What does Steinbeck suggest the relationship of wealth and destruction is?

It is not that money is the “root of all evil,” but the love of money. In Kino’s case, it is what that money can bring to his life to change it for the better. In Chapter 1, it is clear that Kino is content with his lot in life. He has a wife, a child, a home, and a means for making a living for them all. It is only when he discovers the pearl that he begins to dream bigger dreams of material prosperity (relatively speaking). He wants an education for his son, a wedding for his wife, and perhaps a rifle for himself. To him, this means a great advance in his station in life.

The underlying theme is that money itself cannot buy happiness. In fact, more often it brings sadness, discontentment, even death. The “siren call” of the wealth that the pearl represents finally disappears when Kino and Juana throw back the pearl into the sea from whence it came.