The Pearl by John Steinbeck

So the artist probes the central mystery of life as he sees it, the paradox of how evil comes out of good, the tear at the heart of laughter, the dream doomed to disappointment in the moment of dreaming, despair conjoined with hope, with which humanity, if it is wise, must learn to live. (Page 129, The Pearl by John Steinbeck.)

The characters in John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl (Kino and Juana) quite clearly live through this paradox when Kino finds his amazing pearl in the local oyster bed. The pearl, which at first offers a chance at wealth and a way out of the poverty in which the family lives, actually becomes the root of all the misery the characters suffer through. Kino begins dreaming of all the things he will be able to buy after he sells the pearl, but once he has said them aloud he becomes stubbornly determined to make them happen. I think the turning point where the pearl becomes truly evil is when Kino steps out of his hut, is attacked by someone trying to steal the pearl and ends up killing the man. Something terribly wrong has come out of what appeared to be good, and things only get worse from there.

Based on a rereading of pages 120 - 122, I think the couple have learned that they must live with this paradox, if not exactly how. I think Juana had always had a deeper understanding of it than Kino, but now she knows just how important that is. Kino, I think, has learned that if he's going to live with it at all, he needs Juana to help him. They have to stand together.

Finally, I think there are a few connections to be drawn between The Pearl and the novel study topic. You can look at it from Kino's point of view: he wants to sell the pearl to get enough money to give his family a better standard of living, and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that that happens. But I think the stronger argument is from Juana's point of view. She knows the pearl has become evil and that it will only bring sorrow to Kino, yet she agrees to go with him to sell it in the capital. Several times Kino begs her to take the baby and hide someplace safer, but each time Juana refuses because she knows there is a chance she can help Kino and a certainty that he will need her support. Even though in the end Juana loses her child, she stays by her husband and forgives him. I think she can act so selflessly because she understands the paradox mentioned above: evil will come out of good. The only way for her to live with that is to accept it and love her family regardless, so that her small bit of virtue can counteract the evil in the rest of the world.