Transcript The Pearl” by John Steinbeck - English Language Arts

(1902-1968)
Born in Salinas, California
1962 Nobel Prize for Literature
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
The Seven Deadly Sins:
1. Pride
2. Envy
3. Anger
4. Sloth
5. Avarice
6. Gluttony
7. Lust
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck:
• Born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902, which is
the state of many of his stories.
• 2 qualities mark his work
1. a deep feeling for nature
2. a profound sympathy for people
• Wrote adaptation for stage for this novel
• Received New York Drama Critics Award
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
• Wrote “The Pearl” in 1944-45 with the setting of
La Paz on the Baja peninsula in which the pearl
industry is of great importance.
• This story is based upon a true story that
Steinbeck heard when he was there on a marine
biology expedition.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
• FOCUS- outcasts of society—the poor, the uneducated,
and the rebellious. It explores the corruption of
capitalism on a simple culture.
• CONFLICT—It illustrates Steinbeck’s outrage at man’s
inhumanity to man.
• It is also based upon Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:45-46
“Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in
search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great
value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
I. Facts:
A. Title: The Pearl
B. Type of work: Novella
C. Genre: Parable, allegory
1. parable: a story that teachers a lesson
2. allegory: a story whose characters
represent abstract ideas in order to teach a
lesson
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
D. Time written: 1944-1945
E. Narrator: anonymous narrator tells a story
as if he knows it well, but tells the story as a
storyteller from the time period
F. Point of view: third person omniscient .The
narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of
the characters in the story; told from multiple
point-of-views—Kino, Juana, and the doctor.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
G. Tense: this is told in the past
H. Setting: late 19th century or very early 20th
century in a Mexican coastal village called La Paz
on the Baja peninsula
I. Protagonist: Kino
J. Antagonist: doctor, trackers, evil
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
II. Characters:
A. Kino: dignified, hardworking, impoverished native
who works as a pearl diver. He is a simple man who
lives in a brush house with his wife and infant son,
Coyotito.
He is a motivated by basic drives of love for his family,
loyalty to traditions of his people, and frustration of his
people’s oppression by the Europeans.
In this parable, Kino represents the dangers of greed
and ambition.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
 B. Juana: She is Kino’s wife and is at first glad of the
pearl, and then she sees it as an agent of evil.
 She possesses a simple faith in divine powers of her
native village, but augments the powers that the
Europeans have instilled.
 Juana is more practical than Kino, but she is typically
submissive as her culture dictates, even when she does
not agree with her husband.
 Juana represents practicality and counterbalances Kino’s enthusiasm for money.
 She is the symbol of domestic happiness.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
C. Coyotito: Kino’s only infant son who is stung
by a scorpion. He represents purity and goodness.
He is helpless to improve his situation.
The efforts of greed do more harm than good.
D. Juan Tomás: Kino’s older brother. The loyalty
and family support is here, as well as his guidance.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
E. Apolonia: Juan Tomás’s wife and mother of
four children. She is also sympathetic to Kino and
Juana’s plight and helps and supports as family
devotion in the culture.
F. Doctor: a small time colonial who wants to be
wealthy. He represents greed, arrogance, and
condescension at the heart of the colonial society
(European).
He represents the society that oppresses Kino and
his people.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
G. Priests: They represent moral virtue and
goodness, but really only interested in
exploiting Kino’s wealth like everyone else.
H. Dealers: Well-organized and corrupt
cheat and take advantage of Indian pearl
divers and they long to cheat Kino out of his
pearl.
I. Trackers: this is a group of violent and
corrupt men that follow Kino and Juana.
They represent the pursuing evil.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
K. Major Conflicts Internal & External:
1. Man vs. Self: Kino faces horrible thought that
his son might die.
2. Good vs evil
3. Wealth vs poverty
4. Education vs ignorance
5. Kino vs. Greed: loses himself & his family for
material object.
6. Man vs. Man: People try to steal the pearl,
Pearl dealers try to lower the value of the pearl
7. Man vs. Nature: Supernatural= the pearl itself
8. Tradition & Culture vs. Capitalism
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
L. Rising Action:
1. Scorpion stings Coyotito
2. Kino discovers a great pearl
3. Doctor refuses to help Coyotito
3. Kino attempts to sell pearl and is unsuccessful
4. Kino is attacked
5. Kino beats Juana for attempting to get rid of
the pearl
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
 M. Climax: Kino kills a man who attacks him for his
pearl. This is the point of the story where everything
changes for Kino and his family.
 [The climax of a story could be the most
suspenseful/emotionally charged moment, where
the main character solves a problem, or life
changing event or discovery.]
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
N. Falling Action:
1. Kino and Juana flee the village
2. They are chased by trackers
3. Kino fights with trackers
4. Trackers kill Coyotito
5. Kino and Juana return to village
6. They throw the pearl back into the sea
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
III. Themes:
A. Greed is a destructive force:
1. As Kino tries to gain wealth, he goes from a happy,
contented man to a brutal criminal. The pearl goes from a
symbol of hope to a symbol of human destruction. Kino
becomes detached from his cultural traditions and his
society. This also is true for the community around him
when they pursue the desire for wealth and quest for
equality.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
B. Fate and human agency shape life.
1. Fate (things of circumstance) such as the
scorpion bite and finding the great pearl, shape
what is to become of Kino and Juana
2. Human agency (forms of greed, arrogance,
ambition, and violence) facilitate outcomes and
lead to conflicts.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
C. Society’s oppression of native cultures causes
destruction.
1. The doctor- when he refuses to treat the baby
because they cannot pay.
2. Pearl Dealers- working together to force the native
people to accept their terms.
3. European colonizers force the native Indian pearl
divers and their people to submit to the new
culture and ways.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
IV. Motifs: are reoccurring ideas, symbols, objects
that repeats throughout the work
A. Nature Imagery
1. Kino is connected to nature
a. Brush house
b. Pearl diver/water
c. Night noises/morning
d. Sea/struggles = survival
e. Ants= Parallel God’s relationship to Kino
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
B. Kino’s Songs
1. Kino hears songs that communicate his feelings,
thoughts or rising instincts.
a. Song of Family-happiness, love, safety,
spiritual well being
b. Song of Evil – dishonesty, scorpion, enemy,
sickness, death, anguish
c. Song of the Sea-history, his people, the pearl,
the future
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
V. Symbol:
A. The Pearl: central symbol, it shifts in meaning
throughout the story.
1. HOPE- Coyotito’s future and a life free from
oppression.
2. DESTRUCTION- villagers’ awareness of “The Pearl of
the World” converts it to a symbol of evil & destruction
which threatens their culture. The pearl causes greed.
(“the pearl of great price”) It is dangerous.
3. The pearl itself parallels the changes that Kino goes
through.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
B. The Scorpion
1. EVIL- not from humanity but externally from
the gods.
2. LOSS OF INNOCENCE –evil touches the baby
(purity). Kino shows destruction of innocence by
the effects of greed and ambition on his culture
and native traditional ways.
“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
C. Kino’s Canoe
1. SURVIVAL- provides food and pearls to sell.
2. TRADITION- passed down through generations
3. SPIRITUAL- linked to his belief that it was ordained
he will find “the pearl” that will save his son. A prayer.
4. CULTURE- represents the values, principles, beliefs of
his people.
Chapter 5-Kino’s decision to break with his
cultural heritage and his greed for the pearl,
leads directly to the destruction of the canoe.
The Pearl
 The end