Student Question
In The Pearl, how does Kino and Juana's clothing contrast with the doctor's?
Quick answer:
Kino and Juana's clothing, marked by poverty and wear, starkly contrasts with the doctor's luxurious attire, symbolizing the deep social divide in the novel. Kino and Juana wear worn-out clothes, indicating their impoverished status, while the doctor is dressed in a red silk gown from Paris, sipping chocolate from fine china. This contrast highlights the social injustice and power imbalance between the indigenous Kino and the European-descended doctor, who exploits his privileged position.
You can find the answer to this in Chapter 1 when Kino and Juana take their son with them to seek medical attention when he is stung by a scorpion. What is key to realise is how Steinbeck uses the differences in the appearance of the doctor and Kino and Juana to reinforce the sense of social injustice that pervades the novel. Let us remember that, when Kino reaches the door of the doctor's house, he hesitates, remembering that the doctor was not of his race:
This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race, and frightened it too, so that the indigene came humbly to the door.
This helps explains Kino's reluctance but also his absolute dependence on the doctor. Let us consider how they are described however. As they begin the procession to the town...
Unlock
This Answer NowStart your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
to see the doctor, Kino and Juana are described by those that see them:
And the newcomers, particularly the beggars from the front of the church who were great experts in financial analysis, looked quickly at Juana's old blue skirt, saw the tears in her shawl, appraised the green ribbon on her braids, read the age of Kino's blanket and the thousand washings of his clothes, and set them down as poverty people and went along to see what kind of drama might develop.
Note how the emphasis is on the poverty and suffering that Kino and Juana have experienced, with the "thousand washings" and the "tears in her shawl." Contrast this then with the presentation of the doctor:
He had on his dressing gown of red watered silk that had come from Paris, a little tight over the chest now if it was buttoned. On his lap was a silver tray with a silver chocolate pot and a tiny cup of eggshell china, so delicate that it looked silly when he lifted it with his big hand...
Clearly, with the quality and material of the red gown highlighted and the physical possessions that are emphasized, the doctor is from a very different background, as as Kino fears, abuses his power by refusing to help them because they cannot pay.
In The Pearl, how does the doctor contrast with Kino?
In the novelThe Pearl,the doctor and Kino are opposite characters which contrast tremendously with each other. This is because of the dramatic separation in, cultural, social and class status between the two. The two man demonstrate a completely opposite system of values, a totally different appearance, and lifestyles that are totally contrasting.
Notice how the doctor represents an unreachable resource that only the few and the lucky can use.
A wonderful thing, a memorable thing, to want the doctor. To get him would be a remarkable thing. The doctor never came to the cluster of brush houses...
We know from the descriptions that the doctor is not from Kino's race. He is said to be from "a race" which had abused and "frightened" Kino's people for "nearly four hundred years". It is clear then that, while Kino is a native, the doctor is of European descent, given the imperialist description of his people over Kino's.
The doctor is also characterized for being fat (an allegory to his greed)
He was growing very stout, and his voice was hoarse with the fat that pressed on his throat
and for talking down to the natives as if they were "animals." Kino clearly resents this.
Because of his higher social status, the doctor can afford to live in a house with fountains, gardens and a high bed. At the time Kino goes to visit, the doctor is wearing silk from Paris, and he is sipping chocolate from china cups. We know that, after confirming that Kino and Juana did not have money to pay for the treatment, he refuses them and tells his servant to say that he has left to treat a "serious" case.
This being said, it is clear that the doctor is the classical fat, irreverent, abusive and greedy cultural bully who sucks the subculture for his own benefit. He is not a doctor of the people, nor for the people. He is just another colonial "god".
Kino is the complete opposite. From the very beginning of the story we know that he is a product of his land and society.
Kino was young and strong and his black hair hung over his brown forehead. His eyes were warm and fierce and bright and his mustache was thin and coarse
He is referred to as an "Indian", and lives in utter poverty, having as his only sustenance the resources from the sea. He is a fisherman, and his values are evident in that he is supportive and loving of his family. A man who causes no problems to his neighbor, Kino can be classified as a model citizen. This is even more evident when, after the finding of the pearl, Kino begins to change dramatically for the worse. Yet, Kino's good will triumphed over sin for, voluntarily, he got rid of the pearl himself.