Making choices, whether they be good or bad, can be one of the hardest things to do in life, especially when the decisions pull us in two conflicting directions. In The Pearl, a novel by John Steinbeck, the main character’s desire to sell the great pearl clouds his sense of obligation toward his family. Amidst desire comes greed and because of this, Kino’s real intentions had gone away from him, he began placing his family before the great pearl, and the future he had dreamt for them come out of reach. The desire to sell the great pearl has robbed Kino of his true intentions. After storming out of the shop of the pearl merchants, Kino becomes full of fury. While speaking with his eldest brother, he states, “What have I to fear but starvation” (54). His brother was growing concerned for him because of what he was becoming, but Kino was defiant. Because of his desperate want to sell the pearl, his true self is being torn apart from him. Immediately after the incident with the pearl buyers, Juana, Kino’s wife, wanted to get rid of the pearl; unfortunately, she was not successful. Kino had caught her…show more content… While trying to run away from the trackers following them, Kino looked into the pearl and said, “We will be married in a great church” (71). For some reason, this time, it was different. Instead of seeing them happily enjoying their wedding, he visualized Juana’s face beaten, trying to crawl away. In the end, Kino and the pearl were just not meant to be. After returning home, he threw the pearl back into the ocean, and “the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared” (90). His son, Coyotito, was shot the night before by one of the trackers, thinking it was a coyote. With their son dead, fighting for the pearl seemed useless now. Kino wanted what was best for his son but because of his passing, his goals
