The Pearl By John Steinbeck Book Review

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is a fictional novella that was published in 1947. John Steinbeck was an American author who made twenty-seven books, sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five short stories. He became very popular because of some of his books, one of which is The Pearl. The main message in the story shows that greed can be a powerful thing. Many of the objects are shown as harmless but then later can be seen as harmful. This could mean that the author, Steinbeck, is trying to show us that even the best things in life can quickly become the evilest.

The Pearl takes place in La Paz, Mexico in a tiny brush house. Kino, a poor fisherman whose baby, Coyotito, gets stung by a scorpion. Together with his wife, Juana, he finds a pearl that could help get Coyotito a doctor. The pearl was the size of a quarter and soon after obtaining it, he loses everything he ever had. And I know you’re thinking, “Well, how do you lose everything from getting a pearl? Isn’t the pearl suppose to make him rich? And what did he deserve to lose everything if he was already poor?”. Well if you read The Pearl, maybe you’ll find out.

What I liked about reading this novella, is that it has a lot of foreshadowing, symbolism, and has a lot of surprises. I also liked that the book has lots of good quotes and makes you think thoroughly about it. One quote that I like a lot from The Pearl is, “And because the story has been told so often, it has taken root in every man's mind. And, as with all retold tales that are in people's hearts, there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in-between anywhere” (Steinbeck, 1). This quote makes me think about life and the good and bad parts of it.

I think you should read this book because it is also very interesting. Not only does it include very real characters but it also includes situations that you can relate to. I also like that in the story it has a very dramatic ending, and I was very surprised in some scenes which just led me to read on more and more. Another reason you should read this book is because it can tell you somewhat of how the people in Mexico lived in what looked like the 1940s. This book is also 8th grade level for reading.

In conclusion, The Pearl is a fascinating book that I believe people of any age above 10 should read. It is a very powerful book that teaches many lessons and themes. It can also show that we should be cautious of everything we have in life and to treasure what we have at the moment. In all, I think it is a great book for its foreshadowing, figurative language, and symbolism.