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Symbolism in The Pearl
John Steinbeck was both a listener and a writer. ... The Pearl was one of these stories that he had heard before and decided to write a novel about. It seems like a very straightforward story; a man finds a pearl and his newfound wealth that he has come upon brings him more trouble than he could have imagined. The fantasies that he had about finding a pearl and becoming rich prove to be far from reality. ... There is extensive symbolism about human life, including animal imagery, music symbolism, and includes many characteristics of an allegory. ... He often wrote about poor, working class people, like Kino in The Pearl, because those were the type of people that he grew up and lived around. ... There, in Mexico, is where he first heard the story of The Pearl (Potter).
The Pearl has been classified as an allegory before. ... As Juan Tomas says when Kino asks him for advice about what he should do with the pearl, “We do know that we are cheated from birth to the overcharge of our coffins, but we survive. You have defied not the pearl buyers, but the whole structure, the whole way of life, and I m afraid for you” (Steinbeck 54). After finding the pearl, Kino feels that he can now stand up to people that he wouldn’t dare stand up to before. It is this pride that he receives from the pearl that prompts him to make decisions that he wouldn’t usually make. ...
Music imagery and foreshadowing also plays a large part in The Pearl. ... The main songs are The Song of the Family, The Song of Evil, and the Song of the Pearl; other songs are included, though. ... For example when he is pearl diving he hears the Song of the Pearl, and when he is about to attack his followers near the end, he hears both the music of the enemy and the Song of the Family.
Approximate Word count = 1570
Approximate Pages = 6.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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