Throughout this book many it became very evident that some themes stood out more than others. Greed, the natural world, and dignity are some of the themes seen throughout this novel. To commence, greed is a selfish desire of something that is most likely money, power, or valuable. As we continue to read “The Pearl” many examples of greed begin to present themselves. For instance, the doctor in the book decides not to help Coyotito in the beginning because of pure evil and didn’t want to help someone in need since he knew that Kino and Juana were lower classmen. However, once he knew about the very valuable pearl that was in Kino’s possession, all of a sudden he wants to cure the baby and try to help out even though he continues to do the opposite and tries poisoning the baby. Also, the pearl buyers also begin to be greedy and try tricking Kino into selling the pearl for a much lower price than what it is actually worth. Everyone in the town begins to try to steal or find a way to get this valuable pearl that Kino happens to have which starts to make his life miserable.
Nature in The Pearl is a mighty force. Natural elements are often used to instigate key plot-points. They protect and feed at times; while they destroy at other times. Nevertheless, the force of nature is inherently neutral, given the significance imposed upon it by mankind, here Kino and Juana. As mentioned above, the pearl itself is worthless — a mere cement-wrapped grain of sand— but it reflects wealth and hope for Kino and Juana first, and then misery and despair in the course of the book. By attributing such a meaning to the pearl, Kino drifts away from his practice of “deep involvement with all things” into a valuation system that is not his own, and really backfires. Eventually, getting rid of the pearl and all the significance of which it has been overlaid, Kino could return to his meaningful, ancestral relationship with the natural world.
In the pearl’s parable, the most prominent theme is the war between good and evil. As with most parables, the characters and events of the story are made more clearly associated with good or evil than the degree of similarity found in the real world would be possible to appreciate. The songs that Kino hears in his head demonstrate to him throughout the story on an instinctive level of the true nature of a person or thing. The song of evil thus follows the priest who views the Indians as children and the physician who finds them pets. Everything that affects the family is bad in Kino’s definition of good and evil. So the song of evil can also accompany natural things like the Coyotito stinging scorpion. The pearl is never clearly defined as necessarily good or evil, also a result of nature. Rather, its influence on the family is shown to be bad once a dangerous archive of Kino’s dreams has been confirmed.
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