From an early age, Steinbeck showed a rebelliousness and opposition to the traditional way of life. To please his parents, he studied at Stanford University. However, after a while he preferred to pick fruit, work in the sugar plantations or simply wander around the country. While traveling in the Gulf of California, in search of a setting for one of his historical works, he confesses to having heard the legend that forms the basis of this work from the natives of the coast of the narrow Gulf.
The story is simple, almost a parable, and seems, indeed, inspired by an oral tradition. A scorpion stings Coyotito, the son of Kino and his wife Joane, two poor fishermen. The doctor does not want to treat them because they have no money, and they wish with all their might to find a pearl to change their luck, a very expensive one that could give them the necessary attention from the doctor. And so it happens, they find in the sea the most beautiful pearl in the world. But the interest of the pearl changes their lives. Kino quickly becomes obsessed with the material things the pearl could bring them. Instead of enjoying his family and their company, as he did at first, he becomes discontented and is always looking for more. The pearl merchants will try to trick him...
The interest of this novel resides in the confrontation between two worlds, that of the rich and that of the poor, and in the process of change in human relations, depending on the economic situation of the people. This narrative is thought-provoking.