Throughout the book Kino changes immensely. He changes character from a loving and caring man to a money hungry, greedy villain. After the pearl uses Kino, by amplifying his need for money, we quickly notice remarkable changes in his character. Steinbeck emphasizes to us that the pearl is consuming Kino by the quote: “This pearl has become my soul," said Kino. "If I give it up I shall lose my soul.” Kino’s brainwashing and obsession with the pearl has resulted in him losing love for Juana.
The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for." (20) The irony of Lord Henry saying this, is that he will eventually corrupt Dorian. He tells him this, but Dorian does not pay attention to the warning, and wants to hear more of Lord Henry's addicting sayings. Harry's theories act like a slow poison: They get into you, start reacting, and slowly but surely, they destroy you.
Since Kino is a victim of a society that is plagued by injustice and discrimination, he dreams of a brighter future for his family. By discovering the pearl, Kino sees the light of hope and plans to do what he has desired for—especially supporting his son, Coyotito’s education. He once again became conscious of the need for knowledge when people try to cheat him in order to get his pearl. Obsessed by his dream, Kino is blind to the greed and some of his fears were rooted from his paranoia and insecurity about his situation. As if ‘the Pearl of the World’ is a mirror, Kino finds himself in the pearl and realizes that too much of his greed made his ambition frivolous.
Although his actions are very insane, they can be seen as rational to reader considering hedonism. Devotion to pleasure, hedonism, makes Dorian be deceitful about his true self by deflecting the attention of the public from the mad man to the beautiful and intelligent gentlemen. Dorian is, young, sensitive, and emotional, meaning that he is susceptible to manipulation. Lord Henry takes advantage of that opportunity and gives Dorian the yellow book; this book opens up the world of hedonism and aestheticism which eventually turns his young life into an eternal oblivion of misery. Dorian develops a fear of aging so he tries to live his life as if it was his last day on earth.
In his epigraph to The Pearl, Steinbeck writes, “If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it.” Indeed, the pearl’s vague symbolism means that each character’s—and each reader’s—reaction to it seems more a function of the nature of the person involved than of the pearl itself. For most characters, the pearl simply brings out greed and ambition. To those few who are sensitive to the current of greed surrounding the pearl, however, the pearl is a powerful symbol of evil and ill fortune. Juana is one such character, as is Juan Tomás, who quickly recognizes the “devil in th[e] pearl.” 2. Discuss Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing in The Pearl.
The Native Americans used to focus on food and their families, but now their only endeavor is to accumulate money that is not necessary to their way of life, while the English settlers focus on taking any wealth the Native Americans have by underpaying the Native Americans for the pearls they sell to the English. Thus, greed affects both the English settlers and the Native Americans as both seek monetary wealth to no end. Kino, the husband of Juana and father of Coyotito, awakes, in the opening scene, to find his son recently stung by a scorpion and in need of medical attention, but Juana sucks out most of the poison immediately after being woken by Kino; however, the child still looks ill. Kino learns that the doctor in the English settlement won’t help him unless Kino can pay for the doctor’s services. So Kino, Juana, and Coyotito take the old boat of Kino’s grandfather and once they are out in the deeper water Kino
Odysseus also a firm believer in hospitality; Which explains why he was in such distress after learning of the suitors attempt to take everything he’s ever worked for. Guile is a clever form of deceit. Odysseus was full of it; the perfect example was when he introduced himself to Polyphemus. “My name is Nobody; Mother, father, friends/everyone calls me Nobody.” (IX) Odysseus knew that they would they would try to kill Polyphemus, so He gave him this alias because he was aware that Polyphemus would call for help to the other Cyclopes, and when he did he would sound like an idiot. He also used his guile on Calypso.
Oscar Wilde’s ability to create intriguing and complex characters enables the reader to manifest his or herself in the story. He demonstrates this in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by constructing the persona of an impressionable, vain, and alluring man named Dorian Gray. In this particular circumstance, Dorian’s naïve perception of life sets him up for failure. Paralleling this concept, Malcolm X once said, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” (“Malcolm X Quotes”). Expanding upon this, one can be easily swayed in the wrong direction if his or her beliefs and morals aren’t firmly grounded.
The narrator attempts to reassure his audience he is of sound mind. For example, the narrator says “If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body.” Another irony in the story is that the narrator refers to how he loves the old man and was never so kind to him as he was right before the murder. This is ironic because he loves the old man by the systematically plans to murder him. Poe uses imagery throughout the story by referencing the clock and time as a way to describe how slowly he moved. The narrator says “A watches minute hand moves more quickly than did mine”, the narrator sees himself as a clock, counting down the old man’s
Lord Henry’s obsession with Dorian leads Dorian to a life full of immoral activities such as drugs, meaningless sex, and the murder of famed artist and friend, Basil Hallward. Dorian explores these sensations as he looks to feel something real, but his entire life now revolves around his appearance and his state of self-denial. “Lord Henry Wotton is perfectly right. Youth is the only thing worth having. When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself,” (Wilde Chapter II) throughout the novel, Lord Henry influences Dorian’s decisions to be a pleasure seeker, to date only the elite, and to act in an high class manner.