When ignorance traps us into having to trust the words of a knowledgeable person, we run the risk of going by the advice that may be benefiting the other person. This is exactly the paradox that Kino, the main character of Steinbeck's The Pearl, had to face. Through deceitful actions and purposeful misleading, many characters from Steinbeck's novel The Pearl are used as literacy tools to convey the theme `knowledge is power, but a power that can be abused.'

Early in the story, the town's doctor is abuses his knowledge of medicine to cheat Kino. Although Kino was unsure of the doctor's credibility, he "could not take the chance pitting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.' (Steinbeck, 30) Simple as it was, Juana gave the baby a seaweed treatment for his scorpion sting that was as good as any. When the doctor first arrives, Kino...