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Using illustrations from the novel, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, write an essay to support the proverb: 'All that glitters is not gold' referring closely...

Using illustrations from the novel, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, write an essay to support the proverb: 'All that glitters is not gold” referring closely to, the pearl, the priest, the doctor and the pearl dealers

Answers

Martin
Some things happen in our lives and we think they are blessings. It is usually a rude shock when we realize that outward appearances can be deceptive. This is shown clearly in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Pearl.

When Kino find the Pearl of the World, he has great dreams. He believes the pearl would drastically improve his life and that of his family. He hopes to marry Juana in church, buy new clothes, educate his son, replace his lost harpoon and buy himself a rifle. Unfortunately, his dreams are shattered. There are attempts to steal it and his life is threatened several times. He does not sell it at a low price offered by the pearl buyers. Consequently, Juana declares it evil and attempts to throw it back to the sea. Kino follows her and wretches the pearl from her hand and strikes her with his clenched fist and kicks her on the side. He later kills a man, his canoe is vandalized, their brush house is burnt down and they are forced to flee to save their lives. They lose their only child and return home broken only to throw the pearl back to the sea. The glitter in the pearl, finally brings them misfortune and they lose all what they had treasured.

The priest stands for the moral authority in La Paz. Kino’s dream is to be married in his church. When he says that discrimination is God designed, Kino and Tomas take it as gospel truth. Unfortunately, we find that Kino and Juana are not married in church and Coyotito’s is not baptized simply because they cannot pay. When the priest comes to their house he tactfully tells Kino that he is named after a great man and a great Father of the church. He tells them to remember to give thanks to Him who had given them the treasure. As a result his moral fiber becomes questionable since he is motivated by greed and hopes to benefit from Kino’s pearl. This is contrary to the kind of person we expect of him.

A doctor’s profession is admired by many people. When we meet him, he is sitting up in his high bed, dressed in a gown of red watered silk and he is taking breakfast from a silver tray with a silver chocolate pot and tiny cup of egg-shell China. Among the furnishing of his room are religious pictures and a large tinted photograph of his late wife. We are surprised to learn that he is discontented in life and harbours memories of high life with a mistress in Paris. Moreover, he refuses to treat Coyotito who has been stung by a scorpion because the family cannot afford his medical fee. When he learns that Kino has a valuable pear, he ironically says Kino is a client of his and that he is treating his child for a scorpion sting. His greed and opportunism is evident when he makes the recovering child sick in order to treat him and be paid from the proceeds of the pearl. All the above prove that appearances can be deceptive.

The appearance of a person can appear to glitter when in real sense the character is rotten. The stout pearl buyer’s face looks fatherly and benign and his eyes twinkled with friendship. He is a caller of good-mornings, a ceremonious shaker of hands, and a jolly man who knew all jokes. However, his deception is revealed when Kino entered his office to sell the pearl. His eyes become as steady and cruel and unwinding as a hawk’s eyes while the rest of his face smiled in greeting. He cheats that he is going to value and give Kino the best price. After examining the pearl, he puts on a sad and contemptuous smile and declares it a fool’s gold and a curiosity only suitable for a museum. He even invites other dealers to support his opinion. His presence is revealed when he, together with other dealers panic when Kino refuses to sell the pearl to him. He further offers to give one thousand five hundred pesos. This proves that his appearance is deceptive.

All the above illustrations support the proverb that all that glitters is not gold.
marto answered the question on April 16, 2019 at 05:30

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