The Pearl

1
The Pearl

• Theme
• Symbol
• Motif
• Parable
• Allegory

2
Themes in The Pearl
Theme Themes are the fundamental and often
universal ideas explored in literary work.
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The Roles of Fate and Agency in Shaping Human Life

• The novella depicts a world in which, for the
  most part, humans shape their own destines. They
  provide for themselves, follow their own desires,
  and make their own plans. At the same time,
  forces beyond human control, such as chance,
  accident, and the gods, can sweep in at any
  moment and, for good or evil, completely change
  the course of an individuals life.

4
Colonial Societys Oppression of Native Cultures

• The European colonizers that govern Kino and the
  native people are shown to bring about the
  destruction of the native societys innocence,
  piety, and purity.

5
Greed as a Destructive Force

• As Kino seeks to gain wealth and status through
  the pearl, he transforms from a happy, contented
  father to a savage criminal, demonstrating the
  way ambition and greed destroy innocence.

6
Motifs in The Pearl

• Definition Motifs are recurring structures,
  contrasts, or literary devices that can help to
  develop and inform the texts major themes.

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Nature Imagery

• Steinbeck depicts the natural world as a realm
  that mirrors or parallels the human world. The
  works nature imagery reflects both the natural
  worlds idyllic innocence and the natural worlds
  darker qualities of struggles and flight.

8
Kinos Songs

• Throughout the novel, whenever Kino has a
  particularly powerful feeling or instinct, he
  hears a song in his head that corresponds to that
  feeling. The songs point to Steinbecks original
  conception of The Pearl as a film project in a
  motion picture, the songs

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Symbols in The Pearl

• Definition Symbols are objects, characters,
  figures, or colors used to represent abstract
  ideas or concepts.

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The Pearl

• The novellas central symbol.
• material value, greed, destruction

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The Scorpion

• Represents the destruction of innocence.

12
Canoe

• Represents a link to cultural tradition

13
The Hut

• Represents poverty

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Parable/Allegory

• Parable a simple story that relays a moral
  lesson
• Allegory stories in which characters, objects,
  and events hold fixed symbolic meaning.

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Possible Morals of the Story

• The Struggle to Persevere
• The Fallacy of the American Dream
• The Effects of Colonialism on Native Cultures
• Greed Is the Root of All Evil