The Pearl Journal #2

     As Kino becomes more and more protective of the pearl, it seems he is no longer trying to take care of his son like a good father, but is trying to pave a road for his son materially. It seems his wife is doing all the good parenting (watching the baby, singing him to sleep, calling the doctor, etc.) while Kino is just trying to protect his precious pearl. I think he allows himself to do this because of greed and because he convinces himself that he is doing something good for his son by keeping the pearl safe. He also makes a shift from being peaceful in his village and enjoying the music/ rhythm of life to being suspicious of anyone and anything who might separate him from his pearl. I think we can also point to his greed for the pearl as the reason for this shift.

     I think that Kino shows he is foolish, headstrong, and again greedy as he gets his pearl appraised. 1000 pesos is a very large sum of money, and used to be large to him before he got such a big head. Now it seems he is even sticking out in comparison to his neighbors now. Juan Tomas seems to be a very smart man, giving Kino good advice and explaining to him what he should do. Kino would not have such a problem if he listened to Juan Tomas about getting the pearl appraised and about going to the capital. Once Kino beats Juana, his wife who has always loved him, the mother of his child, things go downhill for him very fast. He has very obviously changed drastically as a result of picking up that pearl. He has now turned himself against everyone and everyone against himself. At the beginning, I would not have believed such a gentle and caring man could be so violent and hateful.

     The last chapter was by far my favorite chapter because it shows their true colors. Kino and Juana are devastated by the loss of their only son and throw away the only thing that had value to them (and the real reason he was killed in the first place)- the pearl. I was very glad that they threw it away and the trouble was over, but it seemed like a very sad way to end the book. The thing that they had lost so much for, including their only son (who they had wanted it for) was safely in the sea. It leaves the reader with an eerie sort of satisfaction- not that the baby died, but that everything was going to go back to normal.