crafted it into an intriguing, 90-page novella with questions, a few answers and lots of emotions at the end.

The story is simple. A scorpion stings the baby of Kino and Juana a couple barely surviving. Kino is a fisher of pearls. Juana is his someday wife. Death is feared for the baby, they go to the doctor's and he shuts them out, Juana tries to stop the poison every way she knows how but still the couple is left worried. Kino and Juana go out to sea, to fish for pearls. While Juana prays dearly that they will find a big pearl that will allow them to see the doctor, Kino dives in search. He comes up with many oysters, he opens one: empty. The second one though reveals a large, beautiful, perfectly shaped pearl. They call it the Pearl of the World. The pearl though leads only to havoc as the colonist doctor cheats them and the pearl traders try as well. Kino is attacked and attacked and the pearl becomes more and more sinister. Until finally...

I really enjoyed reading this book: the plot is quite gripping, the characters are morphed into a new shape by the end so realistically, the story is grounded in a deep meaning and it's written incredibly well.

The way it was written was one of the things that made the book for me, it's done in such a fresh style. He used the songs of the people and made them into Kino's emotions and Kino's way of sensing danger. The songs battle each other for precedence in Kino's mind. The main songs that battle throughout are the Song of Evil and the Song of Family. Intertwined with these songs are the Song of the Pearl and the Song of Undersea.

I'm very glad I read this book and I would recommend it to people who like a good story and a lot of description. John Steinbeck lays the land out so well, describing it better than anyone because he knows it better.

The Pearl is an excellent and quick read. If you haven't read Of Mice and Men, I would suggest reading it first because it's a better John Steinbeck novel with the same length and some of the same themes. But if you want to just jump into this novel be my guest, it's a great book.

Caveat: I'll admit I've never liked Steinbeck, so perhaps, nay, for sure this review is spat bifurcated.
Kino, Juana, and little Coyotito star in one of the worst books ever written. I won't spend too much time discussing plot, but briefly, it's about an indigent, indigenous family who thrives, er, exists on fishing and pearl-diving. Kino, the man of the house, finds a beautiful pearl one day. It is supposed to be the panacea that brings him and his family out of their impoverished strife. It could buy his wife new clothes and SHOES! and send his son to school.
Instead Steinbeck lets the pearl represent all that is bad, corrupt, evil and avarice. He paints Kino a fiend for wanting a better station for his family. I will not say the end is a fag's end, but let me say, Of Mice and Men ended in a similarly dismal note.
How would Steinbeck address today's problems of poverty? I don't know, but I have a feeling his welfare policies would be well written (as far as diction goes) but substantially desperate.

Ever since I read "The Pearl," I have been engrossed with John Steinbeck's novels. I thought the pearl was a wonderful story. The storyline was well illustrated and the characters draw you in.

Kino,Juana,and their baby Coyotito live peavefully with friends and family in a small town.Poor,yet humble, Kino finds a pearl of incredible size and perhaps one of incredible value.Afterwards,he journeys to a vast land and encounters people that try to take away his pearl-which has now evolved into Kino's center of attention.

Through this,Kino loses things most precious to him,and realized the greatest wealth he thought he had brought nothing he hoped for.

I loved this book.I read it in 7th great for school, and we discussed it in great length in class.I recommend this book to first-time Steinbeck readers."The Pearl" gives a taste of Steinbeck's talent and his mastered storytelling.

In an allegory-like novella, Steinbeck relates the tragic events of a poor family that cannot seem to escape crippling circumstances. In the story, the simple life of a young pearl diver named Kino comes to an abrupt and unexpected end when his son Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. Destitute, Kino could find no help. However, when he finds the mother of all pearls, he believed all his toils would end. Instead, the pearl attracts all sorts of human greed and avarice, and tribulations unseen. These things persistently haunt Kino and exact from him a great sacrifice. One can see a canvas of humanity's evils in this story, and a reflection on the condemnable cultural tendency in which the well-to-do turn a blind eye to the poor in suffering.

The Pearl is a fable of fortune. It's origins date back to biblical days. Steinbeck's original stories are so amazing that I was unable to imagine how well he would do a rewrite. I once read somewhere that great stories are perfected by repetition. Each new teller ads a piece of themself. Finding a retold story where John Steinbeck added a piece of himself was better than finding... well... a pearl.

The story is engaging and heartbreaking. The pace is quick and time I spent reading it flew by.

I would recommend, though, buying this book used if you can find it. I ended up paying $16 for my copy and read it in three hours. Though I would gladly pay to read Steinbeck, $5.33/hour is a little steep.

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, tells the tale of a close-knit, poor Mexican family. One day Kino, the head of the house, finds what many say was the "pearl of the world." Throughout the plot, Kino, along with his wife Juana, conclude the pearl is hurting the family after their house burns down, their son is killed, and their canoe is destroyed. They decide the pearl is making them crazy, and subsequently dispose of it. There are many valuable lessons about life to be learned from this tragic novel. The introduction of The Pearl begins with the quote, "If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it." This saying indicates that many lessons can be learned from The Pearl.
Different people will take different messages about life from The Pearl. One critic suggested that when Kino found the pearl, this represented people seeking knowledge of humanity (Ross). However, this individual concluded that the pearl actually prohibited them from growing as humans. According to another person, the pearl symbolized evil to Kino and his family (Ross). Another individual believed that the pearl was a "questionable satisfaction (Ross)." Many say that John Steinbeck implies it is wrong to be above animals and closer to God (Ross). Thus, it is a sin to desire the knowledge and self-respect that will bring someone closer to God. The Pearl is a rich novel in which the individual is forced to draw a message about his or her own life. The many different messages people have inferred from The Pearl show that this novel has many diverse themes.
As other individuals who have read this tragic novel, I too have perceived a theme that can be applied to my own life. I believe John Steinbeck is trying to demonstrate the power of greed. At first Kino was happy and content with his family and his prized canoe. When he first found the pearl, all he could think about was using it to heal his injured son. However, as time progressed, Kino wanted more and more. He dreamed of all the things he coveted and could now have because of the pearl. By the end of the novel, he had lost everything he had valued most, including his beloved son, as well as the pearl. To me, the theme of The Pearl is to take what God gives you, and to be content with that. This theme can be applied to my own life, as well as Kino's. I should try not to covet things I really don't need, and to be content under any circumstance. I should take what God gives me, and not long for more. That way, I will be happy under any circumstance. This theme is what The Pearl has reminded me about my own life.
I have taken a different meaning than many others have while reading The Pearl. I believe John Steinbeck is telling us not to be greedy and long for worldly treasure, while others say Steinbeck is telling us not to try to increase our social class. We all take different meanings from a piece of literature. We identify most closely with the one that will affect us in our own life. People, in general, will take a message from a piece of literature and apply it to their own lives. In the case of The Pearl, people take many different meanings from the same pages. These themes have the power to affect and change the lives of those people that read them.
Bibliography
Ross, Jeremy. "ClassicNote on The Pearl," ... .

I don't want to identify myself as a "teen," but just for those my age who had it for required reading, I read it even before eighth grade when it was mandatory and I loved it. So, please give it another chance. Now, on to the review.

This short parable is about a poor pearl diver, Kino, and his wife and child, Juana and Coyotito (Ko-yo-TEE-to), respectively, who live in a small village in Mexico. They live a simple, normal life with a methodical daily routine, and although their lives are not glamorous, they are content, until, one day, their child is stung by a scorpion. They believe that they require the doctor's assistance, but the doctor will not see them since they have no money (although the irony is that they don't even need the doctor; Juana treated Coyotito's wound just by sucking the poison out). It appears that their content life will be shattered until Kino finds "The Pearl of the World." However, the Pearl is a ticket to a better life, and suddenly everyone covets for it. Several of Kino's neighbors even attack him in the middle of the night in an attempt to get the pearl. Kino no longer trusts anyone, not even his wife, Juana, and he becomes consumed with greed. He eventually becomes so overtaken by evil that he even kills a man! All the while, Juana warned him of the Pearl's corrupt nature, but he never listened to her. The awful downward spiral continues and Kino eventually loses someone very dear to him. It's a timeless tale about greed and how a person's avarice can lead to his downfall.

On a side note, I thought that the characters were very interesting. Normally in short stories characters are very flat, but I thought both Kino and Juana were very developed. Kino seemed to represent "Man," and Juana, "Woman." Kino is a strong, hardworking and noble provider who is at times too stubborn. Juana is a kind and motherly caretaker who's only downfall was that she tried too hard to please her husband. Of course, this could just be because of the location or time period it was written, but this book made me think a little bit about gender roles as well.

I first read this in seventh grade, and reread it a year later since it was required for school. In seventh grade, I was just starting to read classic literature and although I liked this book, it didn't stand out very much to me. But now, reading it again, I can truly appreciate Steinbeck's lovely prose and knack for imagery. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, regardless of age or gender. It's simple story of family, love, and greed can touch anyone.

The Pearl is a novel by John Steinbeck that tells a story about a very poor pearl diver called Kino, his wife Juana and their baby Coyotito. The novel takes place in a Mexican city that is divided by the ones who live in brush houses and the ones who live in stone houses. They live in a brush house and their people are almost considered like animals by the stone city’s people, making clear and practically unbridgeable the difference of classes. Trying to find a big pearl to pay the doctor a treatment for their baby, Kino find the great pearl of the world, a miracle that could not only save Coyotito, but make their lives better in a way they had never thought possible before.

(SPOILERS) You are supposed to think that is a book of hope, a man that is trying to make their lives better, improve their lives, but as the book goes on it seems that the pearl is evil because it only brings them bad luck, making Kino turns himself in a selfish and greedy person. He does things that he would never do, trying to protect his family and their promised future, like kill a man and beat his wife. He loses his canoe, his house and sees himself forced to flee to save their lives from greedy people who want to steal the pearl. By the end of the book he manage to kill more 3 people who are chasing them, but not unharmed; their baby die. By this point, he gives up of his journey. The cursed pearl finally win and Kino and Juana go back to their city and throw the pearl back to the ocean.

The book is well written and makes you interested in keep reading. The problem is its content and the moral of the book. The only feeling that the book left inside me was sadness and hopeless. It says to you “If you have a dream to make your life better, to change your life out of the poverty, forget it, because the gods don’t like it. It’s better for you to try to be happy the way you are, like a poor man on the fringes of society”. Some may say that the book pass the message that the money cannot buy everything or that you have to share more, but for me that was a secondary message, that was almost unnoticed.

It’s not that I don’t like sad endings. On the contrary, I usually do like when the things doesn’t happen the way you planned, because that is how life is, full of unexpected thing. But I don’t like when everything is lost because a family was trying to improve. Of course this also happens in the real life, but I would not recommend the book, because I don’t want them to feel the same way I felt. At the page 88, when they were arriving in their mother city, it’s written that “they seemed to carry two towers of darkness with them”. That was the end of the book. Man and woman destroyed by an evil they could not win and destined to live that life forever.

This is a great book, complaints of teenage readers notwithstanding. But this is not a plot-driven work; it is a literary masterpiece to be savored and distilled; to be read and re-read until the reader has finally understood that it illustrates the abuses perpetrated upon those who, unfortunately, are born and reared in poverty. It is a book that portrays the hopes of a man who longs for wealth because he thinks that it will render him a respected citizen among those who despise his race. Alas, how sad is his surprise when he realizes that money serves to bring the worst out of people: envy, greed, treachery, hate.... Ultimately, though, this is a book that shows us a family destroyed by the riches they yearned for, yet never expected to attain.

A good novella, one of Steinbeck's earlier ones. It's not as tight as his later works, but it's so short that it doesn't really bother one much. Not as much character depth as most Steinbeck novels, but then again, it's such a short book that there wasn't much room. An exciting, captivating read, told in the typical earthy details that makes Steinbeck so much fun to read. This is a great little book because you could probably read it all in one lazy afternoon. Get it and you won't be disappointed. A great introduction to Steinbeck if you've never read his stuff before.

The Pearl is a simple yet powerful story of greed, corruption, and desire. But it is its apparent simplicity that makes it a true classic.

Kino is a poor pearl diver, just as his father and grandfather were. His wife Juana is a patient, though somewhat disobedient, wife who always has her spouse's best interests in mind.

The story grabbed my interest within the first couple of pages and never let go. I read the entire thing in a single sitting. Granted, that isn't such an amazing feat, it's not even ninety pages.

The hope that the pearl represents at the beginning turns to doom by the end, which Kino must realize for himself despite Juana's constant warnings. Steinbeck flawlessly made Kino's village into basically a single character.

Overall, it was just a very enjoyable novella. Like all of Steinbeck's work, it will give you something to really think about.

John Steinbeck has written a novel with a powerful message; sometimes, things are best just the way they are.

The story, based on a Mexican folk tale, centers on Kino, Juana, and their baby son Coyotito. Kino is a poor fisherman/pearl diver, relying on his canoe which was passed on from his grandfather down to him. His family lives in a small grass shack and they have very few possessions, but they have each other and they are happy. However, one day, baby Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion which made its way into his crib. Immediately, the poison begins to take hold, despite Juana's frantic efforts to suck the poison out of the baby. Desperate for their baby, Kino and Juana take him into town to see the doctor.

However, once in town, they are informed that the doctor is out on another visit, when in reality, he doesn't want to see Kino's family at all. Disheartened, Kino heads for his canoe.

Once out on the water, he goes through his regular routine of gathering clams and searching for pearls. But this dive turns out to be like no other Kini has ever experienced, for when he opens one of the clams, he sees the biggest pearl he's ever seen; The Pearl of the World. It is as large as a seagull's egg, and as perfect as the moon. Kino sees the immediate end to all of his problems, for with this pearl, he will have wealth beyond his wildest dreams: or will he?

Almost immediately, things begin to change in Kino's life. He begins to watch people a little more closely, fearing that they may try to steal his pearl. He dreams of owning new clothes, a new rifle, and having his son attend school someday.

He decides to venture into town to sell the pearl and collect his fortune. But, what he finds out there is not what he expected. The buyers tell him that the pearl is too large and because it is so large, it is not worth much money. He is offered much less money than he expected. Enraged, Kino and Juana head back to their house, and he buries the pearl in the dirt floor. But, during the night, someone sets his house on fire. Everything is quickly consumed, leaving only a few items. Kino then goes to check on his canoe, but he finds that someone has punched a hole in the bottom, rendering it useless.

Determined to get what he thinks the pearl is worth, the family decides to head to the capitol and sell the pearl there. But, Kino soon realizes that they are not alone; three trackers are following them. Kino tries to stay ahead of the trackers as they head off into the mountains. Will Kino succeed in selling his treasured pearl, or will the trackers catch up to them?

This is an excellent book, and it carries an important message; sometimes, things are better off the way they are rather than changing them. Kino was a humble and hard-working young man trying to raise his family the best he could, but once he found the pearl, everything about him changed. He became suspicious, greedy, and disrespectful to Juana. Granted, his intentions were good, but his actions were not. In the end, Kino ends up losing two precious things.

I highly recommend this classic work by John Steinbeck. Its message is clear; sometimes, things are best just the way they are.

I think that customers should buy this one because it is a thriller. I liked that it showed morals in life, and also that it was one of the man versus society books, one of the kind of books I like. Though there is hard vocabulary at times, most of the words are indeed easy to understand. One of the main reasons I like this book is because there are turning points in the story along with surprising choices that are made. The story is sort of unpredictable, but is reasonable most of the time.

A classic fable, The Pearl is the story of a poor young man who discovers the greatest Pearl in the world and is destroyed by greed. It has all the characteristics of a Steinbeck story--excellent description, harsh realism, good and evil, and a moral--but it is accessible to everyone because of its length and simplicity. This would be an excellent introduction to Steinbeck for children or a good book for scholars interested in Steinbeck's view of the American dream. One of the finest stories by one of America's finest writers, The Pearl is a wonderful book.

Even though John Steinbeck's The Pearl is less than one hundred pages, it is still a great piece of American literature. The Pearl is an extremely interesting and compelling parable about a family living in an impoverished Mexican Village called La Paz. The exact time period of the story is not specified. However, judging by the generation in which Steinbeck lived and the era of many of his other works, The Pearl probably takes place in the early 1900s. Originally, the work was planned to hit the theaters before becoming a piece of literature. The film version would have worked out nicely because throughout the tale, Steinbeck describes separate songs and tunes that are associated for different items, events, and character feelings. The major theme Steinbeck implements into the novel is that becoming wealthy can warp one's mind, causing he or she to perform tasks that would be out of the ordinary.

