The Pearl: Evil

Term Paper Title	The Pearl: Evil
# of Words	431
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	1.72

The Pearl: Evil

     In The Pearl, by John Steinbech, evil transforms certain humble citizens
into envious savages.  Evil was exhibited by the doctor who refused to treat
Coyotito because his parents had no money.  When the doctor heard of Kino and
Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world" (722), he boasted that they
were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris.
Coyotito was healed when the doctor finally came to their straw hut.  He
deceived Kino by giving the baby a white powder that made him go into
convulsions.  An hour later he came and gave Coyotito the remedy and immediately
wanted to know when he was getting paid.  The evil in the pearl had reached the
heart of the doctor.  The pearl's evil did not restrict itself to infecting
Kino's peers; it also affected Kino himself.  He wanted to sell the pearl and
use the money to better his family's standard of living.  He had dreams and
goals that all depended on the pearl.  When Juana wanted to destroy the pearl,
Kino beat her unmercifully:

         He struck her in the face and she fell among the boulders, and he
         kicked her in the side...He hissed at her like a snake and she
         stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before a
         butcher. (742)

Juana saw through t...

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