Your freedom is gone and enjoyment of the little things that make life worth living -- eating with family members, for instance, and lying in bed with someone you love in safety and comfort. The scene in which Kino and Juana find water up in the mountains -- a very small pool of pure, fresh water -- bring out this idea. The simple things in life that God gives are what is important, not what you can buy. The water gives them life and satisfaction and beauty, whereas the pearl brings nothing but destruction, hatred, envy,...

The pearl cannot quench their thirst. Love and the simple enjoyments of life can.
Kino loses his innocence also when he focuses on money and possessions instead of spiritual things -- like home, family, community, fitting in, love, and honesty. The Bible says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." It sure seems that way in this story. Kino and Juana hardly knew evil existed in the beginning of the story. They didn't even realize that the doctor had made the baby sick for the sake of his own status and wealth. But as soon as money came into the picture, Kino experienced rage, danger, violence, bloodshed and the death of his child. Nothing is any good at all, if your child dies. Not all the pearls in the world.