The Pearl by John Steinbeck Essay (materialism)

The society in The Pearl is portrayed to be driven by selfishness.  A number of characters are out to do everything so as to gain from the discovery of the pearl.  This makes them materialistic as discussed.

Kino develops greed and selfishness when he got the pearl.  He spent long hard hours searching the ocean floor for a pearl.  He wanted to take his son to the hospital but later he became so materialistic.  When people ask him what he would buy when he became rich, he would quickly give a long list of items he wanted of which were about himself.

The doctor is another character who is greedy.  He visits Kino’s house to treat Coyotito when he gets news that Kino got the pearl.  The narrator says the doctor is treating a woman whose sickness is old age only but he doesn’t tell that truth because he needs to make money from the poor soul.  Even the beggars describe the doctor as money loving.

The priest is interested in exploiting Kino’s wealth as everyone else. He hopes he can find a way to persuade Kino to give him some of the money.  He wants them to pay for their Church wedding and also baptize Coyotito.

The pearl buyers try to buy Kino’s pearl for less cost.  They exploit the villagers by buying pearls at a very low price. The happiest  pearl  buyer  was  the one  who  bought  at  the  lowest  price

The trackers, a group of violent and corrupt men are exploitative and materialistic.  They attempt to steal the pearl from Kino.  They even followed the family to get an opportunity to steal from them.