The Black Pearl

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.