Plot Summary
Kino, a young pearl diver in La Paz, enjoys his simple life until the
day his son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion. The wealthy town doctor will not
treat the baby because Kino cannot pay the doctor's fee, so Kino and his wife,
Juana, are left only to hope their child is saved. That day Kino goes diving,
and finds a great pearl, the Pearl of the World, and knows he is suddenly a
wealthy man. The word travels quickly about the pearl and many in the town
begin to plot ways to steal it.
While the townspeople plot against Kino, he dreams of marrying Juana in
a church, buying a rifle, and sending Coyotito to school so that he can learn
to read. Kino believes that an education will free his son from the poverty and
ignorance that have oppressed their people for more than four hundred years.
