What are the literal and symbolic functions of Kino's canoe in The Pearl?
Kino's canoe is the tool he uses to provide for his family and is an essential part of his life. Kino's canoe enables him to catch fish and carries him to deeper waters, where he dives for pearls. Steinbeck writes that Kino's canoe was the "one thing of value he owned in the world" and was passed down through generations in his family. Symbolically, the canoe represents Kino's heritage, culture, and family. Kino's life and future are intricately linked to his canoe.
After Kino finds the Pearl of the World, he plans on traveling across the sea to the capital in his canoe, where he can sell the pearl for a high price. Kino then kills a man in self-defense and plans on using the canoe to escape from the village and flee the authorities. Unfortunately, Kino discovers that there is a gaping hole in the bottom of his canoe....
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Steinbeck writes,
"This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal" (32).
Given the fact that Kino planned on escaping the village in his canoe, the destroyed canoe symbolically represents the loss of hope and peace in Kino's life. The Song of Evil surrounds the sunken canoe, and Kino's life takes a turn for the worse. Kino's family, heritage, and peaceful existence are destroyed once his canoe is irreparably damaged.
Why was Kino's canoe so important to him in The Pearl?
In John Steinbeck’s novel, Kino is a fisherman. He needs a boat to go out into the sea every day and earn a living for himself, his wife, and their son. Because Kino comes from a line of fishermen, he has gained a deep understanding of the sea. The boat, which came down to him from his father, is part of that knowledge and, by extension, his heritage. In addition to fishing near the shore, the canoe can take him out farther, into the waters where he finds oysters with pearls. The practical value of Kino’s canoe is, therefore, a primary reason for its importance. If necessary, he could get another boat.
The emotional value of the boat is a more important reason. The fact that it comes from his family is critical to its value. The canoe is, in fact, the only possession he truly values. The boat is far more than an object; Kino understands it to be a living being. When he finds that someone has put a huge hole in his canoe, Kino not only becomes distraught that he cannot use it but even more, disgusted with the perpetrator.
The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal.
Although Kino had killed a man, it was in self-defense. The canoe, as he notes, never had that option. The wounds in the boat are an insult to his family and culture as well as damage to his property and harm to his livelihood.
One reason that Kino's canoe is so precious to him is because it was handed down to him from his father (and grandfather.) Kino is following in the tradition of his ancestors by making a living as a fisherman. This leads right into the second reason the canoe is such a pivotal object in Kino's life: without the canoe, he has no means by which to make a living. That canoe is his lifeline to catching fish and earning money.