Okay, okay… I got the title a little wrong. Steinbeck’s book is actually titled The Pearl. I started thinking about this book because the current value of the Mega Millions lottery is $850 million. The current value of the Power Ball lottery is $730 million.
The Pearl is a wonderful, concise novel of about 90 pages. It is not near as well known as Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, but it should be. The language and the imagery are captivating and the narrative is spellbinding. If I remember the back story of this novel it is based on an old Spanish legend.
The story is situated somewhere in South America. The primary protagonists of the story are an exceedingly impoverished indigenous couple, Kino and Juana. Kino makes a living by free diving, looking for pearls. He uses a very ancient canoe that his grandfather had bought and brought to the village. Except for his infant son, the canoe is his pride and joy. Most of the pearls that Kino harvests are seed pearls worth very little. Add to this, that in reality, he only has one market for his pearls, and the buyers are taking advantage of the indigenous people.
Then one day, Kino finds The Pearl of the World. The value of this pearl would be life changing for nearly anyone, but for Kino and Juana it is the Mega Millions. It is a huge event among the indigenous folk living in their stick huts close to the bay. It turns into a huge event in the town amongst the richer, whiter population. Kino begins to have big dreams. He dreams of marrying the mother of his child. He has not had the money to pay the Catholic Church for a wedding. He dreams of having the money to send his infant child to school. The rest of his dreams are more mundane, new clothes and possibly a rifle. The scope of the wealth that this pearl could provide is beyond his ken.
The greed of the surrounding community, especially the white, descends on him. There are attempts to steal the pearl. There are attempts on his life. His hut is burned down. Defending himself from an attempt to steal the pearl he kills a man. He is going to flee with his woman and infant over the sea, but a huge hole has been knocked in his canoe. Since he cannot imagine stealing someone else’s canoe, they flee overland. Then things start to go downhill for Kino and Juana.
Which brings me back to the lottery, the prevalent meme is that winners of lotteries typically are overwhelmed by the money. Many, a few years afterwards, are back where they started or even worse. The meme would suggest that many lottery winners are bankrupt a short time after winning.
According to an article in The Atlantic, What Becomes of Lottery Winners? the reality is hard to determine for a multitude of reasons. Clearly there are some who, after winning, see their lives turn into nightmares. Many just go on living their lives with a much fatter bank account. Most of us would like the opportunity to find out. I do believe, however, that I would be like Kino. That amount of money is beyond my reckoning. I have no idea what I could or should do with such a sum.
I can say with 99.999999% certainty that you are not going to win the lottery. I can say with a lesser certainty, but still high, that if you read or reread this novella you will be winner. It is a wonderful written story that will stick in your mind.
Please excuse me now, my Mega Millions ticket was a $2 winner and I need to go cash it and buy another ticket for the next drawing.
Keep well.
It is indeed an excellent story, told by a master storyteller.
Great insight into the human condition.