The Pearl

The Pearl

What would you do if you found a great pearl? In the book The Pearl by John Steinbeck there is a family who finds a pearl. The pearl causes them many problems throughout the book. It almost gets the main character killed and it causes the family to travel into the city. This book follows a tragedy mode of literature for many different reasons.
The plotline is one of the main reasons that this book is a tragedy. A Tragedy plotline starts with the world in conflict. In the beginning of The Pearl kino's village is struggling for food and water and is very poor. After that comes a rise to power. Kino finds the pearl and believes his life will get better. His whole village feels relieved. Next there is a tragic flaw or human weakness. Once kino finds the pearl he finds it hard to trust any body, even his family. Then there is a tragic fall. The pearl that kino thought would do him good has done him nothing but bad. He has gotten attacked several times and is now starting to question weather or not he wants to keep the pearl. Last is death or death symbolism. Near the end of the book kino's son gets shot and dies. The plotline is one of the many things that makes this story a tragedy.
The plotline isn’t the only reason that this book is a tragedy it also has the characteristics it needs to be a tragedy. Tragedies are realistic. There were many different Indian villages that had been taken over by English people and it is possible for a person to find a pearl that could change their life. Another characteristic is that evil is strong and good is weak. In The Pearl kino never seemed to win, his house got burned down, his canoe had died, he could never win. This book has all it needs to be a tragedy.
This book is a tragedy for many reasons. I would have guessed that this book was a tragedy even if I didn’t know anything about the modes of literature. Unlike most stories this book seemed like a tragedy and was a tragedy. Well reading the book I found myself thinking what I would do if I found a great pearl. To me it seemed like the author wanted you to think that and that is one of the only things I liked about this book. Over all I disliked this book.