Appreciation of The Pearl

To broaden my horizons and appreciate the essence of foreign literature， I decide to read the Pearl， a book written by a prolific American writer， John Steinbeck， whose best works were created by the outrage at the injustices of society and by his sympathy for the underprivileged. More importantly， the writer， during the Depression， combined warm humor with realistic technique， which skillfully expressed a distinctive kind of social protest. Multitudes of people are so riveted by the book that they don't expect to be punctuated by trivialities while reading， and so do I who was weary of reading books and seldom read a book unless teachers obliged me to read books at one time. However， this time I can say without exaggeration that my attitudes towards reading have dramatically changed when I read the Pearl. I am chiefly attracted by the following facets.

Initially， I was obsessed about the gripping plots in the novel. The author presupposed the pearl as the clue to start the layout of the article ingeniously. To earn money to treat his pathetic child， Kino arduously dived into the tempestuous sea in search of the pearls. Salvaged by God， he found a pearl as big as seagull's egg. Subsequently， the news that Kino had found the pearl of the world spread at a phenomenal speed and also triggered people's different reactions. Nearly all people were so curious about Kino's pearl but obstructed by Kino that they conspired to liquidate him repeatedly. On one occasion， fearing that the priceless pearl was snatched by the ruffian， Kino stabbed him to death with a dagger. Subsequently， the couple left their permanent residence and fled to a gloomy cave; however， they were found. After his son's death， Kino finally realized that the pearl is not a bless but a curse， so he threw the pearl into the sea and returned to town， accompanied by his wife. All the plots in the novel center on the pearl which is considered as the clue， which makes the plot twists and turns.

Furthermore， the main character portrayed in the novel is vivid. The author naturally employs an army of ink to describe the emotional changes of the protagonist Kino. Kino， the protagonist， is an ordinary person who deserves to live an ordinary life， but the advent of the pearl distorts Kino's character. For one thing， Kino becomes more suspicious. He always thought the pearl was a priceless treasure， with which his family could live an enviable life. Thus， he fought tooth and nail to protect his pearl and hid it from one place to another for fear that others might steal it away. For another， he became more violent. His wife， Juana， had long realized that the pearl was ominous and had repeatedly persuaded Kino to throw it away but failed， in which case， she intended to throw it away stealthily. She was about to throw it away when Kino snatched the pearl from her hand and gave her a good beating. We were astounded at his violence and couldn't help sighing how violent he was. We can know that Kino's character was distorted by the pearl， through which we can have a deep insight into the changes of characters and see the vivid characters.

Additionally， some figures of speech that the author employs amaze me. Similes are used several times in fiction-say， the town was compared to a colonial animal， the black distillate was compared to the scorpion， or hunger in the smell of food， or loneliness when love is withheld， etc. Moreover， the author also uses the metaphor-say， the town is blessed with a nervous system， the four limbs， a whole emotion， the essence of pearl mingled with essence of men and a curious dark residue was precipitated， etc. Besides， the author also uses metonymy-brush houses refer to the dwelling place of the poor while the town of stone and plaster refers to the residence of the rich. The figures of speech that I enumerate above are either make the novel more vivid or stimulate readers' imagination. In a nutshell， the use of figures of speech can distinguish the novel from others.

Ultimately， the theme that the author is designed to convey is thought-provoking. The writer lived in the background of highly developed capitalism that was saturated with greed and selfishness but he didn't criticize it directly. Conversely， all his feelings are expressed by Kino， the protagonist of the novel. Kino should have lived a peaceful and normal life which was， however， interrupted by one thing that his baby was stung by a scorpion which was， allegedly， lethal to people. Subsequently， it was unfortunate that he got involved in profit-driven capitalism because of a big pearl. Having experienced a series of tragedies， Kino realized that money was not as important as he had imagined before. Briefly， the author satirized the darkness of capitalist society by depicting the protagonist Kino and showed sympathy for the poor people.

Based on what I have anatomized above， I believe that you will know why I am so attracted by the book. The pearl is worth reading in that not only can you procure the knowledge concerning exotic cultures but also enrich your spiritual life.

作者簡介

戴國秀（1998.03—），女，廣東河源人，漢族，本科，研究方向：英語專業。