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Character Analysis of Kino from The Pearl Kino, a character from the story
The Pearl, is a prime example of a developing character. From the start through
to the end, he develops drastically. At the beginning, he was thought out to be
a good loyal husband but as time went on he became a selfish, greedy person who
would do anything for money. When the story began Kino seemed to be a good
husband who wanted nothing more than to be able to support his family. After a
scorpion had stung Coyotito, Kino prayed that he would find a pearl not to
become a rich man but so that he could pay the doctor to heal the baby, as he
would not work free. After Kino had spent long hard hours searching the ocean
floor, he finally found the pearl he had worked for. At first when he found it,
he only wanted to pay the doctor to cure Coyotito. However as time passed he
began to think of all the things that he could acquire with the money form the
pearl and began to develop greed and selfishness. When people asked him what he
would buy now that he was a rich man, he was quick to list several items that
came to his mind. One of these items was a rifle. Kino wanted a rifle because he
wanted to show power over the rest of his village.
When Kino took the pearl to
the pearl buyers to sell, he was offered one thousand pesos. Kino declined that
offer claiming that his pearl was The Pearl of the World. By reacting in such a
manner he yet again demonstrates his greed. It is not about saving Coyotito
anymore, for he is already feeling well, it is now about the money. Although one
thousand pesos was more money than Kino had ever seen he demanded that he would
get fifty thousand pesos. Later in the text, Kino discovers Juana trying to
destroy the pearl, causing Kino to become very angry, and resulted in him
beating her. Although Juana was in very much pain she accepted the beating as if
it were a punishment and stayed with Kino. A while later Kino was attacked by
another man who wanted the pearl for himself and defended his pearl by killing
the man. It is around this point in the story where Kino displays his greatest
point of greed and selfishness. When Kino gets ready to attack the trackers
Coyotito lets out a cry awakening one of the sleeping trackers. The tracker on
watch described the cry as being the cry of a baby, however, the tracker who had
just awaked described it as being a coyote. The tracker on guard then lifted his
rifle and shot in the direction of the sound. This sparked the deadliest of
fuses in Kino, which turned him from a normal man into a fearsome,
uncontrollable, machinelike man killing everything in it's path. When Kino
returned to the village he looked at the pearl and began to realize the effect
it had on him, his family, and his village, and decided to throw it back into
the ocean where it came from. Kino has paid a large price to learn such a
valuable lesson, that we should not let greed and our want for something to
overcome us and let us lose sight of the important things in life such as
family, health, and life itself.
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