The Black Pearl

Fiction | Novella | Middle Grade | Published in 1967

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Themes

Man Versus Nature

Many works of art and literature depict the antagonistic relationship humanity has with its environment, usually because of our attempt to dominate or control it; examples include Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, both likely influences on The Black Pearl. The man versus nature theme can also serve as a moral—a lesson about caring for the Earth that the author attempts to impart to the reader. Scott O’Dell’s The Black Pearl portrays humanity’s contentious relationship with the environment in much the same way.

The industrialization of the pearl trade is central to the parasitic relationship that the novel’s humans have with their environment. Unlike Soto Luzon, who treats the sea with respect, Salazar and Son and the other pearl dealers along the coast of the Vermilion Sea resemble commercial mining operations. The divers take oysters and pearls straight from the ocean, leaving nothing behind, significantly impacting the ecosystem, and ultimately hurting the longevity of their own livelihood. Driven by an unsatiated need for more pearls and greater wealth, Blas leads his large fleet back into the ocean only days after the Pearl of Heaven is found. Other societal institutions support Blas’s capitalist endeavors—most notably religion in the form of the local church. When Blas wants the Madonna’s blessing, Father Gallardo gives it: “Speed them to the pearling grounds and bring them safely home. We ask that You bless the House of Salazar that has so honored our church this day, that they may find another pearl as large as the one they have given” (58). The safety of the divers appears as a side note, tacked on to the wish that the Salazar house be granted even more pearls and wealth.

The conflict between man and nature also reflects the novel’s interest in toxic masculinity. Male characters like Ruiz and (initially) Ramón understand manliness in terms of competition, power, and violence, and this extends to their relationship with nature. The stories Ruiz tells to bolster his image often center on his supposed conquests of the natural world; he even has tattoos commemorating the animals he claims to have killed. Of course, since wealth, capitalism, and patriarchal inheritance frequently coincide in The Black Pearl, the characters’ economic exploitation of the ocean is itself related to masculinity.

Nature answers this violence in kind when the fleet returns to search for even more pearls. The familiar environment around Ramón seems to change drastically, turning hostile and strange: “There were no stars and the clashing of the palms could not be heard. The sound was lost in the voice of the wind that had become the screams of a thousand frightened gulls” (63). The wind also blows so hard over the town that the next day that “the palms were stripped of their leaves, and tiles from the roof lay scattered around” (63). This destruction demonstrates how nature’s sheer force has the capacity to ruin everything that humanity has built. Despite mankind’s attempt to harness the environment for its own benefit, nature remains utterly beyond human control.

Hubris as Humanity’s Fatal Flaw

Hubris is an overabundance of pride, while a fatal flaw is a personality trait that ultimately leads to a character’s downfall. Greek mythology frequently unites the two, such as in the tale of Icarus, who flies too close to the sun and dies as a result. Similarly, it’s an excess of pride that leads both Ruiz and Blas to their ends in The Black Pearl.

The Sevillano is the clearest example of hubris; he is a loudmouthed braggart, always eager to be the center of attention and to show off to the people around him. Ruiz’s hubris is not only evident in his tall tales but on his body: “Not only did he brag about these things, but many of them were tattooed on his body” (19). To make his many lies more real, Ruiz has inked them into his skin. He is especially desperate to show off his own manliness. Even as he faces down a giant manta ray, Ruiz refuses Ramón’s help, eager to show off his own strength. Ramón senses Ruiz’s courage is “an act” (91), but Ruiz’s pride refuses to let him falter in the face of a threat—especially in front of Ramón, whom he considers to be a weaker man. It is Ruiz’s refusal to accept help or to acknowledge the ocean’s indomitability that ultimately leads to his death.

While Blas’s hubris manifests differently, his pride nonetheless results in his downfall. Blas’s pride stems from his bribe to the church; he believes that the gift of the pearl to the Madonna will protect him from the dangers of the ocean. He continues to believe this even when faced with a dangerous storm, as Ruiz describes: “But all the time the black pearl was there in his mind…I could tell…by the way he spoke, so sure about the storm and everything, that he felt, he knew that God had hold of his hand” (87). While Ruiz’s pride centers on his own abilities and strength, Blas’s hubris stems from his adamance that the Madonna blesses the Salazar family. Nevertheless, their overconfidence and recklessness ultimately result in both their deaths.

The Mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples

O’Dell consistently refers to indigenous peoples as “Indians”—a term that some see as offensive, at least when not prefaced by “American.” The novel’s depiction of its indigenous characters is similarly complex. Characters often speak about indigenous communities with disdain, showcasing how most La Paz residents hold prejudices against them. The novel draws particular attention to the long colonial history of Catholic missionary work among indigenous communities. Father Gallardo, for example, views the Pearl of Heaven as an opportunity for conversion: “For many years I have tried to coax these savages into my church but failed” (57). The use of the term “savage” continues the cycle of colonial violence upon the community. The novel also questions Gallardo’s implied disdain for indigenous “superstitions”; instead, it suggests a parallel between indigenous beliefs and Christian faith, treating the two as roughly equivalent.

In this sense, the work critiques racial and cultural bias. It also depicts (and condemns) a dynamic similar to colonialism; Blas is determined to dive in the lagoon and find more pearls in the cave, but Ramón tells him that Luzon already “owns” the area: “It is his lagoon and he will not allow you to dive there” (61). At the same time, harmful and problematic stereotypes inform the novel itself. Other than Luzon, indigenous characters appear in the text only as servants to the Salazar family or as perpetrators of violence. The residents of the Island of the Dead are a prime example of the latter—a “tribe of Indians who were known to do away with all those who landed there” (80).

Luzon himself embodies these tensions. He is a sympathetic figure, and the novel largely vindicates his warnings about Manta Diablo, as well as his more sustainable relationship with the environment. This is in and of itself stereotypical, however; Luzon exists largely to support someone else’s story, and the role he plays—that of a wise mentor who is closer to the land—reflects Western fantasies about indigenous peoples (and is therefore a form of romantic racism). The Black Pearl thus points out the historical mistreatment of indigenous communities while also being complicit in it.