The novella's main character, Kino, is a Mexican and Indian father living with his wife, Juana and newborn son, Coyotito in a small Mexican village. The family is extremely poor and does not have any luxuries in life. One day, Coyotito is stung by a scorpion and is in need of medical attention. When Kino and Juana take their son to a doctor, he turns them away because he is aware that the family has no way to pay him. Immediately, Kino and Juana begin to search for valuable pearls in the sea, hoping to find something to earn enough money for the doctor's attention. Sure enough, Kino finds the largest pearl anyone has ever seen. It is declared "The Pearl of the World." Coyotito receives the doctor's help, but Kino and Juana are extremely suspicious of him. Later, Kino attempts to sell his pearl but he is offered much less than he expects and refuses the best offer. He plans to travel to the capital the next day to try and sell his pearl again. Juana warns Kino that the pearl is bad luck and she fails in attempting to throw the pearl back into the sea. When Kino is attacked by a group of people attempting to steal the pearl, he promptly kills them off. Realizing the grave danger he put his entire family in, Kino takes Juana, Coyotito, and the pearl and they escape to the mountains. In order to conceal the rest of the story, I will not tell any more plot information.

Using a simple, straightforward storytelling method, Steinbeck effectively illustrates the events in his parable. He uses a tremendous amount of foreshadowing throughout the story. However, I will not give any examples as I promised not to reveal any more plot information. Steinbeck emphasizes the importance of certain events by having them recur at the beginning of the chapters. In the second, third, and fourth chapters, a description of the town is present. These few paragraphs remind the reader of the reality of the situation. He compares a town to "a colonial animal...a town has a whole emotion" (21). In the first and fifth chapters, Steinbeck describes Kino's awakening before and after he discovers the pearl. In the first chapter, Kino is at complete peace with the world, observing his surroundings and listening to the waves splashing on the beach. However, his attitude changes drastically in the fifth chapter. Discovering that Juana has left to throw the pearl back into the sea, "rage surged in Kino...quietly he tracked her, and his brain was red with anger" (58). Steinbeck emphasizes how the pearl and the thoughts of wealth and luxury have altered Kino's mind, causing him to act differently.

Overall, John Steinbeck's The Pearl is a simple story with an important lesson to the reader. I believe that it is well worth a few hours of reading. Steinbeck uses a great writing style and emphasizes key events and ideas to get his purpose across to his readers. He intends for the reader to value his or her emotional and spiritual wealth rather than material wealth.

Strangely, great writers' work becomes "high school reading". Yes, read this in high school, but then come back to it later, when you understand more. The Pearl is an often-told story about the misfortunes from sudden riches. But it is a lot more: the pride and honor of an underclass, as well as its petty squabbles, and, overall, its helplessness. And then, once you are a husband, a wife, a parent, the hopes and fears of parents, and the fatigues and joys of marriage. All on a simple story stage.

This is without a doubt one of those books that many of us had to read while going through school. For me I had to read this for a freshman year English class. I decided that I would re-read this book, because I knew I had enjoyed it. Without a doubt it is still on of my favorite books, but is by far one of the most depressing books that I've ever read.

If you don't know anything about this book, it focuses on a husband that is also a pearl diver and how his life is impacted when he finds "The Pearl of the World". If you are looking for some happy reading, feel free to get a different book. But, if you are looking for a great classic and a story of light and dark, pick this up.

Most people born and raised in America cannot even imagine the depths of poverty that most of the rest of the world are forced to live with. This story illuminates this fact, as we enter the world of Kino, a pearl diver and occasional fisherman, his wife Juana, and their baby son, Coyotito. All they have is a grass shack house, a few clay cooking utensils, and their prize possession, Kino's boat, inherited from his father and grandfather. The boat is the family's livelihood, providing the means to put a meal on the table and to provide a few pesos for store bought goods by selling the small pearls Kino is able to find.

But Kino and his family, far from being depressed or unhappy, have a great treasure, the love they have for each other and their satisfaction with life as it is, with few disturbing dreams of greater things. But their quiet, routine life is turned upside down the day that Kino finds a Great Pearl. Suddenly Kino can dream of better things: a rifle for himself, school for his son so he will be able to read and tell what is really in the books, a real house. But dreams can be deadly things. Dreams lead to desire, and desire to greed, and greed to violence.

What happens to Kino and family from this point on is not a pretty story. Now we see that underneath the quiet, idyllic seeming small town and its inhabitants lie the seeds of cheating, betrayal, collusion, fear, and murder. And we see the gradual loss of Kino's real treasures. By the end of the book, events have reached the level of real tragedy, and you, along with Kino, are liable to end up in a state of emotional exhaustion.

Steinbeck's prose for this book matches his characters and situation very well, a very minimalist sentence structure and set of speech patterns. As a parable, the story has a strong moralistic point, but Steinbeck does not overdrive his thematic message, but lets his story speak for itself. One of Steinbeck's great strengths was his ability to capture on paper the characters he saw around him, and this book is a showcase for that talent. The characters of Kino and Juana are exquisitely drawn, real people you can relate to even though their lifestyles may be very far from your own. And because they are real people, it is very hard not to get drawn into their lives, where their dreams and their pains very readily become your own.

This may not be Steinbeck's greatest book, as it is too short and with too limited a focus to compare to something like his Grapes of Wrath. But within its own territory, there are very few other pieces of literature that are even half as good.

The Pearl is about a poor pearl diver who is trying to sell one of the biggest pearls ever seen in his hometown in Mexico. I thought that this book was very good. It describes how greed can corrupt anyone and the evils that men are capable of. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is a great story that is full of suspense and action. It is an easy and fast read but is still a thought provoking book.
The Pearl takes place in La Paz, Mexico and begins by describing the life of Kino, his wife Juana and son, Coyotito. At the beginning of the book, Kino watches as a scorpion crawls down the rope that holds the hanging box where Coyotito lies. Kino attempts to catch the scorpion, but Coyotito bumps the rope and the scorpion falls on him. Although Kino kills the scorpion, it still stings Coyotito. Juana and Kino go to see the local doctor, who refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino cannot pay. Kino and Juana leave the doctors and take Coyotito down to the sea, where Juana uses seaweed to help Coyotito's shoulder. Kino dives for oysters the next day and finds a very large oyster that contains a huge pearl. The pearl is "as large as a seagull's egg" and "as perfect as the moon". The news that Kino has found great pearl travels fast through La Paz. Kino's brother asks him what he will do with his money. Kino wishes to get married to Juana in a church and dress Coyotito in a sailor suit. He wants to send Coyotito to school and buy a rifle for himself. The doctor comes to check on Coyotito now that Kino has money and says that Coyotito needs to be treated for the scorpion bite. That night, someone attempts to steal the pearl but Kino protects it and fights the robbers off. Juana tells Kino that the pearl is evil, but Kino insists that the pearl is their one chance to succeed and that they will sell it tomorrow. Kino goes to sell his pearl the next day, but the pearl dealer only offers a thousand pesos when Kino believes that he deserves fifty thousand. Kino claims that he is being cheated so the pearl dealer calls the other dealers in to inspect the pearl. One dealer after another gave similar prices, but Kino refuses all of them and decides to go to the capital to sell it there. After the pearl is almost stolen again, Juana tells Kino that the pearl is evil one last time but he does not listen and says that they will leave for the capital tomorrow.
The Pearl explores man's nature, how greed can motivate people to be evil, and how far one man will go to better the life of his family. Even though the pearl was beautiful, everything that it brought was not good for the family. In the story, Steinbeck shows how wealth does not necessarily bring you happiness and solve your problems. Reading this book helps us stop and appreciate the life we have instead of always wanting more. It shows through symbolism that the old saying "money does not buy happiness" is true. This review is posted on the store.com.

John Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors. His books always have meaning unlike many modern books.
The Pearl is about a poor diver and his family. One day he emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea-gull's egg. With the pearl comes hope that his family will no longer live in poverty. However human nature comes out of everyone in town and it exploits the depths of evil and the young family realizes that the pearl is not worth the greed it brings out.
This book is very short, only about 90 pages. So if you are hesitant about reading classics or are just starting out, this book is a great one to start with.

John Steinbeck's The Pearl reveals the true nature of humans when it comes to greed, wealth, and money. The opening scene begins with the awakening of Kino, his wife Juana, and their baby Coyotito. This young family lives a simple, happy life in brush houses by the sea. Kino can hear his family's song of life: "The Song of the Family came now from behind Kino. And the rhythm of the family song was the grinding stone where Juana worked the corn for the morning cakes." Frequently throughout the novel Steinbeck uses songs to foreshadow bad things to come, as he does before Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion: "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." This scorpion sting sets off a chain of events that ultimately leads to the family's demise.

Juana wants to take Coyotito to the town doctor for treatment. However, this doctor is only interested in treating people if they have money to pay for it. Kino's offering of a small bag of pearls is not good enough for the doctor, so he turns them away. Ashamed, Juana and Kino head to the sea to try to find better pearls. Kino gets lucky and finds the "greatest pearl in the world." Initially it seems that the pearl will bring great fortune to the family, but the pearl has already had a negative effect on the town: "The news stirred up something infinitely black and evil in the town;" Steinbeck continues with several similes to communicate exactly what kind of evil is now in the town: "...the black distillate was like the scorpion, or like hunger in the smell of food, or like loneliness when love is withheld." The author also communicates a stunning truth about the human race: "For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have." Ironically, the very thing that makes people the most superior of all animals also makes them behave like animals. Soon after finding the pearl, Kino and Juana encounter a few conflicts and it becomes necessary for them to go to the capital to sell the pearl. On this journey Kino's primal nature is felt inside of him: "...some animal thing was moving in him so that he was cautious and wary and dangerous;" Kino never knew the destruction that such a small treasure could bring.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about human behavior. This novel is replete with descriptive phrases that make the reader feel as if they were with Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. I almost heard the song of evil and the song of family fighting each other. The stark contrast of light and dark sets the tone for whatever event is occurring at the time. This book has changed the way I think about human nature.

This book is a reminder of what really matters most in life.
It shows how greed can take over a person's life;
how material possessions can change people.
How strong is your integrity? Your belief? Your happiness?
Would it change you?

Money Ruins Life's
My name is Javier Rojas I'm 18 years old I'm a Hispanic guy living in Los Angeles California. I read this book when I was in Junior High and it is still in my memory. This is my favorite fictional story. This story is about a Mexican family who was very poor and lived on a small village close to a beach in Mexico. The father was Kino he was a diver and a fisherman his wife was Juana and they had a 7 month old baby boy that was named Coyotito. This family was very poor there house was a grass hut and they beryl had food to eat. The life in the village was very toughf because of the weather and the lack of money. The people in the village who had little money had different domestic animals like chickens, roosters, pigs, cows, horses, and donkeys that they use to sell or eat. One day Kino, his wife and baby went to the beach on their canoe to find oysters and may be find pearls that they would sell to get some money. Kino dive in without any oxygen tank or equipment with only a knife and he found a big oyster, when they open it they found a very big pearl that was the biggest pearl of the world. They went to sell it to a jewelry shop the next day and the guy there offered them very little money for it so Kino rejected the offer. The guy in the jewelry shop told allot of other people in the village that Kino had the biggest pearl of the world and after that day the people in the village started to not like kinos family. There hole life change because now that they had money they had allot of problems people wanted to trick them, robbed them, and even kill them for the pearl that they owned. To try to avoid all pf these problems they escape to the mountains where they found even more problems. I especially recommend this book to all those people who are familiar with farms and lived in a small town in Mexico.

"The Pearl" by John Steinbeck is a very interesting and even shocking story at some points, that links symbols from the book in with everyday life. The book shows that beauty is not everything and can really be quite deceiving. Just because something is appealing to the eyes does not mean that it is good appealing beneath the beauty. The book shows suffering and pain as well as misconceptions. It also shows strengths and weaknesses found in the characters effected by the pearl.
When Kino, the main character of the book, finds the pearl while working, as a fishermen, he is amazed by it's beauty, because of it's perfect shape, size, shine, and texture. Kino loves the pearl and wants to keep it. This part of the book shows that people often look at image instead of looking deeper inside to what really counts. Even though a pearl is an object and doesn't have human qualities the outside image is still deceiving, while having a beautiful outside though really has evil inside. The pearl brings bad luck to the family with it's health among other things. Kino shows a lot of affection towards the pearl, more so to it then towards his own wife. Kino is so protective of the pearl he turns to physical abuse on his wife, the pearl brings out the evil in Kino. I think the pearl also brings out how strong Kino's wife is, for standing up against the keeping of the pearl and trying to get it away from the family even though she was beat while attempting to.
"The Pearl" is a great book that brings out a lot in the people that are around the pearl. I would recommend this book to anybody because it really gives a good view of how beauty is portrayed and how deceiving it really is. It also shows how it brings out inner demons, like it did with Kino. Mr. Steinbeck did a wonderful job writing this book and I think it is a book that everybody can link in to today's world.

Kino, a young and strong but poor pearl diver, and Juana live with their baby son Coyotito in a small fishing village outside the city of La Paz, Mexico (which according to Wikipedia is in Baja California Sur on the Gulf of California). Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, but as Kino has no money to pay the doctor, the boy is refused treatment. He recovers, thanks to Juana's ministrations, but the next day Kino finds a huge pearl, which he calls "the pearl of the world." By selling it, he can get the money to pay the doctor, but he also dreams of buying a rifle, marrying Juana, and getting Coyotito an education, things that he has never had money for thus far. However, his dreams blind him to the greed that the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors.

Soon, the whole town knows of the pearl, and many people begin to desire it. That night Kino is attacked in his own home. The next day, he takes the pearl to the pearl buyers in the town, but they refuse to give him the money he wants so he decides to go to the capital for better price. Juana, seeing that the pearl is causing darkness and greed, sneaks out of the house later that night to throw the pearl back into the ocean, but Kino catches her. While he is returning to the house, Kino is attacked again by several unknown men and the pearl is lost in the struggle. Juana finds it and gives it back to Kino. When they arrive home they find that their canoe is damaged and their home is burning down, so they determine to walk to the capital but soon find that they are being tracked by men who are hired to hunt them. Will the family be able to escape? And what will happen to the pearl?

This novella, which was first published as a short story "The Pearl of the World" in Woman's Home Companion in 1945, explores man's nature as well as greed and evil and supposedly illustrates our fall from innocence. It is said to be a retelling of an old Mexican folk tale. That the doctor has performed clumsy abortions and had a mistress is mentioned. There are references to drinking wine and smoking cigarettes as well as to both "God" and "the gods." Kino and Juana are not married but, of course, are living together and have a son. The story exhibits Steinbeck's typical pessimistic cynicism leading to the conclusion that if something good ever happens, you had better watch out because it is just setting you up for something really bad. Someone has suggested that it bares "the fallacy of the American dream--that wealth erases all problems." I don't agree that the American dream is that wealth erases all problems, although some might think that, but I do agree that we must learn that wealth is not the ultimate answer to man's greatest needs and presents some serious problems. All in all, it is not too bad of a book.

In Baja California, Mexico, there was a village called La Paz, which means peace. Bus was there really peace around the village without even tiny conflicts? A poor family, Kino, Juana and Coyotito lived in a brush house. Coyotito got bitten by a scorpion. They had no money to see a doctor. At least they can find a pearl and sell it. Fortunately they found the most beautiful and biggest pearl in the world. Does this pearl bring them the dark side or brightness as it looks beautiful?
I give the rate of 3 for this book. It's a good book for young children to read. It gives the lesson for the kids- "Be satisfied with who you are and what you have." I can't recommend that all the people should read it. I only recommend to those who like adventure books.

