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The Pearl
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Vocabulary
• Pivoting – turning
• Irresolution – indecision or hesitation
• Escarpment – steep cliff (created by
erosion)
• Petulant – irritable; peevish
• Intercession – the making of prayers or
pleas in behalf of someone else;
intervention
Vocabulary continued
• Germane – similar or relevant to
• Ulcerous – corrupt and rotting
• Malignant – dangerous and deadly; evil
Study Questions:
Why is Kino more convinced than ever that
the pearl is of great value?
He concludes that it must be worth a
great deal because hunters are following
the family which would not happen if the
pearl were valueless.
Steinbeck says Kino is being moved by “some
animal thing.” (pg. 69) What does the author
mean?
Kino is pursued and is reacting
instinctively: “He was cautious and wary
and dangerous.” (pg. 69) Age-old instincts
revive in him; Kino’s family’s survival
depends on stealth and cunning, not
human knowledge.
What awakens Kino from his sleep?
In some fashion, he senses danger.
Who is in the road? Why does he say they
will be back?
There are two Indian trackers and a man
on horseback. He knows they will be back
because they are good at what they do,
and it is only a question of time before
they pick up the trail.
Why does Kino consider letting the trackers take
him? What does Juana say that convinces him not
to do this?
He feels that if the trackers take him an
the pearl, they will leave Juana and the
baby alone. She says that they will kill
everyone, because Juana and Coyotito are
witnesses.
Why does Juana reject Kino’s plan to separate?
What does her resolve show about the changing
dynamics of Kino’s family?
She will not split up the family. Juana will
not blindly submit to whatever Kino says,
but her defiance gives Kino strength. They
have become equals.
What plan does Kino make to get rid of the
trackers?
He plans to sneak down in the dark and
kill the man with the rifle; he will then
shoot the other two before they can get
him.
What happens to disrupt his plan?
The moon comes out and lights up the
area, and Coyotito cries.
How is Kino described during the slaughter?
Kino, instead of an animal, becomes a
“terrible machine.” (page 86)
In their return to the village, what is unusual
about the way that Kino and Juana walk? What
might this signify?
Juana, as Kino’s inferior, has always
walked behind him. Now, they are walking
side by side. In addition the showing that
they are equals, this may signify that they
have put the old and traditional ways
behind them.
In Chapter 1, when Kino first looks at the pearl, he
sees a church wedding for Juana and himself. On
page 89, what does he see in the pearl?
He sees “the frantic eyes of the man in
the pool…and Coyotito lying in the cave
with the top pf his head shot away.” The
pearl is no longer beautiful; it has become
“ugly,” “malignant,” “gray,” and
“ulcerous.”
What action do Juana and Kino take at the
end of this story? Why?
Kino throws the pearl back into the sea. It
could be that Kino feels disgust with the
pearl and all that it represents. The pearl
has brought many changes to Kino:
ambition, dreams, greed, unhappiness,
death, etc. By ridding himself of the pearl,
Kino may have symbolically unburdened
himself and now may be able to return to
the simple life he knew before.