When they find the pearl, both Juana and Kino exercise great tact in not angering the gods by showing their eagerness to open the big oyster. The reader is to understand this as primitive superstition. Since the pearl is to be the means whereby Coyotito will receive an education, it is ironic that the superstition is important here. In addition to the concept of superstition, the delay may also be seen merely as a device for arousing suspense.
Note the descriptions of the pearl. It is first described as "the great pearl, perfect as the moon." Now it is a force for great good; it will only gradually become a force for great evil. As Kino holds the pearl in the same hand that he smashed against the doctor's gate, there is the suggestion that the pearl will ultimately be used to prevent such injustices. In the hands of Kino, the simple and primitive man, the pearl is a force for great good, but when the pearl becomes known to the more civilized world, it will then become a force for evil. Both of the first two chapters end with the mention of Kino's wounded hand, a hand which will influence his actions throughout the rest of the novella. The goodness of the pearl is represented by the fact that young Coyotito's wound has disappeared.