I am going to right off say that i do not really enjoy reading that much. The only time I ever want to read is when I am assigned something to read. However, a few weeks ago our english teacher assigned us the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. I was not to interested in this book when I first got it, however as soon as I started reading it, I could NOT put it down. We were then assigned to read a novel of our choice, so I chose to read The Pearl, which is another book by John Steinbeck. I had heard of this book before so I thought that it would be good to try out.
Imagine that you lived in a world where every step you had to watch what you were doing, becuase who knows you could be stepping on a scorpion that could sting you and kill you. Imagine living in a world where your job was to get up every morning and hope that you can find good things so that you can put food on the table that night for your family. Imagine that you had to worry about that everyday of your life, not knowing if you were getting food that day, or even that week, or not knowing if you had enough money to pay for the doctor to come and take care of your sick child. But then one day what if that was all to change...what would you do? Would you be happy if you had enough money to buy whatever you want, eat whatever you want, and have the doctor come to your house everyday if you really had to. Would you really be as happy as you might think? Read The Pearl and experience the adventure that this family did. This is a really good book i think for young mothers and fathers

The Pearl is a wonderful book which demonstrates the influence that family and greed have on a person. The story revolves around Kino, his wife Juana, and their infant son, Coyotito. Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion and needs medical attention. However, the town doctor refuses to see the child because of a lack of money on Kino's part. In order to change this, Kino goes out looking for pearls and finds a huge pearl. Kino is very pleased by this and thinks of all of the wonderful things he could buy Coyotito with the money from the pearl. In the meantime, Juana had done some home remedies for Coyotito's scorpion bite and the child was healing fine. When the doctor finds out about Kino's good fortune in finding the pearl he becomes eager to help the child because he wants part of the money from the pearl. This is where we begin to see greed play and important part in the novel. Kino buries the pearl in the corner of his hut in an attempt to hide it from anyone who would want to steal it from him. Kino also refuses to sell the pearl for the prices offered to him. Juana feels that the pearl is evil and will only bring evil to them and tells Kino to get rid of it, but he refuses. This is where all the tragedies begin and the true evil of the pearl is shown through to the end of the novel. The pearl symbolizes money, luxury, power, desire, and greed. These are the main aspects to the theme of this novel. The description Steinbeck uses to introduce characters is great. And the plot development is written just as well.

Like many others I had to read this book for my 8th grade English class. Being in 8th grade it had been a while since I had to read a book this short (90pgs). In my opinion, this book was a good afternoon read. The book's plot lacked content and certain ideas were not explained well enough for them to be used to full such as the "songs". The "songs" are in my understanding a presence or feeling. One example is the song of family, a feeling of belonging and love. Another example is the song of the enemy which Kino hears in his head when his child is stung by the scorpion. He hears the beating of the song in his head while he stomps the scorpion into the floor of the hut, making it pay for what it has done to his child.

When I was reading the book, it seemed like it didn't flow right. The writing style seemed very strange to me. I don't know if this is how John Steinbeck writes all of his books because I have never read any of his other books. The book talks a lot about human nature and uses some very interesting metaphors. I think the main theme of this book is materialism because when Kino finds his wife holding the pearl, he kicks her in the side, and then he goes away and kills someone. The pearl in the book is a lot like the ring in The Lord of the Rings. Once you have the ring, you turn greedy and go mad with desire for it. You hurt or even kill people that try to take the ring from you, or separate you from it. Also, once you have it it's very hard to let it go. Obviously it is a bit easier for Kino to let go of the Pearl than Frodo the ring. All in all I thought the book was not unbearable although it could use a bit more content and detail.

This book shows the ravaging that avarice can cause a man and his family. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Perhaps it would be, if it were handled by a better author. The story drags along and describes every last movement, with virtually no dialogue or action. The ending was the only good part, because it was hardly expected, but the rest of the book was a huge dissapointment. I hope nobody will read this book for pleasure, because the entire plot could be summarized in just one paragraph. The rest of the ninety pages is unneccessary description that just defers readers

Enjoyed the book. Not my favorite Steinbeck, but certainly well written. There was a very good introduction that really explained the purpose of the book. This enhanced the experience for me. Would probably have missed many of the points otherwise. Easily read in 1-2 days. Well worth the experience.

The plot of this novella is simple and fast paced. What makes "The Pearl" a worthwhile read is the author's exceptional writing. Steinbeck is one of the best fiction writers that I know. His writing is beautiful and full of insight into human nature. The descriptions are just enough to transport the reader to the location and time of the story but at the same time not too detailed to be boring. Perhaps the story is too simplitic though.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck was set at a little village called La Paz in Baja California, Mexico. In this book the main character Kino has Live in this small village with his wife, Juana and his son, Coyotito. Although that they are poor, they all has a great life, until Coyotito had been bitten by the scorpion. Kina had no money to pay for the doctor to treat his son. So they went to the gulf to try to find a pearl, so that he can pay the doctor to treat his son. Fortunately he had found the pearl, and it is not just a little pearl, it is "The Pearl Of The World. "It is as perfect as the moon and as big as the sea gull's egg". First Kino thinks that this pearl will bring a good future to him and his family, but instead this pearl is the root of all the evil. It has brought fear and evil and also a lot of problems to Kino and his family. Will Kino and his family overcome all the problems or will the problems get them?
I think the book "The Pearl" is a very nice book and also a helpful book for everyone, and I will rate it with five stars. I think that everyone should read this book, because it is a very interesting book and it has all kinds of conflicts. And most important is that it tells people never to be greedy, when people are greedy, or want a thing too much, they will never get those things that they want. Instead, they will get something evil.

Kino and his wife, Juana, have a beautiful baby boy, but one morning he gets stung by a scorpion. He is rushed to the doctor, who will not treat him because they have no form of payment.

The parents get in their boat to look for a pearl to use as payment, and, amazingly, find one that is referred to as the "moon" -- and is about the size of a goose egg.

What happens when they go to the dealers to collect their money? You'll have to read this classic novel to find out.

THE PEARL is a very short book that, honestly, I wouldn't have chosen to read except that it's for school. It's a very basic story, but everything in the book also has a double meaning, which is thought-provoking.

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

I'm not going to give my typical review on this book. It's good but there is nothing I can say about it that hasn't already been said by others in the reviews. I certainly do not consider this a 5 star though. A five star book should be one that you will find yourself reading again and again. The Pearl is the classic story of how immediate success can quickly become your biggest nightmare. People might want to read this before taking their trips to Vegas or going down to the local store and buying a lottery ticket. Even if the financial success doesn't change you it is bound to change everyone around.

When the life go all the way up... never is complete... How can a litle beautiful thing, destroy something even more beautiful as the sun become moon... "The Pearl" symbol of money, luxury, power and Desire. That's all what we want to see. But what happen when we turn around the coin, and the afraid come carfuly and slowly... It let see something else behind, envy, obsession and evil... But like always, we ignore it.
You don't care... and your life go around it. You Forget even your mother, you don't have time for other things, you start a long dream that you never want to wake up... Then the people become greedy, you are in the mouth of everybody, in efect, you start to take distance of them. You loose all you have, your old life, your house, the morning with peace... even your son... and also you have to escape of the people... It's that good? I don't believe it... But it's the real life.
How can you escape from this situation? how can you continue your life? The end of the story, try to live your own ...
Enjoy ...

I'm being generous with two stars. This is a miserable, hopeless story.

If you are considering this book because you are interested in pearl fishers, I would recommend Henry Dr Vere Stacpoole"s " The Pearl Fishers" instead.

If you're reading this for some hidden literary merit because "It's STEINBECK, for goodness sake", then I can't help you. Read it and weep.

The pearl by john steinbeck is a really excellent story about a poor fisher man who became ambitious when he found the greatest peral of the world.Kino,Juana and coyotito are the main characters of this story.They were a unigue and calm family.They always were trying to protect each other from the evil things until kino found "the pearl".From there on everything changed.Kino became like "an animal".he alwayswas thinknig of himself,rather tham listening to his wife suggestionsto throw away the evil pearl.also trying to sell the pearl kino had pass a lot of things which caused a controversy in his religion, family and his people.
The pearl is an interesting book which contains a lot of literary elements.It has a lot of foreshawing which makes it more interesting and facinating.Im going to give to it 3 starts because from there I learned that we should never like a thing,person,etc too much because it will make us do things that we would not expect.so try to read the book and you would see that this book is really good.

The Pearl is a story set in Mexico many years ago. The main character is Kino, a poor Indian during the time. He lives with his wife, Juana, and baby son, Coyotito. Kino is a pearl diver, who one day finds a giant oyster, which he immediately brings to the surface and opens. In the oyster, he discovers a beautiful pearl, which must be worth a lot. He is very happy and decides that now he can send his son to school when he is older and can officially be married in the church. He does not desire wealth, but a better life for his family.
This is the beginning of his struggles with the pearl. The pearl brings on many surprises and causes turmoil Kino's, and his family's, life. Kino goes to seek out someone who will pay him a large sum for the jewel. Thieves and robbers come in search of him, and the pearl. Kino, Juana, and their baby are chased up the mountains by murderers who wish to steal the pearl. In the end, Kino and Juana, walk back into town together, and throw the pearl back into the sea.
The symbolism of the pearl is very important in this book. A pearl is created in a living thing, unlike precious metals such as gold or silver. A pearl is caused to form because of irritation. This shows that things are not always what they seem to be. Kino believes that the pearl will bring him wealth to provide for his family, but the pearl ends up disrupting their lives. When the pearl is returned to the sea, it turns from ugly, to beautiful since this is its rightful place. The pearl does not create havoc in the sea and provides nothing but pure beauty. This is a wonderful story that shows the danger of man's greed, and what really matters in life.

As an assignment for my sophmore class in Honors english 2, we were to read the John Steinbeck classic "The Pearl". For a teenager, depending on your priorities, this can be a rather boring book or a book with a deeper meaning that leaves you searching for something that might be left behind. It may leave you with a sense of discomfort. It certainly doesn't give the platinum-ideal of an all loving world. It portrays a historical view, as well as an ethical view. The discomfort and disgust with society you may find in this book is relevant to take into consideration-Steinbeck is noted for that. It just depends on what you get out of it. The only thing i felt it lacked was too much definition-That could just be my adolescence talking but I did get bored at times. I have read thousands of books within my library and if i can read through Tom Clancy's delightful "Rainbow Six" then i thought that absolutly nothing could bore me. Well when it takes a whole page just to describe what Kino thinks between steps i kinda felt like "okay now this book is getting full of itself". Maturity might indeed be needed to get what some might get from this book, But many Professors and teachers among literature majors find that this book is essential in building a, Value-base(if you will) in reading many other books. So it seems maturity is needed to read this book but you need to read this book to find maturity.

After reading the book The Pearl I realized many things. One of the things that I realized is that it is human nature for people to be greedy and it is alright unless you go to far. I think that John Steinbeck did a great job getting the point across. He used a lot of examples of how greed affects our lives. I thought that the plot was well thought out, and it kept you reading on to see what happens next. Steinbeck's characters were also very interesting and likable. He did a good job of linking all the characters under greed and how everyone is affected by it. Even the priest in the novel was greedy. The characters were also very well rounded and had charateristics that I liked and characteristics that i dislike too. I think that the ending was also well thought out. The way that Steinbeck took away all the burrden from Kino and his family. I could not put this book down and enjoyed reading it trimendously.

The Pearl
By: John Steinbeck
Reviewed By: C.Pak
Period: Period 3
Paragraph #1
This book is abot a man finding a great pearl of the world. so it says.. Kino and his wife Juana lives near the village of La Pez. They also have there baby Coyotito. They arnt rich and they are poor. They have special songs to detect evil or pureness. One day there was a poisonous scorpian on a rope, and Coyotito laughs and pulls the rope that the scorpian was on. Then the scorpian stung Coyotito and Kino quickly grabbed the scorpian and smashes it. The family goes to see a doctor and offers him pearls, but the pearls Kino had were all old and were cheap. So the doctor wouldnt except it. Kino has a brother named Juan Tomas and his wife Apolonia. Kino wanted to cure his sick baby so he goes out to the sea to get a pearl. Then he finds the "Pearl of The World." People were astonished how big the pearl was, but Kinos wife thinks it has great evil and will destroy them, but Kino doesnt care because he just wants his son and family to be happy. He tries to sell the pearl, but the pearl sellers are ripping him off so he goes away. Juana tries to get rid of the pearl, but then Kino punches her in the face. As he was returning to the brush house a group of vandals tries to take the pearl away from him. He killed one and commited murder. So he gets the canoe ready and Juana grabs Coyotito and her belongings. Kino finds that his canoe got destroyed by a group of vandals. When he was climbing the hillside, he sees his house burning down. They hide at Juan Tomas's House for the day. At nightfall, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito head out for the caitol. They travel the town until sunset and gets cover by the roadside. Then soon he finds out that three trackers are following them, so they have to go up to the mountains to lose the "three trackers." Then they hide in a cave. The trackers make a camp and 2 of the trackers sleep and the 1st gets on gaurd. Kino gets naked and tries to kill one of them, but before he was in striking distance Coyotito cried and the two other trackers woke up and one of the trackers shot a rifle where the noise was. Kino kills all three of the trackers. Then Kino soon found out that Coyotito got shot by the rifle. After Kino and Juana went North of the capital with there dead son. Then when they reached the edge of the water, Kino threw the pearl in the water and Kino and Juana saw the pearl sink down the water.
Paragraph #2
In this book i liked the part when Kino found the pearl of the World because Kino was poor and he found the "Pearl of The World" and he might get very rich from the pearl and when Kino was talking about Coyotito reading and writing.
"But the pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God or the gods or both."
"My son will read and open the books, and my son will write and will know writing. And my son will make numbers, and these things will make us free because he will know-he will know and through him we will know. . . . This is what the pearl will do."
Paragraph #3
I didnt like the part when they sing that one certain song to help each other let evil out. I also didnt like the part when the ants were on Kino's foot.
"If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it. In any case, they say in the town that."
"The ants were busy on the ground, big black ones with shiny bodies and the little dusty quick ants. Kino watched with the detachment of God while a dusty ant frantically tried to escape the sand trap an ant lion had dug for him.
He watched the ants moving, a little column of them near to his foot, and he put his foot in their path. Then the column climbed over his instep and continued on its way, and Kino left his foot there and watched them move over it."
Paragraph #4
My favorite part of the book was when the "three trackers" were following Kino, Juan and Coyotito. Then Kino killed all three of the trackers, but then Coyotito dies.

This short story is nothing short of excellent. Kino a poor pearl diver has a change of luck when he finds a valuable pearl in the ocean. Soon his life is changed but with his increase in wealth and luck comes the Song of Evil, his family is [in danger] by his good fortune of finding this pearl. The story is well crafted and reads like a parable. Steinbeck is telling his audience something with this story, how do you interpret it. Check it out!

John Steinbeck's The Pearl focuses on the theme of good

versus evil. The main character Kino, a poor fisherman, and his

wife Juana, hope to find a life of comfort and happiness through

the great pearl that Kino finds at the bottom of the sea. This

dream is shattered after the tragic death of his son. This book

focuses on man's dreams and hopes that can be destroyed by the

greed and evil within the world. When the town discovers that

Kino has found the greatest pearl in the world, the townspeople

yearn to posses it, regardless of the price they have to pay and

the destruction that they will cause along the way.

This book brought out the conflicting feelings in me. At

times, I felt anger, revenge and disgust, and other times, I

experienced sorrow, pain and loss of words. The author reveals

the two opposing sides in man that can be aroused when greed

takes over. I admire Kino and his wife for standing up to the

evil people, and for not giving up even after Kino is attacked,

stabbed and later, faces the burning down of his home. I also

felt that Juana's support and love for her husband is very

powerful. She respects and obeys him throughout the entire story

and vice versa. They love each other in spite of the tragic

events in their lives.

The Pearl made me think of the real dangers in life and how

careful we have to be with people.Sometimes, people who appear

close to us, like the doctor does wit Kino, can be our greatest

enemies. Fortunately, Kino gains the insight to outwit him and

his desires to rob him of the pearl. Also, the pearl buyers are

sneaky thieves that want to cheat him. We meet similar people in

our world today that try to take advantage of the poor and

uneducated in order to make profit.

Often, people are taken advantage of because they are

illiterate like Kino and Juana who hope to give "their son an

education and to buy a rifle and have a wedding in

church."(p.24) I can recall a poor Mexican family that once

stood in front of me at Publix. I felt bad for them because they

could not read or write English. I wondered if their children

were getting the health care that Kino's son needed, but

couldn't get because they were poor. They reminded me of Kino's

family hoping to find a better life.

If you enjoy reading adventure stories filled with drama

and suspense, then, you will love The Pearl. Steinbeck's simple

writing style makes this book easy to read and understand for

people of all ages. This book teaches the theme of good versus

evil and the greed in man. There are many morals in this book

that help us to understand our world today. One lesson that I

learned was if we could truly help one another than people like

Kino and Juana would no longer exist.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is basically just a folktale written in a novelists viewpoint. It was so short, though, it took me about 2 hours and I thought that it could be classified as a novella.
That basic storyline is that a fisherman who dives for pearls finally finds a `perfect pearl', but it may lead to disaster...
It was a fun little tale in the beginning, but in the middle and towards the end, it got very depressing and I didn't like it as much as I might have it wasn't depressing. The Bottom line is that if you don't mind depressing stories, and like folktales, you'll like this. Enjoy the folktale!
A.A.

