The pearl in The Pearl by John Steinbeck shows the traits of the characters in their worst moments, but the pearl mostly showed the trait "greed" in Kino because of the way his life was before it is almost reached. rich. Greed and lust took over his mind and personality and changed his personality. The author showed this throughout the book in different ways. Steinbeck uses the symbol of the pearl to show the power of greed through Kino's constant list of desires, his lust for money, and his constant violence. Kino was extremely self-centered throughout the book, and one example was when he first discovered the pearl. Kino kept seeing all these grand fantasies on the surface, and he ended up being brainwashed by the power the pearl possessed. “Blahblah” (Steinbeck #). He became obsessed with getting all his wishes, and whenever terrible things happened and he did terrible things to people, he kept seeing his wishes in the pearl. “Blahblah” (Steinbeck #). Her fixation on her dreams got her into trouble, and the pearl brought out that unwanted side....