1 The Pearl By John Steinbeck
2 Biography of John Steinbeck Writer. Born February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Steinbeck studied writing intermittently at Stanford between 1920 and 1925, but never graduated. He moved to New York and worked as a manual laborer and journalist while writing his first two novels, which were not successful. He married in 1930, and moved back to California with his wife. His father, a government official in Salinas County, gave the couple a house to live in while Steinbeck continued writing. Steinbeck's first novel, Tortilla Flat, about the comic antics of several rootless drifters who share a house in California, was published in 1935. The novel became a financial and critical success. Steinbeck s next works, In Dubious Battle (1936) and Of Mice and Men (1937), were both successful, and in 1938, his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, was published. The novel, about the struggles of an Oklahoma family who lose their farm and become fruit pickers in California, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1939. After World War II, Steinbeck s work became more sentimental in novels like Cannery Row and The Pearl. He also wrote several successful films including Forgotten Village (1941) and Viva Zapata (1952). He became interested in marine biology and published a non-fiction book The Sea of Cortez in 1941. His travel memoir, Travels with Charlie describes his trek across the U.S. in a camper. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962 and the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1964. He died in New York in 1968.
3 About the Novel John Steinbeck wrote The Pearl during the time in which he was at the height of his fame. He had completed The Grapes of Wrath, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was renowned and reviled as a subversive, unpatriotic man who threatened the national interest through the socialist themes of his novels. This view of Steinbeck was inconsistent with his soft-spoken nature, but by 1944, when Steinbeck began to write The Pearl, Steinbeck had come to reconcile this aspect of his fame. Steinbeck wrote The Pearl based on his personal convictions, and based the story on the biblical parable of a pearl of great price.' In this story, a jewel for which the merchant trades everything he owns becomes the metaphor for Heaven. Everything in the merchant's earthly existence, however, becomes worthless when compared to the joys of living with God in Heaven. However, Steinbeck uses the parable as a meditation on the American dream of success. Steinbeck, who himself had risen quickly to prosperity, explores how Kino, the protagonist of The Pearl, deals with his newfound prominence in the community and riches. Steinbeck found a second inspiration for The Pearl in the tale of a young Mexican boy told in Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez. However, the boy in the original form of the story wished to use the pearl to buy clothing, alcohol and sex. The story contains several similar plot points, including the rapacious dealers and the attacks on the boy to find the pearl that would recur in the story's final form. The Pearl derives much of its force from the descriptions of the impoverished lifestyle of the Mexicans of La Paz, the location of the story. The plight of the impoverished is a consistent theme in Steinbeck's work, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Although these novels dealt with white protagonists, Steinbeck turned to the plight of Mexicans for The Pearl based on the 1942 and 1943 Zoot Suit Race Riots in Los Angeles. By the time that Steinbeck wrote The Pearl, he had gained an interest in writing screenplays, and thus wrote the novel in a form suitable for easy adaptation to film. The story has a simple plot structure and an economy of characters, but unlike The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden, Steinbeck did not adapt The Pearl. Instead, Steinbeck focused on screenplays written originally for the screen for his subsequent works.
4 Comprehension Questions 30 marks * write full sentences for each answer 1. Label this diagram with the words stern, prow, and paddles which are in the text: a. 2. Explain simply and clearly how a pearl is formed. Use a diagram if you wish. 3. How does Kino manage to stay on the seabed? (Normally, a person would float to the surface.) 4. What two things does the author compare the pearl to? 5. What kind of people became interested in Kino? 6. What does Kino plan to do with the pearl? 7. How does Steinbeck indicate that the priest speaks a very formal kind of Spanish? 8. Describe the state of Kino s mind during this chapter. 9. What does the doctor do when he visits Kino s house? 10. How does Steinbeck suggest the doctor s comfortable lifestyle? 11. What happens during the night? 12. What does Juana feel they should do? 13. How does Kino respond to her suggestion? 14. What important fact do we learn about the pearl buyers business methods? 15. Kino and Juana s neighbours accompany them to the town just as they accompanied them to the doctor s. What does this tell us about their community? 16. What is your impression of the first pearl buyer? Why do you think Steinbeck includes the detail about him practicing a coin trick 17. Explain how the pearl buyers try to cheat Kino. 18. Kino s brother, Juan Tomas, says "I am afraid for you." Why does he feel this way? 19. "This pearl is evil," Juana tells Kino. "Let us destroy it before it destroys us." What would you do in the same situation, and why?
5 20. In this final chapter of "The Pearl" Kino and Juana are hunted like animals in the hills. In what ways has Kino himself become like an animal? 21. How does Kino disguise himself when he leaves the cave to attack the hunters? 22. How are Kino movements described as he moves down towards the hunters? 23. How is Kino killing of the three hunters different from his stabbing of the man who attacked him? 2 marks 24. When Kino looks at the pearl, how does Steinbeck suggest that his dreams will never be achieved? 25. In what way does Juana prove to be more clear-headed and rational than Kino? Why does she stay with him? 26. What makes the description of Kino attack on the three men so powerful? Make a list of the relevant details. 27. Why did the neighbours not approach Kino and Juana or speak to them when they returned home? 28. What do you think Kino and Juana life will be like from now on?
6 Introduction Diary Assignment 30 Marks (10 marks each) Congratulations! You have just won a very large sum of money. Will your life change now? Everyone knows you have won the lottery. The Task: Create a Diary about Winning Big Explain how your win will affect your life. Will you travel around the world? Buy a new house? How will others treat you? What types of problems might you encounter? How will the wealth change you? To explore these issues, you will create an imaginary diary for the events of three days in your life. The first day will be before your big win, and two days will be after you receive the money. The Process: Creating a Product Each diary entry should have a date and at least two paragraphs about the day. Write your first diary entry in the first person (I/we). normal activities feelings thoughts Pretend you are a big money winner. Add two entries to your journal after the big in. the events your emotions thoughts Revise and edit your diary before you hand it in. Use your imagination to make your paper diary look like a real diary.
7 o o Each diary entry should have a date and at least two paragraphs about the day. Entries should reflect any emotional, mental, or physical changes you undergo in the process of acquiring the money or after you receive it. Interviews 30 Marks Introduction Years ago, before television, we only had radio for entertainment. At that time, families would gather around the radio in the evening and listen to stories performed on air. But the same skills are still used on TV now. The Task After reading The Pearl, you will work in groups of 2 to write and produce an interview of one of the characters or John Steinbeck himself on a section of The Pearl. The completed production must be between 2 and 3 minutes long and must only include two characters. The Process: Creating a Product 1. Form a group of 2. 2. Work with each other in group and your teacher to select a section of the book to transform into an interview. 3. Make sure that all members of the group have an assigned task. 4. Rehearse your interview. 5. Schedule a time with the teacher to present your work.
8 Letter of Condolence 15 Marks Introduction Juana and Kino s child is dead. Imagine their great sense of loss. A thoughtful letter of condolence is both a tribute to the deceased and a source of comfort and courage to the living. The Task: Write a Letter of Condolence Compose a letter to Juana and/or Kino expressing your sadness over their loss. A good letter is like a visit on paper. Use your usual vocabulary and phrasing. The Process: Creating a Product A letter of condolence should: Acknowledge the loss Express your sympathy Note special qualities of the deceased Recount a memory about the deceased Note special qualities of the bereaved (the person who is sad about the loss) Offer assistance Close with a thoughtful word or phrase Write a letter of condolence to Juana and Kino. Revise the letter. Turn in the first draft and a final copy typed or written neatly in ink.