I read this book, again, as a requirement for English. I must say, first off, that it's easy wording and lyrical prose made it quite easy to understand. I'm not sure yet, if I actually "liked" the book, because it was only the first time I read it and usually the meaning appears the second/third time. I think that I might go and get another Steinback, because I certainly liked the way he wrote. Any suggestions, email me:)
Melody

The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a short novel based on a Mexican folk tale. It's about a small family which loves each other very much and is satisfied with their poor living style. However, not for long they become victims of cheating, betrayal, and murder. In The Pearl Steinbeck writes in a very minimalist sentence structure. The story has a strong moralistic point but Steinbeck doesn't ruin the story by telling the readers what the thematic message is, but allows the story to speak for itself. He was able to capture the characteristics of real Mexican people and created characters like them. As characters were like real people, even though the life styles of the characters were different from your own, it is easy to relate their pain yours. This book was very brief, but it was able to send the message out to the reader as much as a longer novel. The Pearl is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone, as it is an easy book to relate to one's life.

That certainly is the question. If your like myself and have little passion for fiction, but you crave it every once in a while, than this book is definately one that you should pick up. For myself, this book started off rather slow, but it definately picked up the pace as it progressed. It startes describing the setting and the main characters, a family of three who live in very poor conditions. The time setting seems to be of the past seeing as the description of their technology was of grass huts and wooden boats. The family found a pearl and it brought them more harm than good, it is said to bring evil (in which it does) and takes the three characters on a turbulant journey that enevidably leads to the pearl being disguarded. The hope that the family had in the beggining of what they would do with the pearl was mind boggling and only to find that it was so extravagant that it had no value. The thing that kept me turning the pages was the connection that I felt with the characters, I found myself wanting for things to be different and the situation to be changed. This book was also an easy read, it was diffinately a page turner as well. Surprisingly enough I have no constructive critisism pertaining to the book. In short, read it and experience the book for yourself.

Referring to this novella, as a variant is in no way meant to detract from the work, or suggest that it is lacking in originality. The two other works Steinbeck's book "The Pearl" is sometimes linked to, add to the reading experience, and reinforce the transcendence of its message.
"The Pearl Of Great Price" from a parable in the Gospel of Matthew, attempts to teach with the same jewel from the sea. Mr. Steinbeck was also a great reader of medieval texts, and one of these morality plays was in the form of a poem written in the 14th Century, entitled "Pearl" although the Author is unknown. These three works are separated by millennia, but their commentary on the human condition is consistent.
Mr. Steinbeck wrote this after his triumph "The Grapes Of Wrath". The work was a monumental bestseller, it brought The Pulitzer Prize to the Author, and was rapidly made into a movie that is a classic in it's own right. Superficially one could argue Mr. Steinbeck achieved all that a writer might conceivably want, fame, fortune, and critical recognition.
Unfortunately, like his work, often when you feel something good is about to happen, a positive change for his characters that have struggled, and fought to survive, he slams you face down on bedrock's reality. The acclaim for his work brought him great discomfort as well. He was labeled a socialist, a communist, an agitator, and became the focus of FBI attention, and not because they liked his book. He viewed and detested the treatment the racism toward Mexicans in Southern California, and witnessed the so-called "Zoot Suit Riots" that resulted.
"The Pearl" might be called the lottery if it was written today. The ticket that vaults a person from the troubles of day-to-day life, and is thought to leave them "set for life" all too often is a quick financial ride up and a crash back down.
Sudden wealth when thrust upon a person, changes the person, and everyone around them. All their reference points, their friends, and all that their lives have not prepared them for, surround, threaten, and many times destroy them.
This book is very brief, but it communicates as much as a novel 10 times its length. The ending is brilliant, tragic, and redemptive. It is a story that few could write, and even fewer could make work. The emotional scenes he brings the reader to are at times almost violent in there reading. And then with a turn of phrase he can change the mood time and time again.
A wonderful novella from an Author known for sweeping sagas.

Steinbeck is certainly a master of short fiction. To say that this is a morality story would be an injustice. This story is more than that. It is a mirror held up to humanity wherein we can see how material riches bring out the best and the worst in our nature. His use of language is stunningly beautiful. Steinbeck is a storyteller in the highest sense of the word. Through his stories, especially this one, he shows us what its like to be human.

John Steinbeck, is the author of an excellent book, The Pearl, a book that had many lessons. There was a pearl diver named Kino who was very poor. He had a fiancé named Juana. One day, Kino went to do his daily diving and when he did he found a huge pearl. However, he did not know that it would later kill his son and bring him a lot of bad luck. He went to the city to sell the pearl, but nobody would buy it for they thought no pearl could be that big. They all thought that the pearl was fake. Then they wanted to kill Kino and his wife Juana. Later they had a son named Coyotito, however when they were running away, he got shot in the head by a searcher when he randomly shot his rifle it shot the little baby's head. Then Kino went back to his village and threw away his pearl. Then the music of the pearl and bad luck died down and disappeared.
I liked this book because you never know what is going to happen. Also this family has trust in each other including the baby and they sacrifice their lives for each other. The little baby got shot instead of Juana. "I am afraid that only my baby will cry. You must see that he must not cry. He will not cry, and she raised her face to the baby's face. He knows, Juana said." Both of them even trust the little one year old.
"And the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped to the bottom. A crab scampering over the bottom raised a little cloud of sand, and when it settled the pearl was gone. And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared." After the pearl was tossed the bad luck disappeared and never came back to them. I think this book tells that looks can be deceiving. I really enjoyed reading this book.
My favorite part of the book was when Kino dove and found the gigantic pearl and him and Juana were discussing how they would get married in a church and their new son would go to a great school and be smart. My least favorite part was when Coyotito, the little baby, got shot in the head and sort of saved his mom. This was a great book.

The Pearl By John Steinbeck took place in a small village Baja California, Mexico. The name of village was call La Paz. In the village a man named Kino that lived with his wife Juana, and his sonCoyotito in a small brush house. But one day a scorpion had changed Kino's life. His son got hitten by the scorpion, and he didn't have money to pay the doctor. The next day he went to the Gulf and tried to find the pearl. Fortunately he found the" Pearl of the world", but in this great find it had changed Kino's life again. When the news spread through the village, the people in the village treated him very nicely. But no one knew how powerful is the pearl. In Kino's mind he thought the pearl can bring him a new life, but it was destroying him step by step.
I think this book"The Pearl"is a very good book with four stars. In the book the main character Kino, thought his great find will bring him hope and a new life, but it destroyed him step by step. The book also tells the people never to be greedy, or want things too much.

This story takes place a long time ago in a mexican fishing village near a gulf. Natives live near the shore and are pearl divers. They use canoes and dive with no
technical equiptment. The divers houses are made of brush and other natural materials. The rest of the village is made of adobe bricks and mud.
In this book, there are three important charectors. They are a family and their names are Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. Kino is a young man that is strong and fierce. His skin is dark and he is stubborn. He is also very brave. He is married to a lovely young woman named Jauna, who is wise and stubborn. She is very brave and optomistic. She has darkened skin and long dark hair. She loves her baby Coyotito. Coyotito is a baby who is newly born, but very tough. He is very intelligent also. All these charectors make one happy family.

Kino, the fisherman finds the pearl of the world, but the pearl owners won't give him a high enough price. He knows that its worth a lot of money, so he decides to go to a nearby village to sell it. The pearl buyers try to steal it from him in a fight, but he accidentally kills one. They have to set out on foot across the land to escape the law. When they leave, the pearl buyers hire two trackers to follow them and take the pearl. When the family reaches a mountain, they find a place to hide in a cave. Kino attacks the trackers and the pearl buyer, taking the rifle and killing them all. Sadly, the rifle fires and shoots of the poor baby Coyotito's head. When the family returns home, they throw the pearl back into the sea.
I think the moral of this story is bad things can come from good things. It proves the people that think wealth can erase all problems, wrong. I think thats what Stienbeck was trying to get across.
The things that I like about Steinbeck's work is that it proves a point plainly and doesn't say what is already apparent. He wrote so that people could understand him and he made his stories interesting. What I dislike, is that he used lots of discription, too much actually. Also, I don't like how the baby is killed.
Comparing to other books I rate this a 4 out of 5.

This year my 5th grade teacher made us read The Pearl. However, when I told another teacher in the school what we were reading she seemed surprised. What she went on to say echoed my feelings completely.
The Pearl is an amazing piece of literature but the plot is rather dull. If you are looking for exciting action this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a magnificent writing this book is perfect.
Kino, his wife Juana and their baby son Coyotito live in Mexico. To survive, Kino works as a pearl diver along with several others from his village. Every day, he paddles out in his canoe and dives for pearls. Things were the same day after day until, one day, when Kino discovered The Pearl of the World.
The Pearl was perfect, as large as an eagle egg and perfectly round. No one, especially Kino, suspected how much evil the pearl would bring.
Problem after problem befalls Kino until he and Juana are forced to flee. They head for the capital and are followed by trackers. The ending is truly spectacular and somewhat unexpected.
I recommend this book for people who are looking for amazing writing, but if you're seeking the plot this book is not the best. Feel free to read The Pearl though for me I've read better books by John Steinbeck

I'm E6LMMQ!
The main characters of the book The Pearl by John Steinbeck were Kino, his wife Juana and their son Coyotito. they are a poor family that lives near a town named Lapaz in Baja,California. The town's name Lapaz mean peace but, it was not peaceful because the people who live there were controlled by the evil of greediness, all this evil began when Kino's son Coyotito was bitten by a scorpion. So Kino started to find "the pearl of the world" to pay the doctor. Later on he was so lucky that found "the pearl of the world" and he thought that the pearl will bring his family a better future and life. But, when the people in town knew that, they got greedy and evil trying to get the pearl from Kino. Kino's family was started to have problems and troubles, So will kino's family have a better future and life? Will greedy people get the pearl from Kino? read it if you want to know what will happen later on.
I recommend this book because it made me know that wanting a thing too much will cause troubles to myself and I will be control by the evil greediness. You will have a normal life that if the thing you want belongs to you. It will going to be yours. I think I learned a lot from this book so I will give it 5 stars!

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, centers on a poor family in the early 19th century in Mexico. When Kino, a husband and father struggling to provide for his family, finds a magnificent pearl in the depths of the ocean, he has a chance to lift the cloud of poverty that darkens his family's life. But the pearl not only brings hope, with it also travels greed and corruption. Now Kino must face the dangers that the pearl has brought to him and his family.

I thought that The Pearl was a great story and was definitely worth reading. It offered a fast moving pace and good action. The Pearl was a slightly difficult read because of some difficult vocabulary and I would recommend it to both boys and girls from the ages of 11-14. However, I would not recommend The Pearl to readers who love cliffhangers and plot twists. Overall, I thought that The Pearl was pretty good read.

This book met my expectations because it was interesting that the Doctor was recent because of cayotitos color so he didn't help him so Cayotitos dad kino went pearl diving and found a pearl a size of a sea gull head. The pearl was very expensive. Many times they tried to sell the pearl but things get in the way.... I gave this review a 4 out of 5 stars because it was interesting but didn't get my total attention like I would read this book everyday.

Had read this before in middle school thinking I remembered the story line. Started to read it with my 14 year old brother to get him into reading good literature. Needless to say as we read it I noticed his interest in the book increase. I loved it all over again!!!

I have read Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" so I started the book half-knowing what to expect. It took me about 10 pages before I got into the book. Even though it does not grab your attention from the start it gets it around the beginning.
I don't like scorpions at all myself; so when the scorpion attacked I was in !!KNOTS!!. The whole time Steinbeck is talking about songs I'm wondering, "What can the meaning of this be." Indeed Steinbeck uses a lot of hidden meanings and foreshadowing in this novel.
I was very disappointed in this book as in "Of Mice and Men". The story is fairly exciting but the ending leaves more to be desired. I felt like there was not very much of a good point in the story. Maybe in the meaning, but not in the story. I felt like I was walking in circles as I read this book.

As a fan of Steinbeck, I had high hopes for The Pearl. Unfortunately, I found the moral of the story to be disappointing and disheartening: Poor people must remain poor. This message is etched in Of Mice and Men too, but at the very least, Lenny and George's dream was viable. In The Pearl, it is clear from the start that there is no hope for Kino and Juana, so I read a story with no twists and turns. Moreoever, there is an element of magic in The Pearl, and I don't mean this in a good way. I like fantasy and I like Steinbeck, but they really do not mix.

The Pearl by Jonh Steinbeck , "a story of classic simplcity" is based on a poor fisherman Kino. The novel take place in Baja California, Mexico in a small towm named La Paz.
One day his son coyotito get sick by a scorpion sying . He needed money to cure Coyotito. In the desperation to find a good pearl , Kino found "the pearl of the world " . With this pearl he could have that chance of a better future. The pearl was "as large as a sea gull egg" ,"as perfect as the mon ".It was the perfect pearl that everyone could see in all thier lives. The noticed that Kino found the best pearl spread through the small towm . Everyone started to be greedy and corrupt. His wife Juana told him to throw the pearl back into the sea , because it was evil .
Will the pearl destroy Kino or give him money, wealth and happiness ?
Will kino throw the pearl back into the sea ?
I recommend this novel , because gives information " of secrets of man`s nature , the danest depths of evil , and the luinous possibilities of loves". It is a really interting book because it has a lot of similes and metaphors . The pearl shows you how much greed a person can have .

Kino and his family live in Baja California in a place call Lapaz.That was an ironic place, because after kino found a big pearl, that made the peaple in the town turn greedy, not peaceful as before. how can kino find a pearl like that? That was because of coyotito his son. he got stung by a scorpion, so kino really needed money to heal coyotito. Then he started to look for a pearl. I don't know if hr was lucky or if god was helping him. He found the "greatest pearl in the world", shiny like a moom, kino thought this pearl will bring him wealth and a better future, but when this great news passed to the neighbor's ears people turned greedy and they also tried to steel the pearl. His wife Juana thought this pearl is evil "like a sin" she thought the pearl will destory her family.
Will kino sell it for a good price or as Juana's feeling ,will the pearl destory them? If you are instrested and want to find out what happened please read the book named "The Pearl"
I like this book because the book was intresting, and it taught me not to be greedy. If you are greedy at the end you will pay more than you get, so i give this book four stars.

In the Pearl by john steinbeck we see the transformation of a fairly happy family compose of Kino, Juana, and Coyotito whom goes from an ordinarli life to a very complicated one.
Kino, until his son ilness, live a quiet and humble life. For all we know kino and his family had the very essential needs covered with his earning as a fishman. Most likely, his life and the life of his son would had passed without incident. Something like as kino was a master of living a humble life.
Were as by finding the big pearl and sunddenly be faced with promise of rishes and good forture, he is insited by greed, death and percecution like he don't know how to handle his new found rishes. Something that his wife reconese carly on and kino much lates by throwing the pearl back to the sea and the death of his Son Coyotito.
The irony of the story is that the very samething that was going to save kino son was the samething that kill him.

This is a very short work, more accurately labeled a short story than a novella, easy readable in 1-2 hours. Its theme is as old as the hills, "be careful what you wish for, lest you receive it."

Kino and his wife Juana live a hardscrabble existence with their newborn son in a straw hut on the beach, where Kino scratches out a meager existence as a pearl diver. Kino's discovery of "the pearl of a lifetime" changes his life over night. Kino imagines all of the positive things the pearl will make possible, while his wife soon recognizes it as a source of evil which soon gives rise to a string of disasters which they struggle in vain to overcome.

Again, there is nothing original in what is essentially a parable of untold age. It has been compared in style, setting and theme to Hemingway's Old Man and The Sea, but in my opinion, it suffers by comparison.

The Pearl
By: Will Kern
Boring! That's the one word that I can use to describe this true but uneventful book. I mean it still had events, but lets just say they did nothing to make this book a good read. The book was also too predictable. You knew exactly when something bad are good was going to happen in the book. If something bad were going to happen then a "song of evil" would begin to play. If something nice was going to happen there either wasn't a song or it was a calm song that he would hum.

