The Pearl

The Pearl, the last short story in my collection of John Steinbeck works, is a parable of a poor man who finds a treasure which ultimately changes his life, but not for the better.

Upon finding the majestic pearl, the protagonist seeks to improve his lot in life by selling it for much wealth, moving to a big house, having a proper wedding in a big church and sending his infant son to school one day.

However, the pearl buyers will not afford much for what is obviously "The Pearl of the World". This is due much to their colluding which has for a long time cheated the poor pearl divers.

Obviously this is worth much as the others in the village take notice and try to steal it. This causes much trouble for the protagonist.

Steinbeck contends that it is only natural for man to improve his lot in life; wishing for a bigger house and a proper education for the child is common to man. Desire to improve on what we already have in life is what distinguishes man from animals, who are much unchanged since the beginning of time.

This philosophy of common strife for improvement runs afoul of the philosopher Albert Camus' contention that wanting something better in life than what we have not only leads to dissatisfaction, but it also detracts from enjoying what we do have. Camus might look at this work and find that the poor pearl diver should have been content with all he had, accepted the pearl as nothing special, sold it to the pearl buyers at their cheap price and in the process improving his lot a little. As it is, the diver sought to improve his station in life by great measures and thereby lost all he had.

While Camus' version might be a more beneficial outcome, Steinbeck's tale is ultimately more interesting. Good read - highly recommended.

Matt