In the book "The Pearl" there are many struggles that Kino faces. This all started when Kino found "The Pearl of the World", a pearl that is as big as a bird's egg, shiny and has a mysterious ghostly gleam. It is to bring fortune to Kino and his family, but till now it has only brought them chaos, as Kino has to be alert on who to trust and who to not trust.
Early In the book, Kino had a "temporary" enemy, a scorpion. Kino discovered a scorpion on the ropes of Coyotito's hanging box. Coyotito shook the rope and the scorpion fell off, landed on the baby's shoulder and struck.
"He threw it down and beat it into the earth floor with his fist, and Coyotito screamed in pain in his box. But Kino beat it and stamped the enemy until it was only a fragment and a moist place in the dirt. His teeth were bared and fury flared in his eyes and the Song of the Enemy roared in his ears."
Kino won this struggle, though his baby was poisoned.
Later, Kino and Juana rush to the city with Coyotito. They, and a following procession, marched to the doctor's place. But how can the doctor be Kino's enemy? Well, because,
"This doctor was not of his people. This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race, and frightened it too, so that indigene came humbly to the door."
So, if Kino's ancestors hated this race, there is no reason why Kino should like him.
"He could kill the doctor more easily than he could talk to him, for all of the doctor's race spoke to all of Kino's race as though they were simple animals." Kino spoke to the doctor's servant and told him that the baby had been stung by the scorpion, but the doctor refused to treat the baby.
"Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for "little Indians"? I am a doctor, not a veterinary."
Later, when Kino finds the pearl and returns home from the estuary, he gets an unexpected visit from the doctor. The fat, racist doctor apologises that he "wasn't in" when Kino had come and he tells Kino how to treat scorpion stings. Kino, knew that the doctor was going to trick him.
"He did not know, and perhaps the doctor did."
"He was trapped as his people were always trapped, and would be until, as he had said, they could be sure that the things in the books were really in the books."
The doctor gave Coyotito a white powder which Kino and Juana doubted strongly. When the doctor returned an hour later Kino lost this struggle because Kino couldn't trust or doubt the Doctor's advice so the Doctor had total control and could take advantage of Kino's lack of knowledge.
Kino had another enemy, an enemy he could never imagine. He could not understand why his ears were ringing with the "Song of the Enemy", when he approached. He was the Priest! But how can a priest, a holy person be an enemy? Well, maybe the Priest is greedy and could be planning to use money from the pearl to upgrade the church. Or, he might use the money for himself.
One of the main enemies of Kino is himself. After he finds the pearl, Kino no longer followed his instincts. Was this a smart move or a stupid move? In the first chapters he followed his instincts then later he resists. One example is throwing away the pearl. Deep down, Kino's instincts tell him to follow Juana's advice, and he knows that it is having the pearl which is responsible for all the attacks and misfortune.
"But Kino's face was set, and his mind and his will were set. "This is our one chance," he said." So Kino has chosen a path and it might be the right one, or it might be the wrong one.
These are a few of the struggles Kino faces. There are many others including Juana and The Pearl Buyers. When Kino chooses a path he can't go back and change it, so Kino is now under much pressure. Will Kino come out of this mess with what he wants, or will Kino come to his destruction.
by : Om 7T
No comments:
Post a Comment