The Pearl

Juan Tomas tells Kino of a method used in the past by the villagers to get more money for their Pearl's. What was this method? How did the priest explain its lack of success?

In "The Pearl," by John Steinbeck, the villagers would give the pearls to agents in order to sell them in the capital. However, the priest explains that the agents' corruption is out of control, since they steal the pearls for sale and make the system fall. As a result, such behavior represents the cruelty of people who exceed their limits.