"The Pearl" by John Steinbeck.

Essay by way2wise4u June 2004

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The novel The Pearl takes place in the 1930s in La Paz, on the Baja Peninsula The three main characters are Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. Kino is Juana's husband and Coyotito's father; he is very brave and stubborn. Juana is Kino's wife and Coyotito's mother. Coyotito is obviously Kino and Juana's baby boy. The situation of this novel is that Coyotito has been stung by a scorpion and Kino and Juana need to find a way for getting enough money to pay a doctor for Coyotito's care. Kino finds the "Pearl of the World" but by then Juana has cured Coyotito and Kino's family experience's harsh adventures trying to sell the pearl. Despite Juan's legitimate concerns Kino feels he must sell the pearl for a fair price

One reason Kino feels he must sell the pearl is because the return money from pearl will raise his social class.

Kino lives with his family in a poor person's village made of brush houses. He, his family, and village are at the bottom of the social structure in La Paz. When Kino and Juana's baby, Coyotito, is stung by a deadly scorpion the family has to walk all the way to the doctor (when dealing with white people the doctor goes to the people instead of the people going to the doctor) with the with the sick baby to find out he will not care for Coyotito. The doctor tells his servant that he's not a vet implying that Kino and his family are animals. Then the servant lies to Kino and Juana telling them that the doctor is on a call. After that, Kino tries to sell his pearl to three different dealers that all lie to him, telling him that his pearl is valueless and is worth...