“The Pearl,” is a historical fiction book by John Steinbeck. An indigent man finds an incandescent pearl that later endangers his family. This story is made by the legend, John Steinbeck, who won one Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize in literature. The Pearl has been adapted in many cultivating movies such as La Perla which stars Pedro Armendáriz and María Elena Marqués.
The main character is Kino who lives in a corrupt village full of racism. His wife Juana is another main character, she is full in spirit. Kino and Juana have a son named Coyotito. The era is in the age of Imperialism where other countries would take control of vulnerable ones. In the story, Kino dives for a pearl and his life is everything he ever had until it becomes a vile threat to the family.
The author craft Steinbeck uses is figurative language to set the scene for the story. He uses symbolism, imagery, and etc not to make the story bland. In the story, Steinbeck symbolizes evil, traditions, and etc. He uses third point of view omniscient. This is an effective way to surprise and make suspense. It is hard to know who is trustworthy. The central message is that nothing is perfect, everything has consequences.
I was never enthusiastic about this book because I unwillingly read this book. I had to read it in class. However, my whole opinion changed when I opened the book. The beginning was too wordy for me, but it did set the scene for nature and was a pretty good introduction. It was an okay book because I wasn’t into the Imperialism and in the beginning there was no action. However towards the ending and the middle the book got more amusing. The author achieved his purpose because I got taught a lesson I never would. I want to win the lottery one day, but after I read this book I started to realize the corollaries of having a prosperous life.
In conclusion, to learn a new message that you can impact your life, I would read this book. The book gave me an impression of being wealthy, isn’t a splendid life. I want the reader to know that in the beginning it seems unflavorful, but in the middle and the end it starts getting good. This book also has a lot of vocabulary words that I never learned such as sentinel, which means a person who guards a specific area. In the book, the reader will follow Kino’s expedition on the good ways that the pearl influenced Kino and the bad ways that the pearl influenced Kino.