The Pearl by John Steinbeck- Essay Question

Failure to positively respond to wise counsel often leads to suffering and frustrations

Sometimes in our lives we are given advice by our friends which we at times take for granted.  Such action may lead to suffering and regrets.

 Juana advises her husband to throw away the pearl because according to her it was evil and it would destroy them.  She suggested that they break it between stones, burry it and forget the place or even throw it back into the sea. Kino could not hear of it, and claimed that it was their only chance.  He ended up losing the pearl which he intended to keep.

Juana Tomas cautioned his brother, to be careful on the manner in which he handles the pearl.  He suggests that Kino looks for a way of selling the pearl locally, other than using an agent like it had been done by other sellers who ended up losing.  He also discourages him from going to the capital to sell the pearl.  Kino does not follow the advice.  He refused to sell the pearl. It later brought him problems and he ended up throwing it away.

The dealers advised Kino to take one thousand five hundred pesos for the pearl, which Kino thought was too little.  According to neighbours a thousand pesos was not to be thrown away, the kind of money he had never handled before, and they thought he was a pig-headed fool for not accepting the offer.  Kino does not take the advice and ends up losing the son in the process.

Juana had been advised by her husband, to stay in the cave and ensure that the baby does not cry.  She however moved to the entrance of the cave and exposed the baby.  When Coyotito cried, the trackers thought it was a Coyote and shot the baby.  Failure to follow her husband’s advice led to the loss of their son.

In conclusion, it would be wise to follow advice given by sincere people to avoid regretting later.