The pearl is the most obvious symbol in the story, and it is the one that the reader encounters first. The pearl is a gift from the gods. It has the power to improve Kino’s life, but ends up ruining it. Kino’s discovery of the pearl is, in the end, nothing more than a lucky occurrence. Steinbeck uses the pearl to represent more than one concept as the novella progresses. At the outset, it represents good fortune and divine providence, but later it comes to symbolize evil and the destructive power of greed. Kino wants to use the pearl to improve Coyotito’s life, but in the end the pearl is the cause of Coyotito’s death.
Kino’s canoe is used by Steinbeck to symbolize Kino’s cultural heritage and past. The canoe originally belonged to Kino’s grandfather, who passed it on to Kino’s father, before Kino at last inherited it. The canoe is a means of livelihood for Kino. It is the one object of value he possesses before he acquires the pearl. Kino uses the canoe to attain the pearl in the first place. However, in Chapter 5, the canoe is destroyed as a direct result of the lust for material wealth that the pearl creates within Kino. This event represents Kino’s dissolution of his family’s past. Kino is breaking family tradition, and that leads to destruction.
Ants are used as another symbol in The Pearl. Ants appear in the novella as early as page three, and make several other appearances later on. The ants show changes in Kino’s attitude and alterations in how he perceives nature. When Kino sees ants in the early morning in Chapter 1, he observes them “with the detachment of God.” He watches as a dusty ant falls into a trap set for him by an ant lion. Not only is this an example of foreshadowing, but it also is a symbol showing that Kino has no desire to interfere with nature. Later in the story, after Kino has procured the pearl, he again sees ants parading on the ground. This time he puts his foot in their path. The ants climb over his foot. This shows that Kino is trying to break the natural course of things. However, the natural course ultimately prevails. The ants climb directly over his foot rather than crawling around it and changing their course. This symbolizes the futility of Kino’s attempts to change his position. At the end of the story, Kino and Juana are cast back to the same destitution that they were burdened with at the start of the novella.
Symbols are indeed a vital part of The Pearl. They allow us to map the progression of Kino’s character and to see Steinbeck’s message more clearly. The Pearl is a parable that Steinbeck intended to serve as a warning of the destructive power of man’s inherent lust for material possessions . The message is one that is applicable to every generation, and that is why The Pearl has become an unforgettable classic.
