Author:

”The Pearl” was written by John E. Steinbeck in 1947. John E. Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. John E. Steinbeck is one of the best known American writers from the 20th century. He received the Nobel prize in literature in 1962, mainly for his novel “The Grapes of Wrath”. Steinbeck died on the 20th of December 1968 in New York.

The Pearl:

The Pearl is a short novel about a poor Mexican-Indian family. The setting of the story is located in Mexico, near the city of La Paz. The father works as a fisherman and a pearl diver. It’s a hard life, and they live in a brush house on the beach. The baby, Coyotito, gets stung by a poisonous scorpion. The local doctor will not treat the baby because they don’t have any money. Kino, the family father, finds a great pearl of high value. The happiness over the find of the pearl, leads in the end to sorrow and unhappiness. The story shows how greed from the surroundings leads to acts that changes the destiny of the small family. The baby dies when the family is hunted by treasure seekers. In the end of the novel Kino throws the pearl back into the sea. The pearl has only brought misfortune and sadness to their lives.

My opinion:

The novel is very easy to read. Steinbeck shows his understanding for the living conditions and injustices the poor are subject to. I find that the novel shows how poor people struggle to make it in their lives, and how hard it is to succeed.