A Study on the Theme of Greed as a Destructive Power in ‘The Pearl’ by John Steinbeck

Abstract

This study explores greed in John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl (1947). This study examines how the author represents greed and its consequences through the novel's characters and argues that Kino is not inherently greedy, but instead reacts to absolute greed around him. This study employs a qualitative approach with textual analysis, drawing on Terry Eagleton's Marxist Literary Criticism (1976) as its theoretical framework. The study shows that powerful people like the doctor, the pearl buyers, and the priest use greed as a tool to keep their control, turning human worth into something to be bought and causing harm. Kino's transformation into a lonely, desperate man is not just his own mistake but a reaction to an unfair, corrupt system. The pearl evolves from a symbol of hope into a metaphor for death, underscoring materialism's dehumanising effects. Juana's constant kindness stands as the opposite of greed and shows the lasting importance of human values. The study suggests using Marxist criticism in literature classes to reveal unfair systems and encourage deeper discussion of the problems of materialism.