Super Short Summary: The pearl by John Steinbeck tells about a poor, young, Indian pearl diver named Kino, who is married to Juana, and has a little boy named Coyotito. His family is very poor and this especially shows when their little boy gets bitten by a scorpion and needs medical assistance but when the doctor doesn't give the family help because of their poverty, Kino travels back out to the sea to find the pearl of the world which will bring him wealth. He indeed does find the pearl but it does not bring his family good and instead causes Kino to kill many people, his family gets injured many times, they have to run from their home, and even causes the murder of his son. The pearl is eventually to devastating to his family and he finally brings himself to throw it back into the sea.
Best Lines:
" He saw a very large oyster."
--Page 24 paragraph 1
"Juana cast her eyelashes down and arranged her shawl to cover her face so that her excitement could not be seen. "
--Page 31 paragraph 3
"This pearl is like fools gold. It is too big. "
--Page 64 paragraph 5
"In the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito laying in the cave with the top of his head shot off."
--Page 117 paragraph 2
Thematic Connections: The Pearl explores the importance of not being greedy. Greed is what caused the pain and suffering for Kino and his family. His wife told him many times to put the pearl back into the sea but because of the worth and what it may bring to his family, Kino kept the pearl to himself. This same theme runs through one of my favorite books, "The Lorax." In this book, the Once-ler gives into his greed for profit and cuts down too many Truffula trees, similar to Kino keeping the pearl for himself because of it's profit. The Once-ler's greed leads to devastation to the environment, as does Kino's greed cause harm to his family.
Style: John Steinbeck uses a sympathetic, realistic, and honest tone in his stories including "The Pearl." He uses these tones in order to portray a moral lesson to the audience. He shows symethy to his characters but does not create a happy ending for them and instead uses realistic, non happy events. In "The Pearl," Steinbeck starts off by explaining the family's poverty but gives them hope when they find the pearl. But as most endings to his book, he ends it with pain, violence, and limited resources. The author uses a lot of vivid imagery such as the "The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east." The author's diction is mainly formal and technical language such as "strenuous", "appraise", and "avarice." John's syntax consists of dialogue, run-ons, and complex sentences such as "His senses were burningly alive, but his mind went back to the deep participation will all things."
Critique: This book is actually one of my favorite books I have read. I have never read a book of his before and i really enjoyed it. This book managed to tell a moral lesson through a story setting which made the lesson more memorable and interesting. His word choice and imagery made the story more realistic and made me want to keep reading. His characters were explained very well and I felt an emotional connection to them. I overall love this book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read with a strong meaning and lesson.
Citations: Steinbeck, John. The Pearl (1945). Bantam, 1964.