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The Pearl: Greed and Kino's Fall | ICSE Class 8

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English LiteratureICSE Class 8 · The Pearl

How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino (The Pearl, ICSE Class 8)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In The Pearl (John Steinbeck, 1947), Kino finds a huge pearl that he hopes will pay for a doctor, a wedding, a rifle and schooling for his baby Coyotito. Instead it rouses greed in others, brings attacks, a killing and the loss of his hut and canoe, and ends with Coyotito's death; Kino finally throws the pearl back into the sea.

Understand How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino

Status. On the Suggested Reading List for Class VIII; recommended, not prescribed. John Steinbeck based the story on a folk tale heard in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico, and called it a parable, a simple story that teaches a moral. Characters are almost types: the honest poor family, the greedy doctor, the cheating pearl buyers.

The scorpion and the doctor. Kino, a young pearl diver, lives with his wife Juana and baby Coyotito. A scorpion stings the baby. The town doctor refuses to see them because they are poor Indigenous people who cannot pay.

The pearl. Kino finds an enormous perfect pearl, "the Pearl of the World". Everyone, from neighbours to the priest to the doctor, begins to think of what they might gain. Kino dreams of a proper wedding, new clothes, a rifle and schooling for Coyotito. The doctor now treats the baby, expecting payment from the pearl.

The slide into violence. Intruders attack the hut. The pearl dealers, secretly all working for one master, offer far too little. Juana believes the pearl is evil and tries to throw it into the sea; Kino stops her and strikes her. In another attack Kino kills a man; their canoe is smashed and their hut burned. They flee with trackers behind them. In the mountains a tracker hears the baby cry, thinks it is a coyote and fires. Kino kills the trackers, but Coyotito is dead.

The return. Kino and Juana walk back to La Paz; at the sea the pearl looks ugly and grey to Kino and he throws it back into the water.

Themes. Greed and its destruction; social injustice and colonialism; family; good and evil (evil in respectable people, good in Juana and Juan Tomás); dreams and ambition.

How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino: key facts

The fall
  • Scorpion
  • Pearl found
  • Doctor and dealers
  • Attacks
  • A man killed
  • Hut and canoe lost
  • Coyotito dies
  • Pearl thrown back
Each event follows from the pearl.
Kino's dreams
  • Church wedding
  • New clothes
  • A rifle
  • Schooling for Coyotito
Reasonable hopes that lead to ruin.
Themes
  • Greed
  • Injustice
  • Family
  • Good and evil
  • Dreams and ambition
Greed spreads to nearly everyone.

How to answer How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino questions

Use this for a theme answer.

  1. 1State the theme (greed) and the object (the pearl).
  2. 2Show how greed appears in three people: doctor, dealers, attackers.
  3. 3Show what happens to Kino's family.
  4. 4Explain the ending: the pearl is thrown back.
  5. 5State the moral in a sentence.

How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A hypothetical lottery ticket

Suppose a hypothetical villager wins a big prize and soon finds that cousins, shopkeepers and strangers all ask for a share, and he stops trusting anyone.

How is this like Kino's experience?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Sudden wealth draws attention.
  2. Others hope to gain.
  3. Trust breaks down.

Answer: Like Kino, he finds that sudden fortune brings greed and suspicion, which damage the peace it was meant to give.

Memory hook: Treasure draws trouble.

Tricks to remember How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • SPAV

    Scorpion, Pearl, Attacks, Violence.

    Use it when: Plot order.

  • Pearl of the World, pearl of the world

    Hope turns to ruin.

    Use it when: Irony.

How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Name of the pearl · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

What is the huge pearl that Kino finds called in the story?
(a) The Pearl of the World (b) The Moon Pearl (c) The Pearl of La Paz (d) The Great Stone

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The name appears when the news spreads.

Answer: (a) The Pearl of the World.

Example 2: The dealers offer · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why do the pearl dealers offer so little for the pearl? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. They secretly work for one master (1).
  2. They pretend it is too big to be valuable (1).

Answer: The dealers all secretly work for one master and pretend the pearl is too big to be valuable, so that they can buy it cheaply.

