What we can learn about the pearl's symbolism from the reactions it evokes is that people act differently when there is a lot of money around, and some people will do almost anything for some.
Human characteristics that the pearl brings out in Kino, Juana, the neighbors, the doctor, the priest, and the townspeople are hope, happiness, jealousy, regret, and fear. Human characteristics that Kino has are happiness and hope because he has a pearl. He feels that he is no longer poor and can give his family what he has always wanted to give them. Human characteristics that Juana has are hope, but also fear. She hopes that her family will have a good life and she fears that they are in danger because other people want the pearl very badly. Human characteristics that the neighbors have are happiness and jealousy because they are happy for Kino, but they wish that they had found the pearl instead of him. A human characteristic that the doctor has is regret. He regrets that he didn't help Kino when Kino was poor. A human characteristic that the priest has is happiness because Kino and Juana will become married at his church. The townspeople have human characteristics of jealousy and regret because they want the pearl and they never cared about Kino or gave him a second glance.
