Friday, October 30, 2009

Novel: The Pearl

Question:
Does the title of the novel you read suit the story?

In the novel, “The Pearl”,written by John Steinbeck, I find the the title of the novel “The Pearl” written by John Steinbeck, suits the story.
First of all, we can see that the novel begins with a picture of a happy Mexican family being threatened by a scorpion. To rescue their only son, Kino and Juana requested for a treatment from the evil doctor but was denied. Instead of giving up, Kino dived into the sea and looked for the pearl. As if luck was on their side, Kino found the great pearl. Finding the pearl was a big turn to Kino's life.
The pearl was not only seen by Kino as a symbol of hope but it was a sign of wealth. The pearl provided hope for Kino to treat his son. Now with the pearl, he would be able to pay the doctor to treat his son. With the pearl, he would also able to improve his standard of living as he could afford to send his son to school to get education. He would not be ignorant and easily fooled by the coloniser. He would also able to marry his wife, Juana at the church ,buy new clothes and a rifle for himself.
The focus on the pearl continues as it spread its evil influence on the life of the people around Kino.
The finding of the pearl had led the doctor to become greedy. Instead of treating Coyotito, he gave him poison and then gave him medication for the poison. He took advantage over Kino's ignorant. He was so cruel for a good doctor would never think about making money from other people's miseries.
The priest was also depicted to have ill-intention. He had never visited the poor Kino at his small hut before Kino found the pearl. When he visited Kino, he insisted that Kino and Juana should go through a proper Christian Wedding at the church. He only wanted Kino's money for the church.
The pearl buyers had also cheated Kino. They had planned and worked together to offer a low price for the great pearl. They wanted to make as much money as they could from the poor native Mexican like Kino. They were heartless! They neither thought about the hard life Kino was going through nor the critical condition of Kino's son, Coyotito.
The pearl follows the character towards the end of the story. When Kino and his family were fleeing to another city, three trackers followed them. They wanted to snatch away the pearl from Kino. Seeing the only way for him to save his family was to kill the trackers before they kill him and his family, Kino tried to attack the trackers but it was too late. His son was shot by one of the trackers. The death of Coyotito ended hopes, wealth and evil that come with the pearl.
From the evidences above , it is clear that “The Pearl “is always the focus of the story and the title given suits the novel very well.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

in English subject, what kind of plot that student need to do? Is it such as in your post under "Plot summary" is it like that or have another way to right it?

fuzie said...

Dear anonymous,
Plot is actually the storyline or events that happen in sequence.Every good novel must have a plot. Nobody can write a novel without a plot.
Are you referring to plot summary as synopsis?