A note on the pearl

 The Pearl Overview

The Pearl, John Steinbeck's 1947 novella, is a parable about a poor Mexican pearl diver whose discovery of a magnificent pearl unleashes greed, violence, and tragedy in his village.

Main Characters

• Kino: Humble, strong pearl diver and protagonist; dreams of education for his son and security after finding "the Pearl of the World," but becomes paranoid and violent.

• Juana: Kino's devoted, wise wife; protective mother who senses the pearl's curse and urges destroying it, yet supports her husband through loss.

• Coyotito: The couple's infant son, stung by a scorpion; his medical needs spark the pearl quest, and his fate underscores the story's tragedy.
  
  
  Supporting figures include greedy doctors, deceitful pearl buyers, envious neighbors, Kino's brother Juan Tomás, and destructive trackers.

Plot Summary

Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito face poverty when a scorpion stings the child; rejected by the doctor, Kino dives and finds a giant pearl promising a better life.

Greed corrupts the town: buyers lowball Kino, attackers raid his home (burned after he kills one), and Juana tries discarding the pearl before they flee.

Hunted in the mountains, Kino kills trackers, but Coyotito dies in the chaos; the grieving couple returns and hurls the pearl into the sea.