An Analysis of Imagery and Mood in John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl” Anonymous 12th Grade

John Steinbeck, in The Pearl, employs creative use of language and style, carefully creating a story that registers vividly in the mind of the reader. Through his artistic and slightly varied, cautious choice of words, Steinbeck brings into perspective the role of imagery in enhancing the mood of the literary work. He amalgamates his excellent choice of words with prodigious and phenomenal specifics of the setting, engages the use of similes and metaphors, all of which form descriptions aimed at establishing the mood of the story, tapping an image of the same in the mind of the reader. In this paper, an analysis of how Steinbeck achieves imagery and its role in setting the mood of the novel is discussed comprehensively, deriving annotated illustrations from the work.

Steinbeck engages a creative use of language in which in his effort to bring out the setting of the story, comparatively relates some of the characters to wildlife. In the preceding chapters of The Pearl, Steinbeck uses imagery, particularly about Kino, his wife Juana, as well as the trackers. For instance, Steinbeck refers to the trackers “ sensitive as hounds” (73), and then as “excited dogs on a warming trail” (73), and finally as “scurrying ants and behind them...