The Pearl by Jack Steinbeck

The Question at hand: On page 129 of the notes, the editor writes that "the artist probes the central mystery of life as he sees it, the paradox of how evil comes out of good, the tear at the heart of laughter, the dream doomed to disappointment in the moment of dreaming, the despair conjoined with hope, with which humanity, if it is wise, must learn to live."

In a well-developed blog post, discuss how Kino and Juana suffer through the paradox outlined above.  Based on a rereading of pages 120 - 122, what can the reader infer from the description of the couple upon their return:  have they learned to live with the paradox, and what have they learned. 

Finally, discuss the connection between The Pearl and the novel study topic:  When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.

Kino and Juana begin to suffer from the paradox, ‘evil comes out of good’, when they find the pearl. The pearl is described as the biggest pearl the Earth has known, a most beautiful miracle. Kino and Juana believe in the beginning that the pearl is good, it is the answer to their prayers. With the money they make from the pearl, they can take their baby to see the doctor, they can be wed in a church, they can send their son to school. The pearl looks like the material item of what they’ve always wanted. What they do not know when they first lay eyes on the pearl, is that it is soon to bring them much misfortune. When the appraiser in town will not give Kino the money valued for the pearl, Kino, Juana and their baby, Coyotito, must go on a quest to find a different appraiser, to get their money’s worth for the pearl so they can do all the good things that they’ve always wanted. It doesn’t take long for people to hear about Kino’s massive pearl, and this brings on the first wave of evil. First, Kino is beaten and searched in his sleep by men in search of the pearl. There are other men searching for the pearl also that end up burning down Kino and Juana’s house, leaving them with nowhere to live. At this point, Kino becomes desperate to protect the pearl and the material object begins to bring out a hasty, greedy, malicious side to Kino that Juana has not seen before. As the family is about to depart on their adventure to the new appraiser, yet another man tries to jump Kino for the pearl. In desperation to save the pearl,that will bring the family good and fortune, Kino acts in an evil manner and ends up killing the man. 

              Juana can see the evil the pearl is bringing to their family clearly, but Kino’s eyes are hazed with a want to protect the pearl. In desperation, Juana tries to throw the pearl away, which leads to another evil act on Kino’s part, beating his wife. In the end, the good values that Kino had to begin have been diminished and he lets his want for the pearl overtake him. The evil sweeps over Kino, and with that, he forces his family into a dangerous, risky situation. By the end of the book, Kino’s selfish, evil attitude has led to the death of his baby. I believe it is in that moment that his view on the pearl becomes clear once again, he can see it for it brings with its good, evil. At the end of the story,  I believe Kino and his wife grasp the paradox to the fullest, and learn that nothing is good enough to make one act in evil manners. 

 
            The second question was “Finally, discuss the connection between The Pearl and the novel study topic:  When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself”. I believe the connection between the the book and the novel study topic is Kino and ‘the evil’, if you will. In the very end of the story, when Kino is able to act selflessly for his family, and forgets his wants for the pearl, true virtue exhibits itself. I believe that although the character that acts selflessly in the end is Kino, the prevailing vice of the dominant social order in this case is also Kino, and the evil that overtakes him. This makes the novel study topic in relation to the book a self versus self conflict. Kino needs to do anything for he pearl, so he can have money and afford everything he never could before (his selfish evil thoughts). As he plays on his wants for a while, and only evil comes out from them (Kino murdering a man, Coyotito dying) he knows he must put his needs aside and finally make a selfless act by throwing the pearl away. By doing so, he is behaving virtuously by putting aside his own desires and demolishing the evil his life, and everyone else involved with the pearl’s life.