John Steinbeck A Dynamic Character Essay

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In The Pearl, a novella where two natives find “The pearl of the world”, John Steinbeck develops Kino as a dynamic character because of his change from man, to animal, to machine. At the start of the story, Kino is displayed as a man who is in-tune with nature and his family. For instance, Kino wakes up one morning and starts his routine “Kino watched them for a moment and then his eyes went up to a flight of wild doves twinkling upland to the hills. The world was awake now, and Kino arose and went into his brush house”. (Steinbeck 4) Kino and the animals are waking up simultaneously. This shows that the animals are incorporated into his morning routine, going outside while Juana is making the corn cakes and watching the animals “Kino watched with the detachment of God while a dusty ant franticly tried to escape the sand trap an ant lion had dug for…show more content…
For example, One night Juana tries to throw the pearl away because she believes it is evil, however Kino notices her and follows her outside “He Leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her, he struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side - his teeth were bared. He hissed at her like a snake”. (Steinbeck 58-59) Here Kino acts like he has completely forgotten about his relationship with his wife, Juana. Steinbeck describes Kino as a snake, Kino hissing like one shows that he has become animal-like and predatory. A few moments later Kino is attacked and kills the attacker in the fight. However, he realizes that his attacker struck a hole in his boat. “This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat” (Steinbeck 62) This shows that Kino is animal-like, because to him, the life of another is less important than his property. He did not even stop to think about the attackers family or to even look at his
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