A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO

STEINBECK’S NOVELLA THE

PEARLBy Dr. Lakshmi Muthukumar

Head, Dept.of English,

SIES College, Sion West

STEINBECK’S PEARL Steinbeck blends both naturalism

and realism as literary techniques is his novella The Pearl.

The Pearl deals with a tragic story of a poor Mexican Indian, Kino, who fails to realise his dreams.

At a thematic level the novella deals with the inability of the poor to change their lives once they are trapped in circumstances beyond their control.

STEINBECK’S THEMES Central to Steinbeck’s oeuvre were

themes such as: the struggles of the poor, man’s inhumanity to man the destructive effects of

selfishness and the saving power of the family.

SOCIAL REALISM IN PEARL

Steinbeck belongs to a tradition of

socially concerned American writing.

The Pearl embodies not just the

oppression of the poor by the rich but

also the conflicts between ordinary

people themselves, who exploit each

other for relatively little gain.

POSITIVE VALUES HIGHLIGHTED IN THE NOVELLA

The novella The Pearl underscores :

the importance of the positive values of endurance

companionship acts of kindness and the supportive role played

by the family.

A HUMANIST VIEW OF SOCIETY

Displaying an essentially humanist view of

society, the work shows how overbearing

external forces such as the Doctor (Medical Care),

the Priest (Religion) & the traders and the pearl

dealers (Capitalist forces) impose themselves on

the characters’ struggle for survival.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE NOVELLA THE PEARL Tightly controlled dramatic

structure The form of the parable Objectivity Credibility in the narrative Capable of expanded belief Thus an interesting parable realized

in objective, imagistic detail The abstract fleshed by the

particular

TECHNICAL PERFECTION Compact precision Convincing thematic materials Temporally speaking, the novelette

covers about five days of elapsed time

Balanced narrative method A spare, impersonal narrative Richly implicational materials

STEINBECK AS A SOCIAL CRITIC

As a social critic and as a chronicler

of the Depression era, he

champions the notion that people

can stake out an intellectual or

moral claim in their lives in spite of

the many hardships that life has to

offer.

THE INFLUENCE OF ED RICKETTS

Ed Ricketts ran the Pacific Biological Laboratory in Monterey, which supplied schools and institutions with a variety of creatures, living or dead, from cats to cuttlefish.

Steinbeck found a soulmate in Ed who shared his love and fascination for the natural world.

A SERIOUS THINKER AND A PERSUASIVE SPEAKER

Ed Ricketts confirmed Steinbeck’s belief that mankind was an integral part of the animal kingdom, not a separate species working out some divine plan.

Steinbeck’s naturalistic approach in The Pearl resonates Rickett’s beliefs.

THE HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND The Pearl was written in 1947, 28

years after the Wall Street Crash which was followed by the Great Depression of 1929 and approximately 14 years after the Dust Bowl Tragedy.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF 1929

The 1920s had been boom times for the United States.

The prosperity was reflected in the share prices on the New York Stock Exchange, which rose to dizzying heights by the summer of 1929.

Then, in the autumn of that year, the market feel sharply, rallied briefly and then slumped.

THE FALLOUT OF THE WALL STREET CRASH The Wall Street Crash had a dire

and lasting effect on the American economy. Investments and savings were wiped out and businesses went bankrupt.

Banks went broke on a daily basis and the old values of thrift and financial prudence no longer made sense.

Unemployment soared to 14 million in early 1933 (more than a quarter of the workforce).

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FALLOUT

The American Dream presupposed economic well-being and the opportunity to work hard for tangible rewards. Suddenly, millions of people who had, during the 1920s, attained the highest standard of living in the history of the world fell into poverty. Furthermore, there was no safety net between them and destitution.

BREADLINES AND SOUP KITCHENS

Charitable organizations such as the YMCA and the Salvation Army did what they could to alleviate the suffering. They set up breadlines and soup kitchens which soon became familiar sights in cities from coast to coast.

Then President Hoover was voted out and Roosevelt came to power (1932 presidential elections).

THE DUST BOWL TRAGEDY

The most tragic event of the Roosevelt Era is the Dust Bowl tragedy which struck the Southern plains of the Texas, Oklahoma and the adjacent areas of Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.

A strong wind originating in the Gulf of Mexico blows steadily through this bowl, formed naturally in the abovementioned plains.

THE BLACK BLIZZARDS These areas had very little rainfall

and no trees. Tough prairie grass is all that holds

the soil in place and preserves the moisture to nourish it.

During the latter half of the 19th century, the delicate balance of nature was seriously disrupted by overgrazing, which resulted in dust and snow storms.

