The CHIEF September 2021

Literature Review

By Olivia Schickel

Literature Review: The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Short and not exceptionally sweet, Steinbeck’s The Pearl is as compelling as the rest of his works taught in classrooms, but infinitely more enjoyable without the chore of inquiring worksheets. Based on a Mexican folktale, the story reimagines the narrative set in a 1940’s coastal community and follows a young indigenous father named Kino and his family after a tragic event is followed by a great miracle. He discovers a pearl that alters his place in society and status compared to the other natives in his community, and Kino’s life falls apart as quickly as it was enhanced. The story dives into Kino’s journey and explores the complexities of race, class, and poverty in less than a hundred pages. With themes of colonial oppression to an intimate view of familial love and greed that bears the weight of the human experience, there is not a single word wasted in Kino’s story. The novella has clear and gripping prose that breaks down the walls between the reader and the world that Steinbeck builds, and trying to set the book down feels nearly impossible. The motif of songs that run through the story sets the writing apart from other books that are deemed necessary academic reads and adds a touch of humanity that keeps the reader pushing through the heart-wrenching narrative. Fans of any genre can find something to take away after putting this book down, and its themes are still applicable to our human condition after almost eighty years of this story’s life.