At the beginning of each novel, both Kino and Hank are simple, relaxed and easy going characters. They both have one main thing in common, a beautiful wife with whom they are very content with, Kino’s wife with a child and Hank’s wife expecting. Although they know that their quality of life is less than magnificent, they are both happy with the way that things are. As they are presented with a large amount of money however, their values and attitudes towards their lives change dramatically. Kino, who lives in a village where life is very basic, sees his life as a song. All of his feelings correspond to a certain song, such as the ‘Song of the Family’ or the ‘Song of Evil’, which point to the nature of his cultural tradition. He already knew the many things he would do if he had enough money, like ‘being married in the church’, ‘Juana with a new shawl and skirt’ …and his son ‘will go to school’. Hank, like Kino, is also a simple man at the beginning of the story. He is an accountant who lives in a small country town, and is also content before coming across a plane crash bearing a large sum of money. However he never wished for a better life, or for more money, he was simply presented with it and with the help of his wife he eventually became murderous. As the discovery drove Hank straight into corruption, Kino’s corruption was more gradual and his wife Juana desperately wanted to rid the Pearl that completely changed his moral beliefs. Both characters however, go from being joyful at the beginning of the texts, to feeling regretful and angry that money destroyed their values and ultimately, their lives, by the end.
The corruption of the two characters extensively alters not only their lives, but the lives of those characters around them. As Kino and Hank shift from their happy selves to destructive forces, they both have very opposing effects on the lives of their families and friends. As the title implicates, the seemingly ‘simple plan’ of waiting to find out who the money belongs to, before doing anything with it, is ruined very quickly. As Hank’s wife gets involved, she plants ideas in Hank’s mind, which steer him even further in a bad direction. She tells him ‘You need to get Lou to confess. Jacob owes you now. That’s the key.’ as Hank is wondering what to do about murdering an old man of the town, who rides past him and his brother when they are in possession of the money. She shows similar traits to Lady Macbeth, who becomes infatuated with power, and in this case, with the power to have a much improved lifestyle. As the power of what to do with the money begins to get to Hank, he decides that burning the money is an easy way out of the situation he is now heavily a part of. However, his wife immediately takes control by remarking ‘What about me? Spending the rest of my life eight hours a day with a fake smile plastered on my face... checking out books, and then coming home to cook dinner for you...’, which forces Hank to change his mind. This affect of power over his wife also leads to betrayal between his brother Jacob, and Jacob’s best friend Lou, and eventually Hank is left feeling extremely guilty. Kino however, does not wish to use the Pearl that he discovers in an evil way, but mainly to cure his baby Coyotito who became severely ill after a deadly scorpion bite. His wife Juana fears the worst when trackers come after their family in search of the Pearl, and is affected in reverse to Hank’s wife, as all she wants to do is get rid of the Pearl. As it has more and more power over Kino, she becomes more hesitant and as it ironically ends in the death of their baby instead of his cure, Juana resigns to the idea that being wealthy is better than their original lifestyle.
The authors of ‘A Simple Plan’ and ‘The Pearl’ caution its readers that money is the root of all evil, and can corrupt an individual and cause betrayal.