Example 3: The doctor changes · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

How does the doctor behave towards Coyotito once the pearl is found, compared with before? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Before: refuses because Kino is poor and cannot pay (1).
  2. After: comes and says the baby is still in danger (1).
  3. He treats him, expecting payment from the pearl (1).

Answer: At first the doctor refuses to see the baby because the family is poor and cannot pay. Once the pearl is found, he comes, claims the baby is still in danger and treats him, expecting to be paid from the pearl.

Example 4: From hope to ruin · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain how the pearl changes from a hope to a curse for Kino's family. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The dreams it brings (1).
  2. Attacks and a killing (1).
  3. The hut and canoe destroyed (1).
  4. Coyotito's death (1).

Answer: At first the pearl promises a wedding, a rifle and schooling for Coyotito. Then intruders attack, Kino kills a man, the canoe is smashed and the hut burned, and in the mountains a tracker's shot kills Coyotito. The hope has become a curse.

Example 5: Why does Kino throw the pearl away? · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Explain what the final act of throwing the pearl into the sea shows. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. It looks ugly and grey now (1).
  2. He sees what it cost (1).
  3. It rejects greed (1).
  4. It is too late for his son (1).

Answer: To Kino the pearl now looks ugly and grey because of what it has cost him. Throwing it back is a rejection of the greed that has destroyed his family, though it comes too late to save Coyotito.

Where students lose marks in How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Saying Kino is simply greedy

    His hopes are reasonable.

    Wrong working

    Kino is greedy from the start.

    Right working

    Kino is hopeful; greed surrounds him.

    Do this: Be fair to Kino.

    Usually costs: 2 marks

  • Mistake: Missing the injustice theme

    It is central.

    Wrong working

    Only greed is mentioned.

    Right working

    Greed and injustice.

    Do this: Name both.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

  • Mistake: Wrong facts

    Details are exact.

    Wrong working

    The baby is stung by a snake.

    Right working

    A scorpion stings him.

    Do this: Learn the sequence.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

  • Use the word parable.
  • Link events to the theme of greed.
  • Treat the death of the child with care.
  • Name Juana's role.

Practice questions on How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    Who tries to throw the pearl into the sea early in the story?
    (a) Kino (b) Juana (c) Juan Tomás (d) The doctor

    Hint

    She thinks it is evil.

    Answer

    (b) Juana.

  2. Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

    Name two people the pearl makes greedy. (2 marks)

    Hint

    Doctor, dealers, priest.

    Answer

    The doctor and the pearl dealers; others such as the priest and neighbours also begin to think about what they might gain.

  3. Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    What does Juana believe about the pearl, and is she right? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Evil.

    Answer

    Juana believes the pearl is evil and will destroy them. The story proves her right, since it brings attacks, a killing, the loss of their home and the death of Coyotito.

  4. Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Show how The Pearl criticises social injustice. (4 marks)

    Hint

    Doctor, dealers.

    Answer

    Kino's people are kept poor and powerless by colonial settlers who control medicine and trade. The doctor refuses to treat the poor, and the dealers cheat them. The story shows an unjust world in which a poor family's hopes are crushed.

  5. Q5 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    The novella is called a parable. What moral does it teach, and does it seem too harsh? (4 marks)

    Hint

    Greed and the poor.

    Answer

    The moral is that greed destroys, and that sudden wealth can ruin the peace it was meant to protect. It can seem harsh, since Kino's hopes were modest, but the harshness points to an unjust world rather than blaming Kino alone.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.Who wrote The Pearl?Show answer

    John Steinbeck.

  2. 2.What is the baby's name?Show answer

    Coyotito.

  3. 3.What is the pearl called?Show answer

    The Pearl of the World.

  4. 4.Where is it set?Show answer

    Near La Paz, Baja California, Mexico.

  5. 5.What happens to the hut?Show answer

    It is burned.

  6. 6.What does Kino do at the end?Show answer

    Throws the pearl into the sea.

How the Pearl Brings Greed and Destruction to Kino: frequently asked questions

Is it prescribed?

No, suggested reading.

What is a parable?

A simple story that teaches a moral.

Is the story based on a true folk tale?

Steinbeck based it on a folk tale he heard.