The "pearl of great price" is a biblical reference, and Steinbeck inverts it. In the Bible, one sells everything to buy the pearl of heaven. Here, Kino loses everything to keep a pearl of earth. The religious inversion is a fascinating angle for study. Theology students may use the pearl pdf to contrast the parable with its biblical counterpart. It suggests that earthly treasures are not just distractions, but active agents of destruction that separate man from his true spiritual family.