It is nice that he would write a story that had been passed down for generations in this small little village, but he picked the wrong one. He should have picked one with more action and adventure to it. It was also unfortunate that in the end Kino becomes the bad guy, but learns a lesson that money is not always everything.
John Steinbeck makes a mistake in making the family to blind in what is going on around them. Like when the doctor says the effect of the scorpion sting will come later and may cause Coyotito to become blind. So the doctor gave the baby a white powder in a gelatin capsule. The baby takes the pill, and the doctor says this will stop the pain although the baby seems to have no more pain. He says he will come back in an hour. So he does and for some reason gives the baby water with ammonia. Kino is unable to pay him at the time, but once he sells the pearl he will repay him. He makes a big mistake at that time. The doctor says that he should keep with him, in his safe. At that time Kino looks down at the floor where he has buried the pearl. The doctor realizes it and has a plan. He comes the night to steal it, but wakes Kino and is nearly stabbed. Juana wakes up and tells Kino that they must get rid of it or there will be evil and they will be destroyed. The book could have saved us a lot of trouble and ended right there but Kino refuses to get rid of it.
Later in the book Kino sees Juana walking out towards the beach, he feels a sense of rage, she is going to get rid of the pearl. He sprints after her, and punches her in the face, and then kicks her. He leaves her and walks back up the beach. A man then comes to him in search for the pearl. He starts to fight Kino and he drops the pearl, but it does not matter because he slits the guy's throat and regains the pearl. For some reason Juana forgets all about what Kino has done to her and says that t hey must leave for he has killed a man. It would have kept my interest had there been a little more turmoil between the two, but Juana just shrugs it off. Kino is once again reminded that he should have sold the pearl for it is bringing him much more then he had ever imagined.
This book does show us a good moral though. There are a lot of greedy people in the world, and if you are one of them you should probably read this book. I would not recommend it to those who like an action packed adventurous book.

This was an alright book the plot was not all that great and the fact that people actually act that way was kind of how do I say Boring! Yet I kind of liked that they acted that way towards Kino, his family, and the Pearl. They were all so jealous of him for his good fortune and all tried to take advantage of him and the Pearl. I like some of Steinbeck's other novels but I can't say all that much for this one.

the pearl by John Steinbeck took place in a small village in Baja California, Mexico. A fisherman lived wiht his wife Juana and his son Coyotito in this small village La Paz. The towns people called him Kino. One day, Kino heard the song of evil because his son got bitten by the scorpon. He needed money to pay the doctor. So, he tried to find the pearl. The news of kino's great find spread through the down. Kino found the pearl of the world. Then what happened to his family? How does this pearl influence their future? Can this pearl really help his family to solve their porblem? You will only find out
if you read this book.
I love this book. The book is great as well. It is easy to read and I learned a lot of words. And also in this book I learned something. Sometimes you have no choice, like feeling trapped. But you must face the problem. Then you would be grown up. I think you would like this book if you read it.

I just finished Steinbeck's the Pearl. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. I dearly beg that any who read it do not judge Steinbeck's writing ability by it. The only way to describe that thing is lame, lame, lame. Many have claimed it to be as good as Of Mice and Men, but how it is even comparable is beyond my mental capacity. This story was a required reading for my Sophomore English class, and it definitely turned off quite a few of the students to Steinbeck's writing. It lacked his flourish with detail and his wonderful analyses of the human psyche. If you want to read something short by Steinbeck, I would recommend Of Mice and Men. His stuff is a little bit deep, so don't bother if you just want a casual read. For those who wish to spend more time, I HIGHLY recommend The Grapes of Wrath. It is an awesome book, prolly one of my favorites at the moment, but it is rather long.

When you read this book you might find it boring and dull, and maybe even sad, or think it is uneventful. When I read it that is not what I thought at all. John Steinbeck wasn't trying to make you happy and have the book have a Hollywood ending. Steinbeck was trying to make a point. If you can't handle reality then I wouldn't recommend this book to you.
Something else you think about when you read this book is the style of it. Steinbeck uses a lot of descriptions and a lot of simililies. When you finish the book if you think back to what you remeber you'll see you have remembered some powerful stuff. There are sentences that stick to you like gum to the bottom of your shoe.
The reason I liked this book so much is because it has a great affect on you. You learn a lot of lessons. You might not the ending or the plot but what you learn from it it's worth it. That is why I recommend this book to you.

I thought that this book had a good christain moral to it. It talks about how a person like Kino who had found a pearl and became a very greedy person. Someone who is greedy, is a person who wants that object all to themselves and share it with nobody at all. I like this book alot and it shows us the difference between right and wrong. I didn't like how Kino treated Juana and his people. I also didn't like the fact that the people in town treated Kino and his people like dirt and also like they were a nobody. When Coyotito got stung by the scorpion and they took him to go see the doctor and the doctor didn't want to help them because they were Indigenous people and he will only help them if they had money. Kino and Juana were poor people, they didn't have alot of money and they wanted the doctor to help Coyotito get better and not die for this scorpion bite. The doctor was mean and rude, he didn't want to help Kino and Juana, just because that they are Indians.

The Pearl is about a man who finds a pearl while diving for clams, and his life gets worse from there. The pearl that he found was bad luck from the begining, and the book only gets worse. Steinbeck descirbes in great detail, but it takes him two to three pages to describe the kitchen sink! Also, the story is very depressing, and if you need an uplifting book, this is NOT the one to read. I have found that almost all of his work is like that, and find it unappealing. Even though, the story has good morals, money is not everything in the world, and the main character in this book finds this out the hard way.

This story is based on an old Mexican fable. Steinbeck's simplistic style in this novel reflects what a strong influence it had on him. The Pearl is a quick and easy read and does make a strong message about greed. If you've read anything else by Steinbeck, you'll find this story fairly predicatable. Still, the short length and simple style make this an easy afternoon read that you'll probably appreciate.

In a place near Baja California, lived a man named Kino. He was a fisher man. He has a wife and son. One day, his son was bitten by a scorpion and they went to the doctor, but the doctor wouldn't help him because he too poor to afford the bills. He only had some pearls that were turning gray. Then one day, he went to the ocean with his canoe and he went into the water. Then suddenly he saw something shiney and that was an oyster and inside of it laid a big pearl, "After that day everyone in their town knew about Kino's pearl, and even the doctor knew about it" Will the doctor help him or will he help him just to get his pearl? Now the journey of the pearl begins.
I like this book because this book has so many mysteries. I will recommend this book to the people who like mysteries. I give the book 5 stars, because I think everyone will like it. I learn that, if you want something very much, it won't come true.

"The Pearl". Is a novella by John Steinbeck that takes place in Baja California, mexico, in a littel town name La Paz. Kino, the main character, is a poor fisherman like everyoen in the town. Everyone was happy in the town but the odyssey started when Kino fownd a pearl. A pearl that promes a better life for kino and his family. But as Kino fownd this pearl everyone in the town become greedy and evil, everyone in the town wanted a piece of the pearl. The only solution for Kino was to sell the pearl. Will Kino sell the pearl and finally give a better life to his familly or will Kino and his familly get destroyed from the greedines and evil of the town?
As an ESL student i like this book because it is very short and easy to read. Also this book can teach you some morals. Ilearned from this book that "it is not good to want something too much". I guarantee you will like this book if you read it

This book is about one poor family that is struggling to have a better future.In baja california,in a section called la paz,there was a man named kino and his wife juana,and their son who made their relationship evencloser.One day coyottito was in his delicate box playing around having fun,when an evil,ugly,dangerous and untouchable scorpion was crawling on the top of box rope.The scorpion stung the poor little baby who started shaking and crying.Kino was very furious and began to hear "the evil song"An example of foreshadowing.Kino needed to find or get money to help coyottito recover and heal.luckily he found"the pearl of the world ,and he could now get money.The townspeople started to get greedy and became interested in kino pearl.Kino also became greedy because he wanted a higher price for the pearl.Eventually,his greed forces him to act in ways he never imagined.Kino and his family faced incredible challenges.
As a high school student,I'll rate this novel 4 perfect stars.It is interesting and exciting.It has some actions and scenes that will surprise you.It's good because it talks about a foreign nation with a diffrent culture.I recommend this book for children to listen and teenagers to read.

This book is not quite as beautifully written as "Of Mice and Men", but it has a very powerful and true message albeit it might be a little exaggerated in this particular story. It's a tale about the power of the dreams that drives us, taking us places where we didn't dream of going, and neither wanted to go. It's a story about taking one apparently harmless step that forces you to take another step, and yet another until you end up where you didn't expect, one little step that only the wise would avoid taking. It's also a story about day and night, what happens on the surface and what happens beneath.
The message becomes apparent early in the book, but it grows stronger and stronger as the main characters grow more and more ignorant towards it. While reaching the last pages my adrenalin was pumping, knowing that something was going to happen, but not knowing exactly what and I was somewhat surprised by the ending.
This is the second book I've read by Steinbeck and definitely not the last.

I like this book because it teaches us that not every valuable thing can make you happy. this book talks about a pearl found by a pearl diver name kino, this story shows how right after kino found the pearl he became more ambitions, things that before he didnt mind now he is planning to buy, and reactions that before he use to avoid no he realize. Kino became very animalistic and a perpetrator he killed a thif that was trying to still his pearl and also his only son died because of this pearl. materialistic thing are not always quite what we need to be happy not becaus you have money doesnt mean you have everything. Money brings ambitiousness and envy between you and people whom you thought were good people. I like this book because it thought me that not everything in life is money , you could be so poor but if you have the love of your family and friends you dont need anything else

I personally do not see how this book has an average rating of three and a half stars. Yes, it's a sad story, but so are 70% of other books, unless it's some stupid romance junk or something. Along with Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl ranks amongst the best of John Steinbeck's writings.

Five huge yellow stars.

i'M A GIRL OF 15 YEARS OLD THAT LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY, THE BOOK THAT I READ IS NAMED "THE PEARL" WRITTEN BY JOHN STEINBECK, TJIS STORY IS FICTION BUT IS VERY NICE STORY AND I SURE RECOMENDED, BECAUSE, THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A POR FAMILY THAT LIVED IN BAJA CALIFORNIA {MEXICO}.
THE MAINS CHARACTERS ARE KINO,JUANA,AND THEIR BABY'S CHILD COYOTITO,THAT LIVED IN A BRUSH HOUSE AND KINO WORK AS A FISHER ALSO LOOKING FOR PEARLS THAT WILL HELP HIM AND HIS FAMILY TO LIVE BETTER, THEY MIGHT BE POOR BUT HAPPY,BECAUSE THE ONLY THING TO SURVIVE IS AN OLD CANOE THAT HAVE BEEN ONTHEIR FAMILY FOR CENTUARYS.
BUT WHEN KINO FIND THE PEARL THEY WON'T BE HAPPY ANYMORE.BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS FAMILYAND WHY THEY ARE NOT HAPPY ANYMORE WITH THE GREATEST PEARL, YOU SHOULD READ IT,IS VERY NICE, INTERESTING AND ALSO THAT BY READING IT YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF GOOD THINGS THAT WILL HELP YOUR WHOLE LIFE.

The book, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, is an excellent story about how greed can corrupt an innocent man. In the story a Native American man, Kino, his wife, Juana, and their infant son, Coyotito live in an Indian village in Mexico. One morning, a scorpion stings Coyotito. Kino and Juana rush little Coyotito to the doctor in the nearby town, but are turned away because they are too poor to afford the doctor's services. Later that morning, Kino goes diving for pearls and he surfaces with the biggest pearl that his family had ever seen. The rest of the story regards Coyotito's intensifying illness and other people trying to get the pearl. The book has a rather depressing ending but the moral of the story about greed and human nature is extremely apparent by the end of the novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone with two to three hours of free time.

The Pearl by John Steinbeckis a literature that is based on Mexican Folk Tale. The drama involves hopelessness, greetiness,and evil. Simultaneously , Kino the protanist, who is a poor diver made a great dicovery . He found the "The Pearl of the world", which was "Perfect as moon".This pearl represented his chance to give a better future to his family. In his ambition to achive his dreams, Kino made a dramatic change of attitude against Juana ,his wife, who was a religious women. She stated that "The Pearl is like a sin". How far is the reality of kino's destiny?
As a student I recommend this ingenious novela of "Classic Simmplicity".The story presents a mysterious darkness of evil, which provides suspence to the reader . Evetually the author uses a great variety of literature languaje such as; similes, methaphors,and personification .Also the narrator involves imagination that relates the secrets of nature with evil .This will cause agreat interest to any reader.

You know, the part that kills me about the reviews I've read on this page is that it's the kids who hate this book! Somebody must be a really awful teacher to get a child to hate this novel, and has done them a horrible disservice. The opening lines of this novel are POETRY. They are beautiful, and they should begin to acquaint young minds with the evocative and descriptive power that words can have. Again, it bothers me exceptionally that the most scathing reviews of this novel have been written by youths. I'm only twenty, and already I feel like I'm becoming too jaded to enjoy this novel and these characters in their simple and innocent beauty. What are we doing to our youth if we can't even provide them with that?

I feel as though John Steinbeck did a wonderful job writing this book. This story gave real instances that happen everyday to different people all over the world. He did a good job at keeping the book interesting. I was never bored at all throughout the book, from cover to cover. The book was filled with excitement and action. He didn't start the book out with a bunch of boring, meaningless details that no one really cares about. In the end of the book John ends it very tragically with the killing of his son Coyotito. Kino goes through many difficult situations in the book, and selects many different ways of acting in them. All this just shows that money does not mean happiness, and John Steinbeck did a great job at getting that point across in this book.

This was so stupid. The baby got shot. And there was pretty much NO plot. I mean seriously? What did John Steinbeck do with his life?!? It's about a guy who finds a pearl and hears different songs in his mind (he must be delusional). Wtf is this?!?! Half of the book was describing the horizon -_-. Ugh waste of time

In this classic tale of greed, John Steinback illustrated to us what loving something to much, expecially money, can do to us. It will destroy us! There is NO exeption. In my opinion, our greatest weakness as human beings is the pursuite of personal pleasure at the expense of anyone and everyone that comes in our way.Mr. Steinbeck, gave us characters that we can relate to. We can imagine what we would do in we were put in a simular stuation. At the beginning of the story, Kino wanted nothing and was completly contempt with what he had. Then he found this great pearl and greed ingulfed him like a shark devours his prey. His whole life fell apart. He lost everything including his beloved son,for who he wanted to find the pearl for in the first place.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck is an unforgettable tale of good vs. evil. Kino a very poor Mexican pearl diver who finds the Pearl of the World, which is a pearl beyond price. He tells all of the wonderful things his new found wealth is going to bring to him and his family. He tells of all the expectations of happiness that the riches of the pearl will bring. He believes he is the luckiest man in the world until, the evil spirit of mankind prove that it is not luck at all, but a curse. Instead of bringing fortune and happiness it brings fear, dispare and heartache. Him and his family must flee to safety when they are being tracked by assassins that want to steal the pearl and will stop at nothing to get it.

This is great piece of literature that is beautifully written. This Steinbeck classic proves wealth does not bring happiness and can not replace unconditional love of ones family. This story has a very strong and obvious moral message that speaks volumes. I give this book five stars out of five and highly recommend it.

The Pearl is by John Steinbeck. The story took place in Baja California, Mexico inside a town called La Paz which mean peace. But it changed when a poor fisherman Kina found the pearl.
"It was the greatest pearl in the world." It made teh town like a "colonial animal" because people in the town are tiger which is high society like the doctors, the character in the book, and some are mice which is lower society like the poor fishermen, beggers...ect. The pearl made their fingertips burn and changed Kino's life. What will Kino do with this pearl? What is the destiny of this Pearl?
I will give The Pearl four stars because it teaches you not to be greedy and things will not get it easy. I will recommend this book because you can learn that if you want something too much then you will lose it.

The pearl is a book full of anger, sadness and misfortune. the ending added to this. the ending of the pearl was expected by all its readers as steinbeck hinted it to us the whole way through. for example when kino told juana to make sure Coyotito did not cry we immediately think something is going to happen to him. the ending came to a sudden hault and left us feeling confused with many unanswered questions such as who killed Coyotito? i admit i still do not know!steinbeck used his skill to describe nature in a long descriptive way which can bore his readers! and he forgot to give us an understandable and exciting ending instead it was quite perdictable. after so much anger and hurt they threw the pearl away and then suddenly ends! i was expecting some greedy pearl diver to jump in after it! it left me very confused!

The pearl by John steinbeck is about KINO the protagonist and his family. Kino found "THE PEARL OF THE WORD" in the capital of Baja California that is called La Paz. When Kino found the pearl there was greedines in his town. Juana kino's wife wanted to throw the pearl in the ocean again, she meant that "THE PEARL IS EVIL" but Kino told her that "THE PEARL IS OUR CHANCE" to cure our son Coyotito.
Will Kino sell the pearl?
Will Juana thorw the pearl away?
Will coyotito be cured?
READ THE BOOK AND FIND IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!
I recommend this book because it is very interesting and shows, how the poor indian people live and what they have to do to havewhat they want. I give this novela 4 stars. I learned s many things from this book, for example IRONY and GREEDINES. I recommend that everybody reads this book.

