Compare and Contrast Essay
The Pursuit of Happyness and John Steinbeck’s The Pearl show us how two men, Chris and Kino, deal with poverty and other difficulties in their lives. Each story has different settings, characters, and time periods, but there are also parallels. Both characters end up running into some of the same issues, and have their own ways of handling these predicaments.
For both Kino and Chris, their stories begin with poverty. Kino lives in a brush house with dirt floors, and Chris lives in a rundown apartment until he is kicked out onto the streets. Chris can’t pay rent to house his family, and Kino can’t afford a doctor to treat his child. Family is something of high value to both of these characters, so they work to make sure needs are met. Kino works hard at his trade as a pearl diver and fisherman. Chris does the same with selling “bone density machines.” Kino wants to make sure that Coyotito is healthy, and Chris wants his son to get the best out of his daycare.
Another thing both of these characters have in common is that they are taken advantage of by society. Kino tries to sell his great pearl to the dealers, but they pretend it is not worth much. They offer him much less than the value of the pearl, but Kino refuses to accept that. He becomes angry, and is determined to sell his pearl for a high price at the Capital. In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris signs a contract to sell a lot of “bone density machines.” He comes to the realization, that these machines don’t sell very well, and all his savings were invested in them. Kino is determined to receive more money for the pearl in order to send Coyotito to school, and Chris is determined to sell his “bone density machines” to pay for rent and childcare.
Though Kino and Chris have similar values, they didn’t always have or take the same opportunities. Kino stumbles upon a precious pearl when pearl diving. When he finds it he has all of these hopes and dreams of what he and his family could have. After the buyers’ offer to pay a fraction of the pearl’s price, Kino gets angry, and is determined to take his pearl to the capital. Chris, on the other hand, takes advantage of the opportunity to participate in an unpaid internship. He works through the course while caring for his son, and only sometimes having the privilege to sleep in a homeless shelter. Chris took the opportunity that came his way unlike Kino who only wanted the “right” opportunity. Kino’s story has a sad ending, and Chris’ has a happy one. Kino ends up losing his son and throwing the pearl back to the sea. In contrast, Chris ends up having a job at Dean Witter and making good money.
The Pursuit of Happyness and John Steinbeck’s The Pearl show how two characters use opportunity, and care for their family while in poverty. These two men differ with how they handle the events in their stories. Though Kino and Chris both experience loss, Chris experiences it at the beginning of his story, and for Kino, it’s at the end.