What was Steinbeck's purpose for writing The Pearl?

John Steinbeck's The Pearl is a parable; as such it is meant to teach a moral lesson.

As a social realist, Steinbeck is concerned, with "life and living," as John S. Kennedy, a friend and critic wrote. Todd Lieber views Steinbeck as a writer whose talent lies in his ability to

...penetrate to the sources of human thought and behavior and present in the form of some objective correlative the archetypal and mythopoeic knowledge that...

John Steinbeck's The Pearl is a parable; as such it is meant to teach a moral lesson.

As a social realist, Steinbeck is concerned, with "life and living," as John S. Kennedy, a friend and critic wrote. Todd Lieber views Steinbeck as a writer whose talent lies in his ability to

...penetrate to the sources of human thought and behavior and present in the form of some objective correlative the archetypal and mythopoeic knowledge that lies deep in the mystery of human experience.

So, in The Pearl, the "Pearl of the World" becomes such the objective correlative because it acts as a "psychological talisman" for Kino's hope that he can rise from his class by having a wedding ceremony and giving his boy an education and a better life than that of a peasant. Unfortunately, to move upward socially and economically is not facile, and the great pearl fails Kino in his purpose. In fact, when Kino has his family attempt to live at a higher social level, new evils enter their lives, and to escape them, Kino must do as Juana has begged him early on: to throw the pearl back into the sea. Thus, Steinbeck may well be pointing to the corruption of more "sophisticated society," or the capitalistic society. At any rate, after Kino finds the Pearl of the World, he becomes obsessed with the things of the world (ceremonies, clothes, social mobility) and he loses the "Song of the Family" that he has been accustomed to hearing, a song more meaningful than any material possession.

And, yet, Kino and Juana are tragically wiser for their experiences. Thus, some critics view the Pearl much like the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil since Kino and Juana have fallen from innocence after procuring the Pearl of the World. This final tragic position somehow seems more worthy of respect than their previous untested ignorance of the world outside them.