The Pearl

In these chapters, conflicts intensify, as Kino attempts to benefit from the pearl in a world designed to exploit him. As the pearl inspires widespread greed, a variety of characters attempt to profit at Kino’s expense. The priest’s visit reveals the church’s financial motivations, which are reinforced by Kino’s later recollection of sermons encouraging him and his people to be content with their lives, despite their open exploitation. The doctor’s visit, meanwhile, suggests that class-based discrimination determines access to medical care, not to mention other technologies and knowledge. The doctor’s poisoning and subsequent healing of Coyotito reveal the subtlety of his manipulation, as opposed to outright force. However, Steinbeck heavily implies that the doctor later sends a thief to steal the pearl, showing that he is not opposed to taking stronger measures. Finally, the pearl dealers’ ploy to buy the pearl at a cheap price serves as an extreme example of a system that undervalues workers like Kino. Taken together, these incidents bolster Steinbeck’s discussion of the instruments of colonial oppression.

Steinbeck’s use of song to indicate Kino’s moods also develops in this section. During the priest’s visit in Chapter 3, Kino hears the Song of Evil faintly but isn’t sure where it’s coming from. This indicates that the music is associated with Kino’s subconscious feelings more than his rational thought; he somehow felt that the priest’s intentions were evil even if he couldn’t logically explain why. He later hears similar music during his visit to the pearl buyers. Here, the song serves as a warning of their shady business practices, and Kino’s logic is in harmony with the music he hears. The contrast between these two incidents shows that Kino is only sometimes capable of consciously recognizing evil, and his fallibility becomes particularly dangerous with regard to the pearl, which he initially views in a positive light.

These chapters also see Steinbeck’s use of third-person omniscient narration add nuance and variety. The opening of Chapter 3 surveys the various reactions of the townspeople to the news of the pearl’s discovery, including the doctor (who daydreams about returning to Paris) and the people who beg for money by the church (who hope for a generous handout from Kino). Later, in Chapter 4, the narrator explains the views of the pearl buyers from their perspective:

It was supposed that the pearl buyers were individual acting alone, bidding against one another for the pearls the fishermen brought in. And once it had been so. But this was a wasteful method, for often in the excitement of bidding for a fine pearl, too great a price had been paid to the fishermen. This was extravagant and not to be countenanced (47).

This passage reads as both a direct account of the pearl buyers’ feelings and biting commentary on the shallowness of their views. In these and similar passages, the fluency with which the narrator slips into varied viewpoints offers readers a panoramic view of the attitudes and beliefs that support the social structure of life in La Paz.

Kino presents his determination to travel to the capital and sell his pearl in distinctly gendered terms, repeatedly asserting, “I am a man” (61). Kino considers his masculinity as both justification and method for getting a fair value for the pearl. His claim can also be read as an affirmation of his humanity since the colonial settlers view him as something like an animal.