Pearl Reflection

"If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it. In any case, they say in the town that...." John Steinbeck.


Around the world many people have suffered through financial problems. They say wealth equals happiness but through the book The Pearl, it has been clearly stated that wealth does not equal to wealth. Instead, Steinbeck has proved that wealth brings happiness but also can bring disgrace towards yourself and your family. When Kino and Juana was blessed with a pearl to support their only son, his neighbors was very jealous of the pearl. This shows being wealthy or being different from others could bring greediness and hatred from others. The author is definitely pushing the thought wealth=happiness aside.

For me, I thought this book was very touching. Personally, I had to go through alot of financial problems from young age and I have always been different from others. Especially, having to only go to a International school for along time, it is definitely different. After 7 years of having rich friends, I got to go the Philippines for a year. When I got there, I was really shocked. I never thought I would get to go to those places that come up on Amnesty videos and etc but I really saw a little kid about my age carrying bricks to the adults that are like 17, to build houses. At first, I thought making a house was pretty fun to watch but I see kids carrying dangerous tools to give to the elders.

Walking on the side, looking at the whole process of making a house. Boom! Infront of me there is a huge coconut cracked on the ground.
"Puamanhin.....sorry~ sorry~". I heard a young voice in the skies. I looked up and there was a very tall coconut tree with a young man cutting down coconuts. He seemed to be about my age but there was a old man yelling at him from the ground, telling him to work.

This was when I really realized how we are so blessed with so much and we complain about every single bad event that happens to us. So what is Steinbeck trying to tell us? We are blessed with so much but are you ever responsible to it? For example, just like before we started reading this book, Mrs. Morrison gave us question saying what are we going to do with 500 billion dollars. Kino had a highprice pearl that he could have donce good with it, but at last not being able to handle the responsiblity, he throws it in the ocean, giving up because of Coyotito.