The Theme of Greed:
The village of La Paz is alive with avarice. Everyone wants something from Kino. The doctor wants money for treating Kino's baby. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The townspeople also wanted money. The village is over come by evil from this one man's good fortune.
The doctor is pure evil. All he cares about is money. "Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for little Indians? I am a doctor not a veterinarian. Has he any money , I lone in the world am supposed to work for nothing" (Steinbeck, 11). He would not treat Kino's baby because Kino had nothing to pay him with. When the doctor heard of Kino's sudden wealth, he said Kino was his client. "He is a client of mine, I am treating his child for a scorpion sting and he thought of Paris." (Steinbeck, 22). As he visualized life back in Paris all he could think of was getting enough money to be able to go back again.
"'Sometimes, my friend, the scorpion sting has a curious effect. There will be an apparent improvement, and then without warning-pouf!' He pursed his lips and made a little explosion to show how quick it could be, and he shifted his small black doctor's bag for he knew that Kino's race love the tools of any craft and trust them, sometimes there will be a withered leg or a blind eye or a crumpled back. Oh I know the sting of the scorpion, my friend, and I know how to cure it." (Steinbeck, 31).
When he went to see Kino, he even made up a fake symptom of death to scare Kino into letting him "treat" the baby. Instead, he poisoned the baby and cured him of the poison he had given the baby himself. This horrible doctor is filled with avarice. He did not care who he had to harm to get more money.
The priest is nearly as bad as the doctor is. He also wanted money from Kino.
"It [the news] came to the priest walking in his garden, and it put a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church. He wondered what the pearl would be worth. And he wondered if he had baptized Kinos baby, or married him for that matter." (Steinbeck, 21-22).
He thought if he did these things he was more likely to get money to fix the church.
"Kino', he said softly, thou art named after a great man' He made it sound like a benediction. Thy namesake tamed the desert and sweetened the minds of people, didst thou know that? It is in the books.' the music of the enemy sounded." (Steinbeck, 27).
This shows the priest's greed because Kino was not in the books. His namesake did not do these things; this was just a way to get Kino to give money to the church. "I hope that thou wilt remember to give thanks, my son, to Him who has given thee this treasure'" (Steinbeck, 28). The priest is also a horrid person; he is supposed to be a holy figure, but he was poisoned by the thought of riches. These hopes caused him to lie.
The new riches also affected the townspeople. The shop keepers hear about Kino's wealth and hope to sell their clothes "The news came to the shopkeepers, and they looked at the mens clothes that had not sold so well." (Steinbeck, 22). "The news [also] came early to the beggars in front of the church, and it made them giggle a little in pleasure, for they knew that there is no alms giver in the world like a poor man who is suddenly lucky." (Steinbeck, 22). They knew that an indigent man that becomes rich by luck knows how it feels to be poor. Therefore, they would get money too. The pearl buyers were also full of avarice for the pearl.
"In town , in little offices, sat the men who bought pearls from the fishers.these buyers sat alone and their fingers played restlessly with the pearls, and they wished they owned the pearls. For there are not many buyers really-there was only one, and he kept these agents in separate offices to give a semblance of competition. The news came to these men, and their fingertips burned a little, and each one thought how the patron would not last forever and someone had to his place. And each one thought how with a little capital he could get a new start." (Steinbeck, 22-23).
They wanted to buy the pearl for a very low price so they were cheating Kino. They hoped that if they bought the pearl, the boss would promote them and they would make more money. Everyone wanted something from the pearl. Kino became the whole town's enemy because of that.
John Steinbeck refers to the town like an animal. When poison enters an animal's body, its whole body is affected. The pearl was like this to the town. It transfigured the town into something full of ceaseless want and jealousy. The town's purity was waning. Everyone was affected and wanted something from the pearl. Kino was the only one in the way. The doctor wanted money for "curing" the child. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The shopkeepers, the pearl buyers, and the rest of the town wanted money for their own purposes. The pearl was a poison that ruined many good people and made the evil people worse.
