Skip to main content

ALLEGORY IN JOHN STEINBECK'S THE PEARL

The timeless 1947 classic still mirrors the modern society in the social economic and political aspects of life.

Def: Allegory is an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor (Sage dictionary)
Allegory has been used by many writers to question the common truths that the majority believes in. Among the most common allegories is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in the book The Republic. The allegory explains the difficulties one experiences in an attempt to correct the already perceived and believed truths.
In The Pearl, Steinbeck explores the story of colonialism and its effects on the society. According to their (colonialists) version of the story, the colonialists came to civilize the primitive society ‘Go get the doctor,’ ‘A wonderful thing, a memorable thing to want the doctor.’ (pg 23) However, instead of civilization, it was exploitation, ‘…..the best and the happiest pearl buyer was he who bought for the lowest prices.” (Pg 64) In as much as The Pearl pokes a hole in the intentions of the colonizers, its implications are broader, especially, where the author places every individual in their rightful place. Steinbeck positions every man and every woman in a position where, if they try to rebel, they are brought back to their rightful place.
Although Africa is reputed to be home to many natural resources, the continent still remains a home to many poor communities with extreme poverty and wanton destruction due to war and natural calamities. The Pearl of Africa, punctuated by gold, diamonds, Oil and wonderful beaches, green forests, fresh and magnificent rivers is priced by pearl buyers called the West.
Countries like Libya who like Kino tried to look for a better price for their pearl, ended up into war and destruction that left them devastated as the Pearl buyer, masquerading as missionaries of democracy went away with the pearl. South Sudan, on the other hand, has never known peace since she repossessed her pearls from the North. Her pearls have become a brewing pot of evil as the music of evil continually engulfs the country into perennial bloodshed.
Countries that have taken a submissive stand against the pearl buyers like Nigeria and Kenya have continued to wallow in poverty and inhuman treatment. Though Nigeria- an oil producing country- has made significant progress ahead of other African countries her economy cannot measure up to her peers’ in the Middle East. Up to this day, Nigerians still complain of high fuel prices like non-oil producing countries. It is noteworthy to mention, the brutal San Abacha regime that saw Nguni leaders killed including acclaimed author Ken Saro Wiwa for protesting against pollution in the Niger Delta.
In Kenya, critics are worried about the mixed fortunes of the recently discovered Oil, which, having been launched a month ago has seen the countries fuel prices skyrocket sending noise among the countries elites.
There are many examples of situations comparable to the fate of Kino and his people in Africa and the world over. The ones above highlight the issues on an international level, but nationally, depending on one’s country, various issues play out to allude to the story within The Pearl.
Such issues maybe economical; eg the plight of coffee farmers whose coffee is stolen by greedy powerful exporters and maize farmers being slapped low prices by the National Cereals and Produce Board in Kenya. Or social where security is guaranteed for everyone but only a few feel the luxury of being safe.
It is imperative to establish the parallels between the story and the real life to see how similar the situations are. For instance, in a 2011 article about Steinbeck’s The Pearl as an allegory for the Obama Administration, Patricia McCarthy argues that, though Americans perceived Obama as a fresh pearl from the sea, he turned out to be more trouble with inflation skyrocketing as the national debt went above the roof. At the time, she suggested, like Kino, Obama should have been tossed into the ocean. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF NASILIAN CULTURE IN BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH

SOME ASPECTS OF CULTURE ARE BENEFICIAL AND OUGHT TO BE MAINTAINED. USING EXAMPLES FROM THE NOVEL, BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH, WRITE A COMPOSITION TO ILLUSTRATE THE TRUTH OF THE STATEMENT Culture defines our identity and social relationships within a certain setup. Sometimes, some cultural aspects come off as bad while others can be looked at as good. However, culture only becomes bad when compared to another that seems superior. Many African communities found themselves at crossroads when the ‘superior’ European culture was thrown down their gullets. Nevertheless, many African cultures have grown into what they are today while some have retained what can be perceived as negative cultural practices. In the book Blossoms of the Savannah, H.R Kulet presents a boiling pot of cultural confusion within the Maa community specifically the people of Nasila. As we can see, some of the Nasilian cultural practices can be beneficial to the wellbeing of society and, therefore, should be maintaine
22 comments
Read more

NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES AMONG THE PEOPLE OF NASILA IN BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH

The book Blossoms of the Savannah explores both the positive and negative cultural practices. H. R Kulet describes intimately those cultural practices he believes are best and on the other hand, lets us in on some of the cultural practices he believe were injurious. Interestingly, the negative cultural practices are aimed at women. The most poignant cultural practice that negatively affects women is Female genital mutilation. Although according to Parmuat, the practice was started by women to resist the evil Ilarinkoi, it continued to cause wanton pain and torture on women. Taiyo and Resian are determined to fight it. Resian manages to evade the brutal practice however Taiyo barely makes it having been forcibly cut. FGM is a global menace affecting millions of women in Africa and Asia. Although its benefits are only anthropological, its effects are very damning and could lead to death.  Second among the negative Nasilian culture is early marriage. Resian still has goals to fu
34 comments
Read more

THE THEME OF INHERITANCE IN THE PLAY INHERITANCE BY DAVID MULWA

Inheritance refers to what is left by the deceased to the family in material wealth or sometimes power. However, the word could have diverse meanings when applied to works of literature. In this respect, David Mulwa looks at inheritance in various ways. The play revolves around a three decades old Kutula under its new leadership. Having achieved independence from colonial masters, Kutula is now governed by Lacuna Kasoo-the son of pre-independence King Kutula XV. Lacuna ascended to power after the death of his father. Although the King has adopted Princess Sangoi as his successor, he dies mysteriously thus handing the power to the greedy, self-centred Lacuna. As it were, Lacuna conspired with the colonial masters to assassinate his father King Kutula XV. Having assumed power with the help of colonial masters, Lacuna runs the government under the influence of Kutula’s former imperialists. He receives hefty loans aimed at ‘developing’ the country. However, the loans are meant to make Kutu
5 comments
Read more