In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the people have found out that no matter how hard they try, they will always be lied to and cheated until one of them learns to read and understand the people of a higher class; they will always wonder if the world is really round like they've been told or what pearls are really worth. There are still problems like this in society where people lie to others just so that they can get what they want.

There is a passage in the book that backs this up. The last pearl buyer says this "I will make no offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." This is talking about how the pearl buyers really want the pearl but that want to trick Kino into selling it very cheap so they can...