Symbolic Statements in The Pearl

In The Pearl, there is a lot of symbolism. I feel the pearl in itself is the source of a lot of symbolism. The pearl almost is a sign of greed, because it is what pushes the people of the town to become jealous, and mean to Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. Yet for Juana and Kino, the pearl encompasses the feelings of hope. For the two it is the gateway to a brighter future for them, the pearl's money could let them get out of poverty, it could get Coyotito into school. But still it brings out feelings of greed in Juana and Kino by Kino stating that he will buy many, fantastic things. I think when Juana told Kino to throw the pearl back into the ocean, she had realized that its power was twisting Kino's mind; but she always knew Kino wouldn't throw it back, so she would still have it. A man that especially fell for the greed of the pearl was the doctor. He was already a greedy man, yet the pearl pushed him over the edge. In The Pearl he may symbolize evil, but I think he also stands for grief because he caused nothing but anguish to Juana, Kino, and Coyotito. For one he poisoned Coyotito, and two he only helped after he had heard about the pearl. That is why he is likely to have been or have ordered the person who snuck into Juana and Kino's hut to steal the pearl. The neighbors were another surprising symbol of greed in The Pearl. I thought it was wonderful how John Steinbeck portrayed the neighbors as a horde that news swept fast through. He made them seem as if they were an ocean amidst a scene of distress. Yet they represented greed, because the news that was spread was in fact what made them greedy. They felt huge waves of jealousy towards Kino and Juana because of their marvelous luck. They were the first native people to become as rich as the Spanish men. But the neighbors weren't the only jealous people of Kino and Juana's luck, the townspeople were very jealous too. The townspeople were extremely jealous, but their jealousy spread differently from the neighbors. The townspeople's jealousy spread from the bottom up, it started from the beggars, and then the richer people found out and got jealous. The priest sort of surprised me with his symbolism. I wasn't expecting the priest to be as deceptive as he was. When his immediate thoughts went to "Have I married them? Have I baptized their child?" I knew something was wrong. Steinbeck probably used the priest as a symbol of human deception and darkness, sort of an alter ego. I think Kino and Juana couldn't have handled the neighbors' and townspeoples' jealousy, the doctor's greed, and the priest's deception because they did the best thing: just being themselves in the best and worst of times.