The Pearl is a novel about the transitions a family goes through when Kino, the father, finds a giant pearl when he is on one of his fishing trips. When he brings the pearl home to his family in Baja California, the poor family gets hope from the pearl thinking it will bring them riches. As the family soon realizes having riches doesn't mean happiness. This book is a great book for anybody who wants a good read in a short amount of pages. Although this book is only about 90 pages in offers the same amount of emotion of a 300 page novel. The best think about this book was the moral at the end of the story. It expains to the reader that being rich or famous doesn't mean happiness, and that the person has to bring his own happiness. I would recommend this book to anybody over the age of 12 because it does deal with some very sad subjects that a 12 year old may not like. Overall this book was excellent and this book was one of Stienceck's best works.

This story is about a family that lived in a town in the north of Mexico. There were three members Kino, Juana and Coyotito. They are very poor and in the story Coyotito got stung by scorpion. Kino was worried and he went to the doctor, but they are denied, because the doctor wanted money but Kino just had some pearls. That wasn't enough for the doctor. Kino decided to look for a more beatiful. Then he found a big pearl. Since that day, his family changed. Kino doesn't stay conformed with the price offer of the dealers and decided to go to the city searching for a better price. That part in my opinion is the most important because Kino and his family fight for what they wanted in a big adventure. This book teaches us not to be too ambitious because it could be bad like what happened with Kino and his family.

This book is very simplistic & straightforward. A poor couple have their lives turned upside down when they come into posession of a giant pearl. Their once simple, happy lives are now filled with turmoil. The pearl is symbolic of the "money is the root of all evil" concept. This book didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, and is really best-suited for young people.

It's not just a story about good and evil, it's a marvelous tale wich uncovers the virtues and miserys of the human condition, because Kino, the pearl fisher, is a sensitive man, one who is able to hear certain music associated to emotions and, despite of his illiteracy, that gift allows him to predict good or bad things, but when greed touches his heart he forgets everything he knows and the awesome pearl he finds, perhaps the solution of all of his problems, leads him to a path of tragedy and suffering. For kids it would be a great starting point to read good literature, to adults a story to remind us how all the treasures a man could long for are inside our hearts. And everyone will always remember Steinbeck's ability to write about the most sad and tragic things with a magnificent poetic language

Be prepared to read this one in a single sitting. Steinbeck conquers the deepest human emotions in less than 100 pages. This action packed gem will keep you turning pages and perhaps make you think twice about luck, ego and bravery.

I suppose the fact that I had to read this book for school has sort of tainted my view of it. After spending at least a month disecting what the pearl represented and coming up with way too many questions about Juana, Kino and Coyotito, I pretty much had enough. In fact, I have a friend who screams at the mention of this book, if that is any indicator. Basically, this story talks about a pearl diver named Kino who finds a pearl, which ends up destroying his life. If you're looking for a feel good book, this isn't it. There are a lot of not-so-subtly disguised messages about wealth and it's power to corrupt. In fact, the whole book is practically one big symbolic thing. It is actually pretty interesting to see the underlying messages, because there are so many that once you start looking more and more just jump out at you. I give this book 3 stars because I am confident that, had I read this book on my own, I would have enjoyed it much more and not felt as if I had absolutely analyzed it to death. While it isn't the best book I've ever read, it still does deserve recognition, and if you like symbolism, this is your book.

"The Pearl",is the story of a poor fisherman named Kino who decided to look for a pearl after his son coyotito got sick.When Kino and his wife Juana found "The great pearl of the world" most of the people in the town begon to be jeleaus about him.It is ironic because the name of the town is La Paz and after they found the pearl a lot of conflicts started to happen there.Read the book and find out how this pearl changed Kino's life and the life of the people around him.
I totally recommend this book because it shows how money can change people's personalities and how ambicious a person could be,just because of money.I think this book is also very interesting,exited and capture the readers attention.Beside,it is also good as a material work for school.

I think that Jon Seinbeck's novel, The Pearl, was interesting. I thought that the beggining led into the story very well and there was a good plot line. It flowed well until the ending. I didnt like how The Pearl ended with Coyotito dying, and Juana and Kino going back into town. I felt like the story was missing something. But i guess that is my own interpretation. Steinbeck was writting more then a story, he was trying to express his beliefs and personal feelings on the matter. I think that the economy at this time also played a big part. It was the end of WWII, and money was a bigger deal to people.I think that the pearl represented a lot money, and kino found the pearl and then became distracted by it and was greedy and didnt care as much about his family. I thnk that Steinbeck had great ideas and should be commended for his work.

A folktale of lower California is the basis for this narrative about Kino, a simple pearl fisherman, who finds an enormous pearl that promises to provide for all his family's needs. But Kino soon learns that this find brings nothing but misfortune. This misfortune prompts Kino to throw the large pearl back into the sea and resume his difficult way of life. As many learn, those who are greedy are never happy.

Although this book may be slim and thin, it gives a powerful and straight forward teachings of the natures of men. Kino, the main character, goes through a tragic event of being unable to afford his son's visit to the doctor as the wound from the poisonous scorpion kept on getting worse. To save his beloved son, he dives into the waters and finds a pearl that seemed to posess the shape and the size of a full moon. When the words quickly spread about the mysterious pearl, he soon finds him self stranded between the greedy who devastatingly want to purchase his beautful item. Unluckly, as the story progresses towards the end, Kino faces many depressing results. However, to those who love short and heart thrilling novels, I highly recommend this book... READ IT TODAY!

Even though I loved this story, what I really loved about the Pearl was the writing style itself. What a great way to tell this tale. Steinbeck really enters the history and culture of these characters so that his prose becomes a crystal clear reflection of their lives and thoughts, their beliefs and their perceptions. He has not only entered their hearts and minds, but their souls as well, to the point that the voices of the characters embed themselves equally into the soul of the writer and they are all one with each other.

The Pearl was an okay book, although I would not suggest it to anyone who wanted to read. I did like certain parts of the book, and it taught good lessons about life. It also let me see the world through a different point of view than my own. My favorite character in the novella was probably Kino for his human characteristics. He had so little, yet he was satisfied with what he had. He was strong all through the book, although his wife, Juana, appeared to be stronger at times. The Pearl has sort of a mysterious plot, and sometimes it was hard to follow along with what was happening. I definitely did not expect it to end as it did, and I was somewhat disappointed and surprised in the end. It's not your typical Hollywood plot. The Pearl had a good moral, but I do not think I would suggest you to read it for enjoyment.

This book is especially meaningful if you have lived past middle-age, struggled to make a better life for your family, and then in the end realize the irony that the success in that struggle was also the source of destruction in your life. It is a gut-wrenching metaphor of good intentions taken to a fanatical end.

This small tale is based on a Mexican folk tale. The significance of the pearl of greed and the mayhem it creates in the simple lives of the people it touches is a story for any man any place. The writing was beautiful and the ending was cool as "the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped toward the bottom. The waving branches of the algae called to it and beckoned to it." The crab scampers over it and covers it with sand, "And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared." After all the havoc it had reeked. It is finally gone.

Kino was a poor fishman like his father and grandfather. Everythings is normal with his life having a wife and a baby. But one day with a bite from a scorpion, Coyotito almost dead. The greedy doctor won't see Kino's family. They have no choices but to search for the "great pearl of the world" for their son and their great future.
But the pearl didn't bring luck or a great future like the legend said. It showed the greedy and the dark sides of humans. This preal broke their family apart. Kino could trust no one now. Everybody is an enemy in his eyes. The pearl had become his soul.
This taught us not to be greedy. i recommed it to the high school students because it is a good lesson for us to learn.

John Steinbeck's The Pearl is an excellent tale of a pearl fisherman, his wife, their newborn son, and the power of greed. When Kito (the fisherman) finds the Pearl of the World, he sees in it a life far better than the one which his family and his people miserably live. Similar in style to Lord of the Flies, in the sense that the general theme is things uncontrollably and inexorably falling apart. The life of Kito and his family becomes far worse than before they found it. Instead of being wealthy and elite, they end up right back where they started, but in worse shape. The parable that Steinbeck tells is a wonderful description of today's greedy corporate society. This is a book that needs to be read many many times.

In The Pearl, John Steinbeck keeps the story very short. He doesn't waste words with filler, yet he provides thrilling images, complete details included. The concise, almost perfect word choices keeps the reader hanging on every word, no matter how near or far the plot is from the climax.

The short-story, full of twists, turns, and heart-stopping suspense, is about a three-member family led by a poor pearl diver, Kino, in a Mexican community. After the young couple's baby child is bitten by a poisonous scorpion, the two do whatever they can to save the infant's life. A tale of struggle, surprises, and social discrimination takes the reader through the changing lives of this Mexican family. A great, easy read.

THE PEARL, BY JOHN STEINBECK TAKES PLACE IN A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO. IT IS LIKE A FARMING REGION WHERE KINO, JUANA AND THEIR SON COYOTITO LIVED. COYOTITO WAS STUNG BY A SCORPION, SO HE HAD TO BE CHECKED BY A DOCTOR, BUT THE DOCTOR DOES NOT WANT TO HELP HIM BECAUSE HE IS POOR. ON DAY, KINO BEGINS THE SEARCH TO FIND THE PEARL THAT MIGHT HELP THEM TO MAKE MONEY, SO THAT WAY THEY COULD PAY THE DOCTOR TO CURE COYOTITO'S WOUND. UNFORTUNATELY, KINO HAD FOUND THE PEARL, IT BROUGHT MANY PROBLEMS THAT AFFECTED HIS LIFE AND HIS FAMILY.
I RECOMMMEND THIS BOOK, BECAUSE IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND HAS A HIGH CLIMAX BECAUSE AS YOU READ IT YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT.

This book "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck is a story about a family of three that live in poverty but they have thier morals to live by. On one tragic day Kino and Juana's son Coyotito got stung by a scorpion. For them to be able to pay a doctor for a cure, Kino and his wife Juana went in search of a pearl. After they found what was said to be "The greates pearl of the world" every one in town wanted part of it. So greed aroused in La Paz. Kino's family was attacked and tricked. Accidents,murder,rage and drama happend throughout the book.
I gave this book two stars, because this book I would say is for bigginer readers or for a younger audience. It was an interesting novela. If you're a person who doesn't read much you might find it very juicy and full of suspense.

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck,was a book I decided to read after a friend told me about it. It was fairly short and didn't hold any meaning. I truly think that this was Steinbeck's idea of Indians' poverty due to white man rather than a great idea for a novel. He used the two different societies and the doctor's greed to show how the white man tore the Indians apart. I think he chose a pearl as the jewel to be found because it is pretty close to white in color. The evil pearl buyers were also implied to be white people trying to kill Kino and his family for the pearl. The basic storyline could have been a descent novel had Steinbeck not thrown in all the other stuff. I would not recommend this book to anyone due to the content implied on the white man. If you must read this book, get it over quickly (you could probably finish in a day or so) and read The Count of Monte Cristo.

The pearl by JOHN STEINBECK is about how a quiet family in a little town began to get in trouble.This story takes place in BAJA CALIFORNIA ,MEXICO in LA PAZ .The man of this book was kino ,a great man . He found the '' PEARL OF THE WORLD ''. Kino did everything to find this pearl and help his family. Kino's wife wanted to sell the pearl of the world" everybody was greedy and kino's wife wanted to throw away the pearl because they will get in a lot of trouble.
I recommend this book because it is interesting How a little thing called a pearl began as to the most beautiful ball in the world.I give 3 stars.In this book I learned you can't be more than everybody.We are all equal.

The book "The Pearl" is a story told to teach a lesson or send out a message. Like in this book Kino was one of the main characters. He was not smart and very poor. Then one day he was out diving for pearls, like usual and found a huge pearl. Then all of a sudden everyone wanted to be his friend. I think this book shows how materialism destroys; also that love can give someone a lot of courage (He kept looking for pearls for his son and wife). It shows how people or animals usually go for things weaker than themselves, that knowledge is power which people take advantage of. " The Pearl" also shows how dreaming is good until it begins to mess up your life (Kino starts to get greedy and everything begins to go wrong). This book shows and teaches a lot of lessons that actually happen in real life and people learn the hard way just like Kino.

One morning, Kino and his wife Juana were eating breakfast, as a small movement caught their eye. It was a scorpion moving down a rope that held their son's box. Coyotito, their baby infant, inside the box, saw the scorpion and began to laugh and reach his hand up toward it. When Kino was almost in reach of the box and the scorpion Coyotito jerked the rope and the scorpion fell. Kino tried to catch it, but was too late. It fell onto the baby's shoulders and struck. Kino then grabbed it, threw it to the ground, and smashed it. Juana immediately went to suck the poison out of the baby's shoulder. So begins the journey of The Pearl.
The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is a parable novel. The story takes place in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, in a Mexican Coastal Village named La Paz, which is most likely on the Baja Peninsula. The story is about a poor Mexican family, whose son gets stung by a scorpion and needs medical attention. However, because they are poor and have no money to their name, the doctor will not treat their son. Therefore, Kino and Juana take Kino's grandfathers canoe that had been passed down to Kino, out to go pearl diving. They find a great pearl, a pearl that has never been seen before. Kino shouts when he find this great pearl, which makes everyone around him aware that he has found this magnificent pearl.
Kino believes that this pearl has brought him great luck and that because of it, he will own a rifle, and Coyotito will go to school and learn. Meanwhile, the whole village watches as he makes these statements, or plans. Soon, the doctor arrives and treats Coyotito, and says that he will return in an hour; when every leaves, Kino buries the pearl in a corner inside his house. When the doctor returns, he gives Coyotito a potion to make him strop vomiting. The doctor asks about the pearl and Kino glances where he buried it. Later that night, Kino and Juana are awakened by someone who is inside their house. It was someone trying to steal the pearl. However, Kino had moved it to a new hole under his sleeping mat. Kino stabbed the attacker, but the attacker got away.
Kino realizes he must sell the pearl the next day. However, the pearl buyers try to cheat him and don't offer anything close to what Kino believes is the value. He turns down all of the offers and goes away. The next night Kino wakes up as his wife steals the pearl and goes down to the beach to throw it into the sea. Just before she releases the pearl, Kino tackles her. He then beats her and returns to their house. However, on his way back a group of men try to steal the pearl. Kino manages to kill one man and the others run off. He had dropped the pearl during the fight. Juana finds the pearl and Kino on the ground with the dead man next to him. She tells Kino that he will be called a murderer and that they must leave. He agrees, but little does he know that vandals had put a hole in his canoe. As Kino heads back to his house, he finds it up in smoke. Kino, Juana and Coyotito go to Kino's brother's house, where they hide for the day.
At night, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito begin their journey; their destination is the capital. They travel north, being careful about their tracks. As the sun begins to rise, they find a "covert shelter" by the side of the road. Juana and Kino take short naps. As Kino is taking his nap, he suddenly awakens. He leaves the shelter and discovers that three trackers are following them looking for the pearl. Kino decides to go up the mountain in an attempt to lead the trackers in another direction by making false trails. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hide in a cave by a water source, as they wait for the right time to try to head back down the mountain. The trackers finally catch up with them but still do not know where they are. That night, Kino decides that he will attack the trackers. As Kino is about to attack, Coyotito lets out a small cry, which makes one of the trackers fire his rifle in the direction of Coyotito. Kino then attacks the trackers and kills them. Sadly, the shot that one of the trackers fired hit and killed Coyotito. The next day, Juana and Kino make their way back to the village. They go to the shore and Kino throws the pearl into the sea and watches it as it floats to the bottom.
The main conflict in this story is that Kino finds a magnificent pearl and intends to sell it so that he can better his life by owning a rifle and giving his son a good education. But when Kino tries to sell the pearl, he claims that he has been cheated because of other people's greed. The joy around discovering the pearl turns to fear and misfortune as people try to steal the pearl. Kino and his wife believe that the pearl is cursed and no longer know what to do with it. The conflict is resolved by Kino killing the trackers and throwing the great pearl into the ocean. The lesson learned in this novel is that greed can lead to death, sorrow, and misfortune. I give this book four out of five stars, because it is a good thrilling novel. I took one star away because it was too slow in the beginning.

