Theme: To generalize the story in a word is that geed transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. It appears to be that man has acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. The Priest, and the doctor, and Kino have all undergone a change due to money. They are all affected by their hunger for wealth and in turn are the base for their own destruction, and the destruction of society. Steinbeck's "The Pearl" is a study of man's self-destruction through greed.
Doctor: Not once in his long career would he have dared refuse to aid a wealthy lawyer or noblemen. However when Kino and the group of money hungry peasants arrived at his door with a poisoned child he had refused them entry saying "Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for `little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a veterinary." for the doctor had known that the peasants hadn't any money.
English: John Steinbeck
Grave site of John Steinbeck and family
English: Own Work. 2007. National Steinbeck Centre...He had been to Paris and had enjoyed the splendors of the world, and therefore he wouldn't be seen dealing with the less fortunate, as he knew that the less fortunate would surely always be just that less fortunate. However it seemed that he had been stereotypical of the less fortunate, as he soon discovered when hearing of a great pearl. A hunger for wealth was what pushed him to visit the peasants' house and deceived Kino by giving the baby a white powder that made him go into convulsions. He had already ended Coyito's life without knowing he'd done so, for if he had administered aid to Coyito when they were first at the doctors door, Kino would have no reason to seek his fortune in the ocean, and would not be led down the road to hardships. One...