The flesh-colored dress represents the outer layer Kino had to physically cut through in order to reach the actual pearl, and the cut of the dress is a bit daring because this is the point when Kino becomes more daring and wilder– certainly more likely to take risks. The white purse adds a luxurious touch (as does the classic black trench), but has a subtle snakeskin design that foreshadows, in a way, the dangers that the pearl brings.

The pearl jewelry is pretty self-explanatory, and I settled on neutral shoes that are embellished but still complement the dress without taking anything away from the other accessories.

3. Evils of the Night

“And the evils of the night were about them. The coyotes cried and laughed in the brush, and the owls screeched and hissed over their heads. And once some large animal lumbered away, crackling the undergrowth as it went. And Kino gripped the handle of the big working knife and took a sense of protection from it” (Steinbeck).   

Product Info: Jacket – Urban Outfitters, Tank – Etsy, Leggings – J. Crew, Boots – Forever 21, Socks – Francesca’s

This scene appears in the last, climactic chapter of the novella and, to me, is the very opposite of the first quote at the beginning of the book. Nature is described like a powerful force in both scenes, but here, nature and the animals do not represent a part of everyday life, and instead offer a very threatening element. Kino no longer gains solace from his surroundings, but needs to feel protection from his knife– a man-made object– instead.

As I have said before, I don’t want to spoil anything major, but this scene definitely winds you up for the upcoming violence and brutality that is about to occur and change Kino’s life forever. This is generally just a very dark scene that demonstrates the distance that has grown between Kino and nature itself, with the pearl as an active agent in this shift.