I find it interesting that the vast majority of the negative reviews come from people who can barely craft a coherent sentence, a point I made to my 9th grade GATE class. Nonetheless, THE PEARL is not my favorite Steinbeck work, either. However, I do think that one of its messages is pertinent: that education and knowledge are keys to power and freedom from abuse. Another theme I got from the book was that it is tempting fate to try to raise one's position in the world (e.g. witness what happened to Kino and Juana when they dared dream of a better life via the pearl). I'm not sure I agree with that sentiment, although perhaps the underlying message is that a person has to *work* for what he/she earns, rather than be given it.
Certainly, the book made me think, which to me is one of the hallmarks of a successful work of literature. Unfortunately, it mostly made me think rather dark thoughts.

The Pearl, a masterpice by John Steinbeck, is of course what many consider to be a timeless display of how the small minority can rule the vast majority. Kino, a poor Mexican peasant, is happy with his situation. A beautiful wife, a newborn child, and a simple living equate to what to him is a very succesful existence. That is when he discovers the pearl of the world and therefor is shown a doorway into many of the aspects of a "rich" life, a life that is forsaken to him by birth. Blinded by ambition and plans for his child, he becomes infuriated with who surround and only when many attempts to his life are made is when he truly discovers that he was happy all along...

The ending of this book is very sad. It is about a man who thinks it is his lucky day when he finds one of the largest pearls he has ever seen. However this luck changes drastically and goes against him. The pearl wasn't lucky after all. I will not tell you the ending because I hate it when reviewers do that! Don't you?

I had to read this book for a summer reading for Honors English. Althought the book is very short, it felt like it took an eternity to get through the first chapter. It wasnt bad though. In the book, Kino, Juana and their son Coyotito are pretty poor, until one day Kino finds a pearl in the Gulf. And basically after that, Kino is driven crazy from the pearl; bad things such as people trying to rob him, their hut burning down, and the baby was killed, but Kino seems obsessed after a while. He refuses to give up the pearl, which the pearlers said was worthless because it was too big. I found the last chapter the most intriguing. One drawback I found was that Steinbeck describes EVERYTHING in such detail, which probably wasnt necessary. But overall.. I say its pretty good.

This book is set in a town on the coast of mexico by the pearl ridges that made the king of spain rich. Kino wakes to find a scorpion by his sons head. Kino Reaches for the scorpion but he misses and it falls right into the cot. Kino yells for the villagers to get the docotr but no luck comes to him. So kino goes to the doctor and offers payment with a small pearl but the doctor refuses. Kino Deprately goes out looking for a pearl to pay with and he finds "The Pearl of the world". Kino Treis to sell the pealr but he is not convinced at the prices he is offered so he refuses. In the end Kino detroys the pearl to rid the badluck and evil it brought to Kino's family. The good points about this book are that it is well writen and keep you intrest up high . The Bad Points about this book are the ending is not a happy one and that the author descripes certain things in his own opion.

In Baja California a poor family, Kino, Juana and their son Coyotito, lived happily together.One day Coyotito was attacked by a Scorpion. Kino saved Coyotito from the Scorpion, but Kino's Family's life was changed from then on. Coyotito needed the doctor's help, but Kino didn't have any money. Then Kino went to find the "Evil" pearl to get money. Kino found the pearl, but he didn't want to sell it in his town. Why didn't he want to sell it in his town? Then Kino went to the Captital to sell the pearl. The way to the Captital was very dangerous. Why was that dangerous going to the Captital?
If you want to know more about the book, read on to find out what happened next.

I found this book to be a reminder of what really matters most in life. Many seek riches and fame, but not many seek the simple things in life such as: family, friends, education, and mostly living a content life with what you have. Kino and indigenous man of the town of La Paz finds the Pearl of the World. Funny how it may seem this man had a dream for his son and that was for him to obtain an education. An education? Well, if you can't read and write people will take advantage of you. The overall theme of the story was that greed and evil pervail in our society and that the poor will always be oppressed. This is a wonderful book and points out the important things in life.

In a far town,in Baja California there was a men whose name was kino.He was married with Juana and they had a little boy named Coyotito.They were very poor.They lived in a brush house,but one day their life changed.Coyotito was stung by scorpion.They didnt have money to pay the doctor to cure coyotito.Fortunately,he found a pearl,"The Pearl of the World".How can a pearl help to change the life of someone.

I give this book 3 stars because it was intresting but i really didnt like the end.If you like to read fiction books i recommend this book to you.The message of this book is "Dont think that money is Everything".

I dont understand how people fail to find this simple and beautiful novella incredibly touching. I also find it hard to believe how many people consider John Steinbeck anything less than a remarkable and superbly talented writer.

I read Of Mice & Men in my early twenties and was deeply moved by it. Only last year I was recommended Cannery Row and found it so fun and touching that I regret never reading it earlier. Now I finally read The Pearl and my opinion of JS is only further strengthened by the haunting and meandering prose and the almost mystical nature of the tale he weaves.

When I am next in the mood for a classic, I will launch into The Grapes Of Wrath, and have no doubt I will love that too.

This is what happens if a fool finds a great treasure.

Sorry, one just does not abandon his journey because of a child's death. Only in Steinbeck's fantasy world that happens.

To be honest, the value of a child's life at that point of time was probably much less than the value of the pearl. So Kino was someone who was unable to value things correctly.

As an eighth grade project, we're being assigned to read the pearl. So far, i think its a great book. (I'm not done)
It's annoying me that so many kids in our class are complaining how hard and boring this book is. I would really love to slap them in the face. This book is incredibly easy and is about at a 9th grade level, and we are in horizons.
Some are prejudiced against mexicans which is really sad seeing as i am half in my blood.
I will not tell you anything about this book, only to just give it a chance. It's an easy read and once you understand the moral and theme it will come to you easier. happy reading!

Honestly, I really liked the book. Though I read it for a required school assignment, I enjoyed reading it very much. The story was... grim, but it is well written and it was enjoyable to read, just as I expect from a wonderful writer like John Steinbeck. Four stars out of five, because it was good, but there were some points in the book that I did not enjoy (I won't say what, to prevent upsetting any readers with spoilers).

The Pearl is a book that doesn’t seem to have character development, because most of the characters are very simple and don’t change. When Steinbeck is describing a scene, it goes on for so long that the reader feels relieved when it finally ends. The entire book is a series of one sad event after the other, without any progress in the characters lives. The dialogue is very simple, and there isn’t much at all because Steinbeck shows what Kino is thinking throughout most of the story. I can see how this book is a classic because it describes the evils of men, but I do not understand how someone can highly recommend such a boring story.

When I read the pearl I was very excited that this book was an adventure. When Kino ,and his family were introduced i knew from the begining that was when i knew the great adventurehas begun. This book shows me how money can change you whole life style and personality.

Kino and his wife Juanna,and there son coyotito lived in Mexico. Kino was a pearl driver,and Juanna was the caretaker of the home and the family.

One day in mexico while coyotio was sleeping a scorpion bit him on the arm. They thought the baby wasn't going to live so the next day the family went to the sea to see if Kino could find any pearls to help there baby. That was when Kino found the pearl of the world. He had great ideas on what he was going to spend with the pearl.

In ¡§the pearl¡¨ was by Steinbeck John. The main characters are Kino and Juana. They live in a brush house with their son named Coyotito near the sea in Baja, Mexico. Their only possession is a canoe. One day, a scorpion stung Coyotito. They don¡¦t have money to see the doctor so they go searching for a pearl and they find it. A pearl of the world. I will give tow stars to this book because the end is sad. I will not recommend it. Because it is too sad. The pearl doesn¡¦t bring happiness it brings evil. If you want to know the end. Why don't you read this book?

This book is about a man who finds a pearl that could help heal his son and use the money to save his life, but the pearl creates many struggles in his life. This is a definite must read, and a wonderful, short, challenging book!

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck is a parable novel that takes place in a Mexican coastal village called La Paz during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The story is about a poor man namesd Kino, his wife Juana, and their son Coyotito, who find a great Pearl in the sea, but are cursed with horrendous luck because of it. kino first thinks that the Pearl has given him great furtune but it has cursed him. All the poeple in his town are now watching his every move and they are planning how to steal it. He tries to sell it, bot nobody offers anyhwere close to a good enough deal so Kino rejects them and goes home. One night, a person attempts to steal the Pearl, but Kino follows him outside. But, unfortunately, he kills the man. Kino how realizes that he is not safe and he must leave. He then hides out with his brother for one night and he escapes the next. Little does he know, peole are searching for him and he has to stay ahead of them if he wants to live. After a long time hiking, Kino has had enough and he attacks the searchers at night and kills them. Unfortunately, he kills his son as well. Finally, he and his wife would return to La Paz and Kino would throw the Pearl deep into the Ocean. The main conflict is that Kino finds a pearl and wishes to sell it to gain wealth and to give his son an education, but he meets resistance of peoples' greed and he doesn't know what to do with the Pearl. He thinks he is cursed and this conflict is resolved by Kino resorting to violence and to throwing the Pearl into the Ocean. After reading this novel, I've learned that greed can lead to danger and violence and should be avoided at all costs. The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a good, suspensful novel and I encourage you to read it as well.

John Steinbeck's version of The Pearl comes from a tale he was told while researching the the store with his good friend John Rickets. His surpreme telling of the story is like no other. My personal taste is not of stories of this nature but I was very enthralled and deeply pulled into the story. I've never read any of Steinbeck's other works which is a travesty in itself. This story is an easy quick read of good literature that anyone can really enjoy. If you're looking for something quick, well written and interesting this is the way to go.

The Pearl was a very entertaining book for me.It was simple and short,but was a page-turner.

Kino is poor Indian-Mexican farmer with a wife,Juana,and a son,Coyotito, who one day finds "the pearl of the world." He goes great lengths to attain the money he feels the pearl is worth,which ultimately leads to a loss that is priceless.

Kino grew very annoying after he found the pearl.He was at first a poor farmer who became this pretentious pearl holder who has more than a tinge of greed in his eye.Characters like these make me want to yell at the pages.

I would give this book four stars,simply because I wanted more elaboration on certain events,but perhaps this is just Steinbeck's writing style.

I'm tired of having reviewers gripe about how teenagers obviously don't understand what theya re talking about and simpy can't fully appreciate a work of literature. I am in 8th grade and this book was required reading for me. At first I agreed and didn't really enjoy it. Fortunately I had an English teacher who was perceptive enough to be able to point out the subtle metaphors that Steinbach uses consistantly throughout the novel. Everything from the recurring ants to the subtle legerdemain of the pearl buyer. I for one am one satisfied reader who was forced to read this terrific novel.

I thought that Steinbeck's thought's were incredible and the way that he choose his words. Early one morning Kino gets up and sees that there is a scorpian ontop of Coyotito's crib. The scorpian stings Coyotito and they go to the doctor. The only reason Kino found the pearl was because of Coyotito.

Out of all the books my English teacher has assigned me to read, this is the one I finished the fastest. Not just because it's a small book, but because I actually ENJOYED reading, and had no problem reading fifty pages a night. It kept my interest from beginning to end. Even though I was disappointed that no wealth came from the pearl (in fact, something rather AWFUL came from it), I thought the ending was a wonderful conclusion to the story. It was extremely meaningful. I recommend that you read it.

I am a 15 years old student from New York. I have read a book name "The Pearl" it is written by John Steinbeck. This story is about a very poor fisherman named Kino and his wife Juana. Their son was bitten by a scorpion. They went to see the Doctor, but the Doctor dont want to see them because they dont have any money. Then Kino found the great pearl. He thought this pearl will make his family happy. But this pearl brings them many troubles.If you want to know more just read this book. You will like it and you will learn many things from this book.

the pearl had many interesting themes like music, deceit and pride. i enjoyed seeing how sudden wealth could so drasticly change some ones life. One thing that i really didn't like was how much excessive detail there was. John Stienbeck spent so much time on the underlying themes that the main action and plot often dragged on aimelessly. Also it was kind of confusing and complicated so you had to read it several times to get the point. Over all the pearl is good enough to read when you have extra time but dont buy it unless you love classical and philosophical novels.

Steinbeck is truely one of the best novelist of his time. The pearl will pull you in and hold you under it's spell as you read about one man's dream of a better life and what he'll do to get it.It will cofront you with the question of, What are you willing to do for a better life.

When Kino and his wife, Juana, find an enormous pearl in the Gulf Oyster Bed, they expect great fortune, wealth, security, honor, and a education for their son, Coyotito. Ironically, this wondrously beautiful pearl brought everything but good. Whoever touched, saw, or heard of it was immediately, and sometimes subconsciously corrupted by its size, beauty and possibilities that it would bring. Many a night, Kino's meek brush house was broken into and his life was attempted to be killed. Finally, his house was destroyed, his boat was punctured and he was forced to flee with his wife and child. Stalked by trained "people hunters"driven up a mountain. With only one thing left to do to preserve the pearl, Kino killed them. Before Kino successfully destroyed them, a shot was fired at Coyotito and he was killed. I thought that the Pearl by John Steinbeck was a wonderful novel. He described everything so wonderfully that I could picture it in my head. I loved how he put the feelings of the family, the pearl and evil into song. This book was a short novel; this was another trait that I liked. Steinbeck put this exiting, suspenseful, story into a short number of pages making it easier to read. This book was not only enjoyable to read, but educational. I learned how the Indians of Central America were oppressed by the Spanish. They were treated as animals and forced to do manual labor. I have no criticisms for this book. It was a genuine masterpiece!

This a nice retelling of a parable about the dangers of greed. The family was better off before finding the pearl. Quickly-gotten gain is no substitute for honest steady plodding. I was written in an easy, comfortable style as are other Steinbeck books.

I thought the book was good,but not as good as i thought it would be, because at the end when kino finally decides to get rid of the pearl they don't end up living the way they used to live,now coyotito is dead and its because of the pearl. The only thing kino wanted for his son is for him to be able to go to school and learn how to read and write.He wanted to give his wife the wedding she's always wanted. Kino wanted to do many things with the pearl, but at the end his dream turned into a disaster because behind the symbolism of the pearl was greed and evil.

Don't have much time to write, so I'll make it brief- Steinbeck forces you to read the details. If you just skim THE PEARL you'll be left cold and untaught. I recommend you read it very carefully-it's worth it.

This book was required reading when I was in high school and I liked it back then. As a 50 plus year old adult I read it again and liked it even more. I guess that what classic books do ... stand the test of time. The message is simple yet profound and the writing is exceptional. Should be required reading for all.

anyone who agrees with me~right on man right on! Who cares about a guy finding a pearl and losing it. When I was forced to read this so called novel, I fell asleep at least a thousand times. Its a pointless story. It drags on and on to bore us students who are forced to read this. I feel sorry for everyperson who has read this and people who will read it, This is plain torture. Oh and for every English teacher out there, you all need help if you like Steinbeck! He doesnt know how not to use run-on sentences. Well, wait he just doesn't know how to write! Well do not read this book please, you would be bored out of your mind. oh yeah, anyone feel free to email me at [email protected]
Peace out!

Kino was a poor man ,he lived with his wife
And his son .One day coyotito was tricked
by a scorpion and was sick for a long time
and the doctor didn't want to help Kino because
he dosent had money.
Someday Kino caught an oyster in the sea
and found a pearl that changed his life in
the society and in his family ,he had problems
and lose many things because he was confuse
and he didn't know what to do with the pearl.
And he couldn't sell the the pearl

I'm 18, and in my opinion, this is a very good book. There were parts of the book where I got bored because they described things that I didn't care about like the animals, or the water or the trees. But other than that, I have zero complaints. I would've liked it to end different because...well, I cant say or I will ruin it. But the way it ended didn't ruin the book for me. The baby's name is hard to pronounce. Oh and to those of you who like books with no "strong language", just to warn you, it does say the word "breasts" in it.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck, is about a poor fisherman named Kino, who finds a pearl at the bottom of the ocean. Happy at his good fortune Kino hopes to give his son a chance at life. Thinking the pearl will bring him good wealth Kino tries to sell the pearl, but gets greedy and wouldn't take the low offers. They flee to the capital, and are being followed by three men. As Kino was about to attack them, Coyotito, his son cries out, one of the men shoots at the direction of the cry. Kino kills them all, but as he returns to his wife he sees that his son was shot and killed. In the end Kino learns that wealth and greed do not mix.

This story is about a poor family who lived in a poor quite village in a Mexico. It's about Kino, Juana and their son Coyotito.
One day Kino found a pearl of the world and they made the song of the Pearl. Kino was poor and he wanted to sell the peal but the pearl has become evil.
Did Kino sells the pearl nor become a rich man at the end?
Reaction: In my point of view, I'll give 3 stars. i think this book is sort of attractive to me, because this book is suspense like what i mentioned before, that if he sells the pearl nor he kept it himself?

