Overall, I found this book to be very enjoyable. I am a fan of allegorical novels, and this was a good example of one. As the novel went on, I got the feeling that the pearl is representative of all the greed and darkness that Steinbeck feels that humanity is capable of. Kino at first thought that the pearl would finally bring joy and prosperity to his family, but it only destroyed it, as Kino's selfishness took over. I especially found the shooting of Coyotito at the end to be showing of this, as it showed a literal destruction of the family and Kino's dreams.
One thing I didn't like, though, was that the message of the novel seemed to be a bit odd when I really looked at it. it seems to be preaching that attempting to step out of your normal place in society is bad, and will lead to nothing but misfortune. If this is what Steinbeck is trying to say, and not a misunderstanding on my part, then I can't help but feel that this message is false, as people are not always born into the positions they belong in. The millions of real life rags-to-riches stories demonstrate this. Despite this, I still found the primary point of the book, which I believe is mostly just an examination of greed and corruption in the human race, to be very well thought-out and effective.
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