Saturday, January 7, 2017

In The Pearl, what are differences between Kino's people and the inhabitants of the stone and plaster houses in the town where doctor lives?

Kino's people are poor and oppressed. Though this is the land of their ancestors, political and economic power has long since been taken away from them by Spanish colonialists, who thought they were superior to the indigenous people.
It is the ancestors of the original colonialists who live in the stone and plaster houses of the town where the doctor lives. This is a world away from the kind of primitive conditions in which Kino and his family must live, and provides Kino with a tantalizing glimpse into the kind of lifestyle he wants for his family. He believes that this lifestyle is well within his grasp if he can sell the valuable pearl he's found.
Unfortunately, that's not what happens, as the doctor tries to cheat Kino out of his treasured pearl. In doing so he displays the same kind of contemptuous behavior towards the indigenous people as his ancestors, whose ruthlessness explains why he gets to live in a nice house in town while Kino and his family live in such primitive conditions by the beach.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...