When Kino tries to sell his pearl in the town of La Paz, he is met with a conspiracy of pearl buyers working for a single boss to cheat him. This realization that the game is rigged against him is a pivotal moment of awakening. It transforms Kino from a passive victim into a man willing to kill to protect his rights. If you are analyzing the economic themes of the novel, having the pearl pdf handy makes it easier to cite the dialogue between Kino and the dealers. It is a powerful illustration of the exploitation of labor and the difficulty of breaking out of established social hierarchies.