If we cannot overcome evil, we should at least escape it

I recently watched the movie “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck. It’s the story of an Indian family in La Paz, Mexico, years ago. The father, Kino, like all the people in his small village, is a pearl diver. One day, a scorpion stings Kino’s son, Coyotito. The boy’s mother, Juana, sucks the poison out and hopes that it will save their child. (The wealthy town doctor refuses to treat the baby because Kino cannot pay the doctor’s fee.)

Later that day, Kino goes diving and finds a gigantic pearl, “the Pearl of the World.” News of this pearl travels quickly around the town. Some townspeople begin plotting ways to steal it. The arrogant, greedy, conniving doctor organizes the pearl merchants to convince Kino that his pearl is worth very little because it is too large. They are to offer him a fraction of what is worth.

Kino dreams of marrying Juana in church, buying a rifle and sending Coyotito to school. He believes that an education will free his son from the poverty and ignorance that has oppressed his people for more than 400 years.

The doctor comes to treat Coyotito once he learns of Kino’s pearl. Although Juana’s ingenuity has healed the baby, the pseudo doctor takes advantage of Kino’s ignorance and convinces the man that the child will die without his care. The doctor then manipulates Kino into revealing where he has hidden the great pearl. Kino moves the pearl when the doctor leaves. That night, an intruder comes into the hut and roots around near the spot where the pearl was first buried.

When Kino tries to sell the pearl in town, buyers try to cheat him. Kino refuses to sell the pearl and plans to travel to another city to sell it at a fair price. Juana warns Kino that the pearl is evil and will destroy his family, but he refuses to throw it away because it is his one chance to provide a different life for his family.

That night, Juana takes the pearl and tries to throw it into the sea, but Kino stops her. On his way back to their hut, someone attacks Kino. He kills the man in self-defense. Juana goes to gather their things so they can escape. She finds the floor of their hut completely dug up. Someone then sets their hut on fire.

The young family had planned to sail to another town in their boat but thugs destroyed it. They then embark on their journey to a new city at night. Kino discovers that trackers are following them. He knows that they will steal the pearl and kill his family if they catch them. Kino ends up killing the trackers and the family rides back into town on the leader’s horse.

Realizing that the pearl is cursed and is destroying his family, Kino and Juana hurl it into the sea. In the closing scene, the villagers too burn their huts and escape to another area where they will no longer be slaves.

The story teaches us that sometimes evil people can set up “evil systems” to keep others enslaved.

At times, people can overcome the system. That takes many years and many sacrifices by many people to go against the forces of evil, greed, avarice and prejudice.

At other times, like the early settlers who came to America to experience religious freedom, we have to escape from the system and begin life again.

That is what the villagers in Steinbeck’s story did.

The author of the first book of Peter says, “As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.” (1 Pet 2:16)

Let us use our freedom to serve and free one another.