The story, first published in 1947, [citation needed] follows a pearl diver, Kino, and explores man’s purpose as well as greed, defiance of societal norms, and evil.

Steinbeck's inspiration was a Mexican folk tale from La Paz, Baja California Sur, which he had heard in a visit to the formerly pearl-rich region in 1940.

[1] The book was adapted as a Mexican film named La Perla (1947) and as a cult Kannada movie Ondu Muttina Kathe (1987).

[clarification needed] Kino, a poor pearl fisherman, lives with his wife Juana and their infant son Coyotito in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Kino sees a scorpion crawl down one of the ropes holding up the hanging box that serves as Coyotito's crib and tries to remove it.

As Juana applies a seaweed poultice to the sting, Kino dives for oysters from his canoe, hoping to find a pearl valuable enough to cover the treatment fee.

The doctor visits them to treat Coyotito, even though the baby seems to be recovering, and Kino promises to pay him after selling the pearl.

He goes to sell it the next day, not knowing that all the pearl dealers in La Paz are working for a single buyer and conspiring to keep prices low.

More thieves attack Kino that night, but he remains resolved to make the journey despite Juana's warning that the pearl is evil and her suggestions to get rid of it.

As they travel, Kino spots a trio of men following them and Juana realizes that they are trackers intending to take the pearl and kill the entire family.

As Kino sneaks down the cliff, one of the trackers hears a cry and fires his rifle in its direction, thinking it to be a coyote pup.

After looking at the pearl one last time and seeing its surface reflect images of all the disasters that have befallen him and his family, Kino throws it into the ocean.

Steinbeck complicates these simple notions of good and bad by showing how evil can come in beautiful or prestigious packages like the Doctor, the Priest, or even in the end, the Pearl of the World.

Kino often hears a refrain of music, a device Steinbeck uses to offer the reader insight into the inner world of the characters and the emotional crux of each scene.

Colonialism – While the story is presented as a fable with a simple moral at the end, seemingly to warn readers of being greedy or defying the gods by trying to change their station, the underlying message is a critique of the systemic economic and societal disparity between the indigenous community of which Kino and Juana are a part and the wealthier colonial settlers of the fictional La Paz, the neighboring city in Baja Mexico.

Steinbeck portrays Kino and Juana as eager to gain access to the medicine and education of the colonial population after getting rejected by the local Doctor.

Once they find the pearl, they are willing to take great risks to give Coyotito access so that he might improve his station and gain knowledge from the world beyond their indigenous traditions.

Once Kino discovers the pearl, he begins to dream about what could come from this fortune as greed fills his head, but as he tries to carry out this plan, the good wealth also brings destruction to his family as he treats Juana poorly and is abusive.

After Kino finds the pearl, he personally visits the family at home, acting much friendlier than at their first meeting and even pretending to heal Coyotito's scorpion sting with ammonia.

Several publications praised the novel as a "major artistic triumph" and emphasizes how Steinbeck understands "the universal significance of life."

Jackson Benson writes, The Pearl was heavily influenced by Steinbeck's interest in the philosophy of Carl Jung.

[5] Steinbeck wrote that he created the story of The Pearl to address the themes of "human greed, materialism, and the inherent worth of a thing.