Response to "The Pearl"

 In John Steinbeck's Novella, The Pearl, the teaching is that being selfish will not do you any good. In the story, Kino finds a 'pearl of the world' and he thinks having found this was a blessing. Juana thinks this too, until bad things begin to happen to their family. First, Kino is attacked by anonymous people, in their attempt to get the pearl. This is stated by the author when he explains that "Juana heard the little rush, the grunting struggle, the blow. She froze with terror for a moment, and then her lips drew back from her teeth like a cat's lips. She set Coyotito down on the ground. She seized a stone from the fireplace and rushed outside, but it was over by then. Kino lay on the ground, struggling to rise, and there was no one near him. Only the shadows and the strike and rush of waves and the hiss of distance. But the evil was all about, hidden behind the brush fence, crouched beside the house in the shadow, hovering in the air." Kino's house was burned down by envious townspeople. This is stated by the author when he explains "He saw a little glow ahead of him, and then without interval a tall flame leaped up in the dark with a crackling roar, and a tall edifice of fire lighted the pathway. Kino broke into a run; it was his brush house, he knew. And he knew that these houses could burn down in a very few moments" Kino kills his second attacker, which means they have to leave town and when they leave town trackers follow them. The aauthour says that "Kino moved sluggishly, arms and legs stirred like those of a crushed bug, and a thick muttering came from his mouth. Now, in an instant, Juana knew that the old life was gone forever. A dead man in the path and Kino's knife, dark-bladed beside him, convinced her." and when they leave town, " When the trackers are hot on Kino and Juana's trail, they shoot Coyotito -their first born child- and Coyotito dies. All of these things that have happened are all a result of Kino's selfishness in not giving up the Pearl, like Juana said to.