The Pearl: A person that I would like to emulate.

The Pearl

The person that I would like to emulate in “The Pearl” written by John Steinbeck is Juana. I find that Juana is a good and dutiful wife, a loving and a devoted woman and a very strong courageous woman.

First, as a wife, she gets up before Kino and prepares corn cakes for him. She only eats when Kino has eaten. She speaks only when she is spoken to. She does so because she respects him. She values what Kino has done for her. She is happy with her decent life. She is grateful to have a responsible husband and a healthy son.

Next, as a mother, Juana loves her baby, Coyotito. When Coyotito is stung by the scorpion, she quickly sucks the poison out and asks for a doctor to treat his son. She sucks out the poison without thinking of the risk. When the doctor refuses to treat Coyotito, she does not give up hope. She tries an alternative treatment that she knows. She applies a poultice of seaweed on Coyotito’s wound. She also chants and pray to God to save her son.
Juana also shows her devotion to both her husband and son. When Coyotito is stung by the scorpion, she asks for a doctor. Even though she knows that they cannot afford to pay him, she insists on getting treatment for her son. Similarly, when Kino decides to leave La Paz, she follows him without much arguement. She devotes herself to her husband even after Kino hits her for trying to throw away the pearl back into the sea.

Moreover, I admire Juana for her strength and courage. She is not a greedy person. When she senses that the pearl is evil, she asks Kino to throw it back into the sea. When Kino refuses, she takes matter in her own hands. She tries to throw it into the sea but is prevented by Kino. Then, when her husband accidentally killed an attacker, she gives her full support. She follows hiM to another city . When Kino asks her to leave first with Coyotito so that he can fight the trackers who are following them, Juana refuses him. She insists on staying by his side.
Again Juana shows her strength and courage when her son is killed by the trackers. Instead of giving up and living in regrets, she carries Coyotito’s dead body on her back and asks Kino to throw the pearl back into the sea. Returning the pearl to where it belongs implies that Kino is throwing away the evil that has ripped off their happiness. She hopes without the evil pearl, she will be able to begin a new life.

So, it is clear that Juana is a person I should emulate. Even though she is only a woman from low class background, she has so many wonderful values and great qualities that many women do not possess.

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.

Novel:The Pearl

QUESTION: Describe the most interesting event in the novel.Give reasons why do you find it interesting.
I find the most interesting incident in the novel, “The Pearl” written by John Steinbeck, is when Kino takes Coyotito to see the doctor.

Firstly, it is interesting because the incident is made dramatic. All the way from Kino’s hut, the neighbours tag behind him. Then when he reaches the town, everyone including the beggars, also follow him making the visit to the doctor looks like a procession. Everyone seems curious to know whether the greedy doctor will treat Kino’s son. They are waiting to watch a live drama acted by Kino and the doctor.

Next, it is interesting because it shows how the poor is exploited by the rich and educated. In this incident, Kino is helpless due to his ignorance and poverty. He has no other options but to seek treatment for his son from the doctor. As expected, the doctor refuses to treat his son because he cannot pay him. Yet, the humiliation of being rejected does not deter him from finding the great pearl so that his son can be cured.

Lastly, it is interesting as it depicts how the rich and poor differ from each other vividly. The doctor is projected as living in a brick house, drinking chocolate from porcelain cup and wearing silk robe. Meanwhile Kino is pictured as someone who lives in a brush hut, eating corn cakes for breakfast and dives for pearl to support his wife and son. This incident alone able to demonstrates the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and the simple hard life of the poor.

The Pearl: Plot Summary

Kino, a young pearl diver in La Paz, enjoys his simple life until the day his son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion. The wealthy town doctor will not treat the baby because Kino cannot pay the doctor's fee, so Kino and his wife, Juana, are left only to hope their child is saved. That day Kino goes diving, and finds a great pearl, the Pearl of the World, and knows he is suddenly a wealthy man. The word travels quickly about the pearl and many in the town begin to plot ways to steal it.

While the towns people plot against Kino, he dreams of marrying Juana in a church, buying a rifle, and sending Coyotito to school so that he can learn to read. Kino believes that an education will free his son from the poverty and ignorance that have oppressed their people for more than four hundred years.

The doctor comes to treat Coyotito once he learns of Kino's pearl, and although the baby is healed by Juana's remedy, the doctor takes advantage of Kino's ignorance. He convinces Kino that the child is still ill and will die without the care of a doctor. The doctor then manipulates Kino into unwittingly revealing where he has hidden the great pearl. Kino moves the pearl when the doctor leaves. That night, an intruder comes into Kino's hut and roots around near the spot where Kino had first buried the pearl.

The next day, Kino tries to sell the pearl in town. The pearl buyers have already planned to convince Kino that the great pearl he has found is worth very little because it is too large. This way they can purchase the pearl for a low price. But when the buyers try to cheat Kino, he refuses to sell the pearl and plans to travel to another city to sell at a fair price. His brother, Tom Juan, feels Kino's plan is foolish because it defies his entire way of life and puts his family in danger. Kino is now on his own, although he doesn't know it yet.

Juana warns Kino that the pearl is evil and will destroy his family, but he refuses to throw it away because it is his one chance to provide a different life for his family. That night, Juana takes the pearl and tries to throw it into the sea, but Kino stops her and beats her. On his way back to their hut, Kino is attacked and he kills the man in self-defense. Juana goes to gather their things and escape and finds the floor of their hut completely dug up. While she's inside the hut getting the baby, someone lights it on fire.

Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hide with Kino's brother for a day before embarking on their journey to a new city under the cover of darkness. While they are resting during the day, Kino discovers that there are trackers following them. He knows that they will steal the pearl and kill his family if they catch them. To escape, Kino and Juana take the baby and run to the mountains where they hide in a cave at nightfall. The trackers camp just below the ridge where they are hiding. Kino sneaks down in the night to kill the trackers, but before he can attack them, Coyotito cries out. The trackers, thinking it's a coyote, shoot at the dark cave where Juana and Coyotito are hiding. As the shot is fired, Kino springs on the trackers and kills them all. Unfortunately, Coyotito was killed by the first gunshot, and Kino's journey with the pearl ends in tragedy.

Realizing that the pearl is cursed and has destroyed his family (as Juana forewarned), Kino and Juana return to La Paz and throw the cursed pearl into the sea.