The village of La Paz is alive with avarice. Everyone wants something from Kino. The doctor wants money for treating Kino's baby. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The townspeople also wanted money. The village is over come by evil from this one man's good fortune.
The doctor is pure evil. All he cares about is money. "Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for little Indians? I am a doctor not a veterinarian. Has he any money , I lone in the world am supposed to work for nothing" (Steinbeck, 11). He would not treat Kino's baby because Kino had nothing to pay him with. When the doctor heard of Kino's sudden wealth, he said Kino was his client. "He is a client of mine, I am treating his child for a scorpion sting and he thought of Paris." (Steinbeck, 22). As he visualized life back in Paris all he could think of was getting enough money to be able to go back again.
"'Sometimes, my friend, the scorpion sting has a curious effect. There will be an apparent improvement, and then without warning-pouf!' He pursed his lips and made a little explosion to show how quick it could be, and he shifted his small black doctor's bag for he knew that Kino's race love the tools of any craft and trust them, sometimes there will be a withered leg or a blind eye or a crumpled back. Oh I know the sting of the scorpion, my friend, and I know how to cure it." (Steinbeck, 31).
When he went to see Kino, he even made up a fake symptom of death to scare Kino into letting him "treat" the baby. Instead, he poisoned the baby and cured him of the poison he had given the baby himself. This horrible doctor is filled with avarice. He did not care who he had to harm to get more money.
The priest is nearly as bad as the doctor is. He also wanted money from Kino.
"It [the news] came to the priest walking in his garden, and it put a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church. He wondered what the pearl would be worth. And he wondered if he had baptized Kinos baby, or married him for that matter." (Steinbeck, 21-22).
He thought if he did these things he was more likely to get money to fix the church.
"Kino', he said softly, thou art named after a great man' He made it sound like a benediction. Thy namesake tamed the desert and sweetened the minds of people, didst thou know that? It is in the books.' the music of the enemy sounded." (Steinbeck, 27).
This shows the priest's greed because Kino was not in the books. His namesake did not do these things; this was just a way to get Kino to give money to the church. "I hope that thou wilt remember to give thanks, my son, to Him who has given thee this treasure'" (Steinbeck, 28). The priest is also a horrid person; he is supposed to be a holy figure, but he was poisoned by the thought of riches. These hopes caused him to lie.
The new riches also affected the townspeople. The shop keepers hear about Kino's wealth and hope to sell their clothes "The news came to the shopkeepers, and they looked at the mens clothes that had not sold so well." (Steinbeck, 22). "The news [also] came early to the beggars in front of the church, and it made them giggle a little in pleasure, for they knew that there is no alms giver in the world like a poor man who is suddenly lucky." (Steinbeck, 22). They knew that an indigent man that becomes rich by luck knows how it feels to be poor. Therefore, they would get money too. The pearl buyers were also full of avarice for the pearl.
"In town , in little offices, sat the men who bought pearls from the fishers.these buyers sat alone and their fingers played restlessly with the pearls, and they wished they owned the pearls. For there are not many buyers really-there was only one, and he kept these agents in separate offices to give a semblance of competition. The news came to these men, and their fingertips burned a little, and each one thought how the patron would not last forever and someone had to his place. And each one thought how with a little capital he could get a new start." (Steinbeck, 22-23).
They wanted to buy the pearl for a very low price so they were cheating Kino. They hoped that if they bought the pearl, the boss would promote them and they would make more money. Everyone wanted something from the pearl. Kino became the whole town's enemy because of that.
John Steinbeck refers to the town like an animal. When poison enters an animal's body, its whole body is affected. The pearl was like this to the town. It transfigured the town into something full of ceaseless want and jealousy. The town's purity was waning. Everyone was affected and wanted something from the pearl. Kino was the only one in the way. The doctor wanted money for "curing" the child. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The shopkeepers, the pearl buyers, and the rest of the town wanted money for their own purposes. The pearl was a poison that ruined many good people and made the evil people worse.
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