The last 50 some pages of the book start off with the one moment we've all been waiting for: Kino finally gets to sell his pearl and begin his life of wealth. However, the dealers would only give him a fraction of what it is worth, and so, instead of staying and bargaining, or taking the small fortune they offer him, Kino plots to leave this town and go sell his pearl at the capitol, a scary place many miles away. What I find interesting is that Kino could've easily stormed off and come back another day after seeing that the dealers were lying. But instead, he ends up preparing to leave for the capitol and murdering someone. I just wonder why Kino didn't keep a more level head through all of this, and I think it is Steinbeck telling us a moral of the story: wealth, especially potential wealth, can drive us to let our emotions control our actions. I like how Steinbeck subtly shares this moral without coming right out and stating it.
Additionally, a question I have that has been left unanswered. How was Coyotito killed?? I thought that Kino moved and struck the man with the rifle before he could fire and silence the "coyote." But then when Kino and Juana walk back into town, Coyotito is dead, which left me wondering. And finally, who are the men that Kino kills or injures throughout the book? It's never revealed who Kino slashes in the doorway of his house, or who he kills on the path leading to his house, or who the two trackers are, or who the man on the horse with a rifle, who we seem to pay particular attention to, is. All this uncertainty could've been cleared up in a sentence or two at some point when the book wrapped up, but instead Steinbeck chooses to leave them nameless, which is interesting and as a reader quite frustrating.
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