THE FALLOUT OF OVER-GRAZING

In the early 20th century cattle farming gave way to wheat farming as an economically lucrative venture and this reckless and short sighted move, broke the soil and destroyed the precious grass which held the topsoil in place; thus upsetting the balance of nature.

CAPITALISM VS NATURALISM

When the price of wheat fell sharply with the onset of the Depression, the farmers responded by growing more wheat and this compounded the problem resulting in blizzards that destroyed homes, lives, landscapes and crops. There was nothing to harvest and labourers and shiny new tractors were rendered as unnecessary luxuries.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE

INVERSION OF THE SYMBOL

A pearl usually signifies purity and innocence. These are the very qualities that Steinbeck loses after he (ironically) finds the pearl.

By inverting the symbolism, Steinbeck emphasizes the parable aspect of the novella.

IRONY IN STEINBECK’S TITLE

When Kino dives for the pearl, his heart is filled with anger and frustration; he is fierce and animal-like in this predatory mood. When he returns to the world above the floor of the Gulf, he is in possession of the Pearl of the World, but the beauty of the pearl slowly begins to dim; it turns ulcerous because Kino’s heart changes. Steinbeck’s irony is extremely subtle.

THE THINGS KINO WANTSApparently, what he desires are ‘good’

things: He wants to be married in the church He wants Coyotito christened (Juana has

been saving for his christening clothes till they could find a pearl to afford them)

An education for Coyotito A rifle for himself

THE IRONY OF KINO’S DESIRES

He is already married – Juana and Kino are a truly married couple – they are man and wife – body and soul. True companions. Yet, Kino craves for the social recognition that accompanies a “foreign marriage” performed by a circumspect priest in a “foreign” religion and he wants the elegant religious sanction of this foreign religion.

THE SCORPION EPISODE AND JUANA’S ROLE IN THE INCIDENT When the scorpion first bit Coyotito,

Juana sucks the poison from the wound, utters charms in the native religion and uses indigenous medicine (a poultice made of seaweed) to save her son. All this worked till the doctor intervened with a mild poison intended to cause the child to turn blue so that he could make the most out of the situation.

KINO’S ATTEMPT TO DENY HIS WORLD

Kino wants his son to get educated and seek his place in the new and foreign world.

He wants him to become a part of the world which has just rejected him.

His new desires are all intended to please the members of this new world and its priest rather than his native gods and people.

His attempts to alienate himself from his own religion, people and customs result therefore in self-destruction.

THE UGLINESS OF THE NEW WORLD The real community is hidden behind

paved streets and in gardens protected by stone walls.

The people who attack Kino are never seen

They remain simply evil forces in the dark.

His very manhood is challenged by these “dark ones” who ambush him and try to steal the pearl from him. He suddenly becomes the one hunted.

He has lost his own world without gaining another. He is left without a society.

COMPLEXITY - SHADES OF GREY Nothing in life is black or white, innocent or

evil; everything is a shade somewhere in between.

Kino is tricked into seeing and wanting things that are not, in themselves, innately good.

He feels that education brings a knowledge that sets a man free and that the church blesses and makes proper husbands and wives.

However, he finds to his dismay, that these things are good only if man is not forced to crawl like an animal to achieve them.

THE PREDICAMENT OF PRIMITIVE MAN

Kino’s manhood does not allow him to surrender. He must display bravery. The readers sympathize entirely with Kino.

He finally does what Juana had suggested very early on and for which he had hit her.

Both of them together cast the pearl away and go back to the society that they truly belong to.

His return is a simple victory of all that is good in man.

DIGNITY IN DEFEAT The novella concludes with Kino and

Juana returning without Coyotito yet with a dignity that is unmatched.

The throwing of the pearl back into the Gulf along with his return to his village is Kino’s act of defiance of a world that refuses to grant him the dignity to which he thought he was entitled.

All those who witness his return recognize the change that has come over him.

TOWERING STRENGTH AND ABSOLUTE MAJESTY

It is not only the people of his village who recognize and acknowledge Kino’s newfound dignity.

Juana also recognizes this as she stands proudly beside him and refuses to throw the pearl herself. It is for the newborn man who is still master of his soul to dispose of the pearl as he sees fit.

The act of throwing the pearl back into the ocean is thus not a defeatist gesture but an act of defiance and bravery.

THE TRUE MEANING OF THE PARABLE

“If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it.”

The full meaning of these lines cited in the introduction dawn on the reader

THANK YOU FOR VIEWING THIS

PRESENTATION!