The Pearl is a novella by the American author John Steinbeck.

The story, first published in 1947, follows a pearl diver, Kino, and explores man's purpose as well as greed, defiance of societal norms, and evil.

Steinbeck's inspiration was a Mexican folk tale from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, which he had heard in a visit to the formerly pearl-rich region in 1940.