The Pearl
What are the functions of the setting in the story?
The main settings are town, village and beach.
The main settings are town, village and beach.
The time is unclear but a good guess might be late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Steinbeck introduces us to a poor but rather pleasant simple Mexican coastal village called La Paz, probably on the Baja Peninsula. The setting gives us a little background to a place where impoverishment and contentment walk a fine line. We also quickly understand how life altering this pearl is for Kino and his family.