The Pearl is a parable, a story with a moral, written by John Steinbeck. The novel is based on a poor Indian family who lives in a small village outside of La Paz, Mexico, along the Gulf of Mexico. The family is made up of: Kino, fisherman and pearl diver; Juana and their little son Coyotito. The people of Kino live in poverty, so when Kino finds "The Pearl of the World", the villagers and townspeople all want to get their hands on the pearl for themselves; Lap Paz became filled with greed. This novel like all the others is centered on a major theme; The theme of a literary work is defined as a central idea, concern, or goal regarding life that a writer wishes to convey. There may be several themes identified in a literary work; However, in the novel The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the author uses an event in nature – the pearl – to develop one of the most essential universal themes in literature, namely the struggle of humanity against greed. An example of this universal theme of humanity's struggle against greed occurred in this novel where the doctor pretended to cure Coyotito for something he did not have. It all started when a scorpion stung Coyotito. Kino and Juana's only hope was the doctor, but the doctor refused to treat Coyotito because they were poor and had nothing of value to pay for his services. Shortly after, Kino went looking for a good pearl to pay the doctor to treat his son. Kino has found “the pearl of the world”; Juana and Kino were delighted. Once the doctor heard about this fine pearl, he rushed to Kino's cabin to treat the sick baby by lying to Kino. The doctor's excuse for not treating Coyotito sooner was: "I wasn't there when you came this morning." But now, at the first opportunity, I have...... middle of paper...... ten stone. Let's bury him and forget about this place. Let's throw him back into the sea. It had brought evil. Kino my husband, it will destroy us” (38). The pearl brought greed to the forefront of the community; everyone wanted the pearl for themselves. Juana, who once thanked God for the pearl, now told Kino to throw it away because the greed it caused would ultimately destroy them. This parable called The Pearl written by John Steinbeck teaches a lesson to every reader. Steinbeck uses the universal theme of humanity's struggle against greed to represent his central idea, or concern for life, that he wanted to convey in his novel. In conclusion, John Steinbeck wanted his readers of The Pearl to take its powerful theme or message about humanity's struggle against greed and provide their own interpretation as it relates to their own lives..