In the story there are a series of tragic events that affect everything around them, such as World War II. World War II changed societies, reframed intellectual assumptions, altered racial and gender relations, and more. (Lee 5) Due to World War II, he helped author John Steinbeck write the novel The Pearl. In the novel the main setting of the story is set in Mexico, as well as the Gulf of California. This setting was chosen by the author because “the Indians of Mexico had been under the rule of people of Spanish origin” (Barron's14). In the story you can see the different lifestyles of the rich and the poor. Kino and his family didn't have much money and were at the bottom of the social class. Kino lived where "beyond the bush fence were other bush houses, and the smoke and the sound of breakfast came from them too" (Steinbeck 2). On the other hand the upper class lives a different lifestyle than Kino. Where the doctor lived he had money and was “where the bush houses ended and the city of stone and plaster began, the city of hard outer walls and cool inner gardens” (Steinbeck 5). The reader can clearly see the two different lifestyles in the novel. In the novel the characters are divided into different social classes depending on how much money they have. Steinbeck created characters that fit the setting. In order to understand what kind of characters he wanted in his story, Steinbeck was an “observer of human nature” (Barron's 1). Most of Steinbeck's characters were “troubled, isolated, and oppressed” (Barron's 1). The author wanted to show the struggle between rich and poor. Keeping with this theme Steinbeck created the distinctive... center of paper... any money. I, I alone in the world, should work for free” (Steinbeck 7). This shows doctors' greed for money. All the doctor cares about is that his patients have the money to pay for his work, otherwise he has no sympathy for anyone, especially Kino's race. The doctor grew up as “a race that for nearly a hundred years had beaten, starved, robbed, and despised Kino's race” (Steinbeck 6). Clearly the doctor is similar to Americans and how they treat other ethnicities due to their differences. Kino was treated the same as the Mexicans. Both were judges because of who they were and because of their beliefs. Clearly there was a similarity to what happened during World War II and La Perla, Kino and the Mexicans were mistreated everywhere and had to face the hardships of life struggling to survive with their families.