After reading the Pearl by John Steinbeck, it reminded me of how greedy people can be. The pearl is an awsome story that perfectly illistrates the great lengths man will go while motivated by greed. I believe that the love of money is the root of all evil and that John Steinbeck had this in mind when he wrote the book. It brings the reader to a world within our own and shines the light on our own greed and the greed of others. After you read this book, I guarantee you'll be alot more careful and aware of the greed that surrounds us all.

This is a great book. It shows how greed and selfishness can corrupt someone and cause so much trouble. also, it's a tiny book; it's only 90 pages, I read it in a day. But, the downside to this is that you pay 5 dollars for 90 pages when some other books have 400 pages for the same price.

The book of Pearl is interesting. I knew from this story about people who had lived long time ago. Also their culture. When I read midway of book I thought the end will be happy and Kino will be rich man.But the end been of the book was diferent with my mind. Often the end of the movies or books are happy .So I don't like this book , becouse the family Kino didn't saw good luck in their plants. Also the end very sad in this book,Kino still be poor a fish-man, how about Juana she lost her only one baby.

JOHN STEINBECK is the author who wrote the pearl.The pearl is about a good couple who live in Baja California and have a son named Coyotito.This son is affected by a disease that is caused by a scorpion-sting.Even though they are poor and don't have money to cure the baby,they found a pearl that can help their son and have a better life.To be greedy is a bad attitude,they went to the capital to sell the pearl.To arrive in the capital they have to attend many obstacles in the sadness or the happiness.Let's see what would happen?
I think this book is excellent because it shows us how to save money and not be greedy.
I recommend it to everyone who likes something important to read this interesting book.

The premise and plot of The Pearl is excellent. The struggle of man against money and other man is a hard one, and this book brings it all out. However, the dialogue is very dry, and there's hardly any of it. The book is enjoyable in some parts, but only some, and you find yourself reading to finish it, not reading to actually enjoy the book. I have to give John Steinbeck some credit for expressing the thoughts and feelings of the characters through the music of Kino, but, bottom line, be glad its only ninety pages.

When I was reading this book, it was inspiring, but also interesting. I liked when Kino, went diving in the ocean to find, the "THE PEARL OF THE WORLD". This book can also show you how money can turn a man into a very greedy person. It also shows how a family should stick together even if something goes horribly wrong. The Pearl also shows that you can have a Pearl or somthing else worth alot, but if you have excessive greed its worth nothing. Is it really worth losing your family, and freinds over money.

"The Pearl" was the first book by Steinbeck that I ever read. It was in school (for school, because I don't think I would have thought to read it otherwise), back in middle school. When I think back on it, the most interesting thing from that quarter was sitting with a friend and mocking "The Pearl" to no end, and finally writing a very long essay about the many flaws this book has. The next year, when forced to read "Of Mice and Men", I nearly didn't make it, for fear that it would be as awful as this experience. Thankfully, it wasn't, and I was able to get over my "anti-Steinbeck" frame of mind, and continued to read his other superb works. But this? This is what I call "wannabe good". Steinbeck may have the talent (not "may; he DOES), but this book was a disgusting waste of time and a horrible read.

Besides the fact that it's ridiculously boring, "The Pearl" has a very flimsy plotline and the main character is quite awful. Kino is beyond stupid and naive, sometimes cruel, and very foolish. He tries to deal with his luck (or problem) the same stupid way throughout the entire book. He hits his wife, but she, just as stupidly, stays with him, resulting in the death of their son. For Kino, the concept of "let it go" does not exist. He's a very frustrating main character, but unfortunately, he's also very dull.

The thing about this is that it's impossible to connect to the story or to the characters. UNLIKE "Of Mice and Men" where the ending was touching and sad, the depressing ending here made me (and my whole class) go, HA. Because we hated Kino so much, it made us feel smug that he got what he deserved. At the end of "Of Mice and Men", I cried. At the end of "The Pearl", I thanked Steinbeck for not making this awful book go on.

Perhaps Steinbeck was hoping for a meaningful story about poverty, class changes, and the awful calamities that result from wealth, but he only wrote a boring story with an extremely flawed, obnoxious main character that is impossible to connect to. I normally seek stories with troubled main characters, but this was just painful. It's a waste of time that kills Steinbeck for you. Steinbeck is a superb writer, but this is one of the worst books I've ever read! If you want short Steinbeck, go for the incredible "Of Mice and Men"!

Some people say that it's a matter of the age in which people read "The Pearl". That's not true. I've tried to reread it, but, as I've already said, it's painfully boring. It's a WASTE OF TIME. Kino is a stupid man, Juana is a foolish woman, and Coyotito ends up dead because of his father's idiotic behavior. Kino doesn't actually care what happens to his family at some point and is just another greedy, paranoid man. It's not well written, it's not interesting, and it's very boring.

For any Steinbeck, go for "East of Eden" (now, THERE'S a superb book!) or "Of Mice and Men" (if you're looking for something short). This will discourage you from reading his writing ever again because it is so awful. I urge you to push this out of your mind and find another book to read, because this is just a disgusting waste of time!

The Pearl, In my thought, is a beautiful book about how treasures can lead to evil. Kino and his wife are in danger, only Juana knows it though. Trying to sell the pearl and get hunted down, they end up losing their home, their life, and their first and only child. I think this book is really well written.

Steinbeck is reputed to be a master of short form fiction, and in this simple book of the struggles of a small family whose patriarch has found a pearl of great worth, Steinbeck proves it. Give this little beauty a try.

I probably have read over a 1000 books and this is in my top five. A prerequisite to my top five list is I had to have to read the book over ten times. I have read The Pearl well over that. In fact this is so well written I find myself reading the same paragraph over and over. In my opinion Steinbeck is the ultimate master at description of his characters, a slight nod above Stephen King. The simple plot of someone who is poor and turns rich overnight holds the same as it would today with the lottery, inheritance, or settlement. A great book for a book club.

THE PEARL IS AN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK WRITTEN BY JOHN STEINBECK. THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE KINO,JUANA,AND THEIR BABY COYOTITO.THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A POOR FISHERMAN WHO LIVES IN A BRUSH HOUSE IN BAJA CALIFORNIA. ONE DAY HIS SON GOT STUNG BY A SCORPION. HE DOESN'T HAVE MONEY TO PAY THE DOCTOR SO,HE STARTED SEARCHING FOR THE PEARL. THEN HE FINDS THE GREAT PEARL.THIS GREAT PEARL SHOULD BRING HAPPINESS TO KINO AND HIS FAMILY. BUT WE SEE THIS GREAT PEARL BRINGS EVIL AND SADNESS. YOU SHOULD READ THE PEARL TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

This book of John steinback is defenetely worth a read,
The author was not only able to capure the whole emotion of the characters of kino and juana...but also the surroundings, beautiful!!!...I really like the way he uses " the song" paradigm through out this short novel.Defenetely worth your 2 hrs(approximately runs into 100 pages).

I know it seems impossible to dislike a book where the moral is "try to better your position in life, and you will have to bring home your dead baby in a bloody sack," but somehow, through Steinbeck's writing, this story turned out to be the worst I have ever read.
The dialogue between the characters struck me as very awkward and forced. It was even hard to read because it was so unnaturally written. I found myself needing to read sections over again in order to get the point they were trying to convey.
While the writing is tedious and unenjoyable, the story itself is also unpleasant. As I said before, the moral doesn't make much sense, yet it is beaten into the reader from line one.
I hate to say it like this, because I know I won't be taken seriously, but this is really a stupid book. I would never suggest it to anyone (I would actually warn people to stay away from it). Don't waste your time. You'll regret it.

how can you like it?? it's the worst book i've read in my life especially after we dissected it in school last year. i mean come on, there are just too many lessons and not enough story. JOhn steinbeck has written better than that. I mean, compare it to Of mice and men, the grapes of wrath and cannery row. The pearl was the type of book that my grandmother would recommend. not me. don't read it. it'll give you a poor veiw of john steinbeck. anyway..... its short enough to be read without regretting the wasted time so do what you'd like. over.

This book is a very good book; it demostrates how life can have some ups and some downs. Secondly, it shows how it is very important to listen to the people around you, especially the ones you love dearly. It also teaches how life can be a game, an sometimes you may win and sometimes you go down with a lost. Finally it shows how people can have two different sides to them, and how it's important to take fast hold of instruction, and let her not go, for it is the way of life.

This book wasn't very interesting. Kino and his family found a pearl, and then were nearly killed by people who wanted it. You'd think that he would give up this pearl because his family was in danger. Instead he kills several men, and beats up his wife over the pearl. Then at the end, he throws it into the water after being followed by people who wanted to take it from him.This book was filled with wicked and greedy people. It was also very dragged out and full of sarcasm. I wouldn't recommend reading this book.

I think that this book was very short, it was only 6 chapters long and the first two were horrible, uneventful and completely boring! But from then on it was O.K. until the last chapter which was truly amazing! The last chapter was also quite disgusting. I think that the book needed more dialogue. If you like violence and action then to you I recommend this book,but if you are a low down always relaxed kind of person than this book is not for you. I give the book 4 stars

The Pearl was an extremely interesting book written by John Steinbeck. It is among many of the books I can read over and over again. It was about this young couple and their son in a time of chaos. They suddenly have all this magnificant pearl of rich looking value. It cause so much trouble amon the villiage because everyone wanted it and couldnt have it. So, therefore they learned great lessons. I think it is a book that be read for a very long time.

I read the Pearl when I lived back home in Africa. Steinbeck does a great job at keeping his readers emotionally excited. The book takes a positive turn when Kinko, a poor fisherman finds a pearl that would radically transform his life. The stage is set for the transition, but trouble befalls Kinko's family and the story takes a sad turn! I recommend The Pearl for those interested in understanding the tale of life. The Pearl is a book worth reading over and over again!!!

I love this book but wish Penguin would put a bit more effort into a decent binding job. Charging $9.00 for a slim paperback that will often not survive a single reading in the hands of one of my students seems excessively high.

I had to read this book for language arts class, and in the beginning it was awful. There was almost NO dialogue, which annoyed me...because I like when characters have conversations. The more I got into the book, there was a little more dialogue. The book is so small at only 90 pages, although the pages are fairly long...but still, it was a short book. In my opinion, I would NEVER recommend this book, unless you HAD to read it for school. It did not end at all how I expected, and the ending quite frankly upset me. It seemed like a waste. Sorry, but I really didn't enjoy "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck.

The Pearl BY Jonh Steinbeck is mostly about two individuals named kino and juana, who found the most precious pearl in the world. They both a kid and lived in a small town called La Paz which means ''peace'' in baja California, Mexico.Will this pearl bring them happiness and joy to their life or a tragical accident that they will never forget?
I rate this book and give it 4 stars .Its a very exciting story for every generation to read . I recommed this book to everyone that likes adventures

I read this book when I was in junior high, I believe it was the 7th grade. Anyway, I loved the story so much that it has always been among the best books that I have read. I enjoy the classics like Steinbeck and Hemingway and this book is going on my shelf next to all my other classic readings! I want my two daughters to enjoy these books as much as I have!!

Life for them back then was very hard because of the difference of social classes until he finds his pearl which should make his life yet ironically messes up his whole life.He ends up being pushed out of his content life so he runs away form his life that he knew like his brother. Kino doesn't learn his lesson until after he loses more than he had to in the first place. He ends up with nothing and with out a son.

I have read many Steinbeck books and I wanted to buy this one because I enjoy reading Short books.This book tells about the evils involved in being rich and It tells you not to get sucked into the power it posses.The Pear Symbolizes the Evil when you are rich.It shows that you are always in danger of being Mugged or getting your prizes stolen.Steinbeck is brilliant in this story.This book is a must-buy...

This book is the prime example of how human greed can consume your life. John Steinbeck portrays this in The Pearl. Although Kino had good reason to keep the pearl, it still caused him heartache and pain. Steinbeck illustrates the characters in a form and in a situation that everyone can relate and identify with. I admire the way Kino was in the beginning; how content he was with just his wife, child, brushhouse, and not having much money.

This book is just about the least desirable thing I have ever read. The plot of the story and its lesson is nothing you couldn't pick up reading a children's fable. Not only this a children's fable is more amusing considering it has more likable characters.

I have never believed it to be a good thing when halfway through a book you're rooting for the main characters to die. Not only this but die in some completely random nonsensical way so that you can at least have the fun envisioning a family swallowed whole by a swarm of rabid ducks.

This story although very brief with scant few pages failed to keep my interest past the first chapter. Had I not been forced to read it for academic reasons I would have thrown it across the room and forgotten about it. I wish I could at least say one good thing about this book but sadly nothing comes to mind.

"The Pearl" is a book I will always remember. It is such a beautiful book, I loved it! It has emotional moments but murder, also! It keeps the reader entertained throughout the entire book. To understand it, the reader must be pretty mature, but if you read it carefully I think you'll see why it is so wonderful.

This book successfully mirrors human nature as it really is. It related the good and bad aspects of human nature. However the omniscient style of writing becomes a bit annoying when you know who is trying to steal the pearl but not everyone else does, and they are always wondering who the theif is. The author also is unsuccessful in describing the setting of the book. He leaves out the time and country that the story takes place in.

I read this book several years ago and didn't like it. Unfortunately it was the first Steinbeck book I read, and boy was it a bad first impression. Little plot, mundane prose, and boring characters. More recently I read "of Mice and Men" and thought it was one of the most wonderful, well thought out books I have ever read. "The Pearl", on the other hand, reads like a story Steinbeck wrote in two hours on a Saturday afternoon because he was bored. If you want to read Steinbeck, read Mice & Men. Skip the Pearl.

(two stars only because it was written by Steinbeck)

Personally, I loved this book. It was very detailed about the characters and their emotion/actions. It gives a true to life portral of human emotions. There is a lot of action in the story and some plot twists at the end. This was the first John Steinbeck book I've read and I would definately read some more...I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of age.

This book, it was wonderful because although it was in the third-person angle, it still showed the emotions of the characters to a maximum amount of understanding for the average reader. It makes it easier for the reader to comprehend what the characters are thinking, whithout being in the first-person spetrum. This book was good because it was well rounded, and it described everthing with detail, without concentrating on every single thing.

This is a depressing story of the dark side of human nature. It mihgt be all right if Steinbeck did not insist on describing every detil of the clothing, houses, and waves, but he does, and then some. I don't recommend it.

First of all, I am not putting down Steibeck, he has a lot of great works, unfortunately this isn't one of them. It really drags along at a snails pace. I appreciate the moral and lesson but I dislike how Steibeck decided to portray it. If you would like to read a great Steinbeck novel, pick up 'Of Mice and Men' or 'The Moon is Down'.

this book was okay. it could be better. there was too little dialog. steinbach used a good plot and made it a bit dull. the description was outragous and a good style. coyotito should have been added more and it would of been better if it were a bit longer. the action doesnt happen till the end and right when it gets good the story ends. the suspense in each chapter is huge and I reccomend this book for people who like violence description and suspense.

OK, I had to read this book for school and you know why it stinks. Not enough action and too much description. The book was moved WAY to slow. Another thing is that it is absoultely depressing. Sorry John Steinbeck, your other books were decent, but The Pearl is the worst book ever!

This book actually was not my type of book to read because this book is boring. I like the main idea from this book because the main idea is very clear about poor and rich people. One thing that I didn't like from this book was this book is BORING! Well,that is my review of this book,but every person has different taste in books and this is how "The Pearl" seems to me... ^0^

This book seemed very passable to me. I had nothing but criticism for this book because i was honestly very dissapointed. The dialogue seemed very repetitive, with Kino continually saying,"The song of the [insert noun of choice here]" throughout. It seemed very redundant. Also, the story dragged and I was just waiting for something big to happen the whole time. In my opinion, the only redeeming feature about this book was the moral. It maintained a good moral; Money can ruin you and your family. But honestly, i expected more than a fortune cookie moral out of John Steinbeck. Truly a dissapointment, and ultimately passable.

I found The Pearl very impressive.It ýs the story of man called Kino and his family.With the finding of the "Pearl of the World",Kino's life gets harder and harder even though he tought it will be better.This book shows how a man can become like an animal to protect his Pearl from other people,even his wife.I think everyone should read this book because it gives a life lesson.The only bad thing about it was it was very short!

Reading the book was interesting because it showed me how a fisherman's family lived. They had not much but they had enough to live on. It was quite shocking for me to find out that so many people were killed just for a pearl. It showed that people in general are greedy and jealous of those who possess more than they do. I enjoyed to reading the book even though the ending was tragic.