John Steinbeck - The Pearl Essay Topics

John Steinbeck - The Pearl Essay TopicsThere are many John Steinbeck literary works, but which are his most popular works? Is The Pearl Season one of his best works, or does it hold a special place in his heart? In addition to writing about the US Civil War in this novel, it was later turned into a motion picture, starring Richard Burton and Sophia Loren.The Pearl Season is the first part of a three part novel, The Pearl Kings. It starts with an investigation of the death of a man on the banks of the Mississippi River. His body is not found until after the real killer has already fled town.This is an almost unimaginable sight, as there has never been anything so close to such violence. When people witness such violence they know what to do or say in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. With no one to protect him, John finds himself compelled to help the police to catch the murderer. Although it seems that he will have no chance at all, the murder suspect has yet to leave town, and he will make his move shortly.As the story continues, John is shown the life of another man living in the town of Pearl, Mississippi. You see, the only man who seems to ever take notice of what happens to John is Thomas, a railroad engineer. Thomas wants to keep the town safe, but many people feel he doesn't understand the true nature of the situation.But when it comes to investigating John's murder, Thomas gets distracted and fails to notice something so very wrong about the scene of the crime. The culprit has already left town and has yet to be caught, and when he is finally caught, he tells Thomas that he was 'one of John Steinbeck's gods.' The person is another casualty of the war, and he was lucky to escape it alive.Thus begins a third part to The Pearl: The Return of Thomas, who desperately wants to keep the town safe and rid it of 'sin.' When he is drawn to Thomas's story, he sees a chance to help save his own life and to take back what was once his. He needs to ge t into Thomas's head, and learn what it is that drives him.While Thomas and John are both trying to protect their townsmen, they each fall in love with another woman, and for this reason, The Pearl is a classic love story of love, hate, redemption, and destruction. Each character will deal with problems that will test their belief systems and help them come to terms with the past and their present.For me, this is a novel that goes deep into the pain of the Civil War and shows how the war in that time can sometimes bring out the best in people. I have read all of the novels in the series and really enjoyed them all. John Steinbeck had a vision in his mind, but it took a while to come to fruition, and yet in some ways it worked, and in other ways it didn't, but in the end, it was worth the wait.