NOVEL – THE PEARL
WHICH NOVEL WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YOUR FRIEND TO READ AND WHY.
WHICH NOVEL DO YOU FIND INTERESTING. GIVE REASONS WHY YOU THINK IT IS INTERESTING.
“The Pearl” is a novel that everyone should read because it is very interesting and teaches some valuable lessons about life.
“The Pearl” tells the story of Kino, his wife, Juana and their son, Coyotito . Kino is a poor Mexican-Indian fisherman who lives near the town of La Paz .The story tells of what happens to Kino and his family before and after they find a large pearl. The poor family hopes to have a better life after they find the pearl. But their hope is lost by the greed and unkind behaviour of other human beings. As a result the pearl only brings loss of property, death and sadness.
The novel is both easy and interesting to read. The language is also not very difficult. The story also offers a lot of important messages that we can learn. We learn about human nature as demonstrated through the actions of Kino and his family as well as the doctor, the pearl buyers and the priest. We also learn to appreciate the happiness that we have in our lives.
WRITE ABOUT A LESSON ABOUT LIFE YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE NOVEL
The thing I like most about the novel is the message or theme it conveys. These have helped me learn some valuable lessons about life.
The novel helps me understand many important things about human behaviour. Kino and Juana are poor people but they never think of cheating anyone to get a better life. The place all the hope on finding a large pearl that would make them rich. In the search for a better life they do not consider the matter of happiness. They assume that when they are rich they will still be happy.
The novel also shows me how sometimes people who are already rich keep wanting more wealth. This is demonstrated by the behaviour of the doctor and the pearl buyers who try to cheat Kino. They are very greedy.
The story teaches me that happiness does not always come from wealth. Kino and his family are poor but happy before they find the pearl. The pearl that they thought would bring happiness only brings sorrow. The story also shows how human beings can be greedy and cruel to the extent that they are willing to kill. I think I have learned a lot from the messages and themes in this story.
CHARACTERS
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER IN THIS NOVEL.
My favourite character in the novel “the Pearl” is Kino. Kino is also one of the major characters in the novel.
Kino is a poor Mexican –Indian fisherman. He is young and strong. He is also a very sensitive and emotional person. This is shown by the fact that everything he sees does or feels is represented by a song in his mind. He lives in a small brush house with his wife, Juana and son, Coyotito. His main hope is to find a pearl that would make them rich one day. The novel shows the hardship the family encounters day to day.
I like this character because he is presented as a complete character. He is strong but sensitive, and he displays the emotions of a real human being. Kino is a good husband, father and brother. On many occasions, he fights off attackers who wish to harm him and his family in order to steal their pearl. His anger is also shown when the greedy doctor refuses to treat his child for the scorpion bite. He also shows that he is a responsible husband and father by working very hard to take care for the family.
I like this character very much and feel sad that he and his family do not get a better life in the end.
JUANA
Juana is a good wife to Kino . She looks after the needs of the family and takes good care of their child, Coyotito. The novel shows that she can bear physical hardship even better than Kino.
She is described as being “like a strong man” and she hardly cries when she is beaten by Kino for throwing away the pearl. She is always there to help her husband. Sometimes, she also makes important decisions at moments of hardship.
When Coyotito is stung by the scorpion, she decides that they should go to the doctor’s house.
On occasions, when Kino is overcome by indecision or emotions, she takes control and decides what they should do. This is noticeable when Kino kills an attacker in the dark and when they spot the people tracking them.
Juana faces many instances of hardship in the novel. However, she always tackles hardship with inner strength, courage, calmness and dignity.
CHOOSE A CHARACTER WHOM YOU THINK IS BRAVE IN THE NOVEL YOU HAVE STUDIED . GIVE REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE.
The Pearl presents many examples of the courage and bravery of poor people. The character who demonstrates a lot of bravery in this novel is Juana.
Juana’s courage and bravery is not demonstrated in her physical ability alone. She is brave in many ways and for many reasons. Juana is strong both physically and mentally. She is brave in her ability to make important decisions when her husband cannot.; When Coyotito is ill form the scorpion bite, she makes the important decision to take him to the doctor’s house. When the family encounters the trackers following them, she tells Kino that they should not split up. She is also prepared to take matters into her own hands when necessary.
When she feels that the pearl is evil and only brings hardship to the family, she attempts to throw it back to the sea. Even when Kino beats her up for this act, she does not cry. She is also brave in following her husband into the night in their attempt to get away from the trackers. Even in the end, when her son is killed, she stands by her husband’s side.
Juana’s characteristics described here show that she is indeed a brave and courageous woman. She is brave in facing up to both physical and emotional hardship.
DESCRIBE A CHARACTER THAT YOU DISLIKE. / a character who is unkind.
The novel “The Pearl” contains many characters. Some of these aracters like Kino, Juana and Juan Thomas are positive while others like the doctor, the buyers and the priest are negative. The character I dislike most in this novel is the doctor.
The doctor lives in the town of La Paz. He is rich and is only interested in providing service to people who can pay for his service. He lives in a big and luxurious house. From the very first introduction, the doctor comes across a proud, self-centred and cold-hearted man.
When Kino brings the scorpion-bitten Coyotito to him for treatment, the doctor turns him and the child away because Kino does not have money to pay him. The incident is even more disgusting because he does not have the courage to tell that to Kino himself. He asks his servant to do the job for him.
He also shows himself to be a hypocrite and a pretender. When he finds out about Kino’s pearl, he goes to Kino’s house pretending that he is very concerned about Coyotito’s health. He also makes Coyotito sick by giving him some medication . He then returns and cures Coyotito when the child’s condition worsens.
I dislike this character because a doctor is supposed to always help people but this doctor is only interested in money and himself.
THEMES
WEALTH DOES NOT ALWAYS ASSURE HAPPINESS./ HAPPINESS DOES NOT ALWAYS COME FROM WEALTH.
Kino discovers a large pearl which he thought would make him rich. But this is not true. The pearl only brings him hardship and sorrow. He becomes the prey of many people; the doctor, the priest, the pearl buyers, cheats and thieves. In the end Kino loses his only son who is killed by a tracker. He and Juana are in despair because it was for the son that they sought a better life. Finally, Kino and Juana throw the pearl back into the sea.
Kino and his family are poor but happy before they find the pearl. The pearl that they thought would bring happiness only brings sorrow.
GREED
Kino’s son , Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion but he is refused treatment by a greedy doctor. This shows the reader how uncivilized and greedy some rich people can become. But when he finds out about Kino’s pearl, he quickly goes to Kino’s house pretending that he is very concerned about Coyotito’s health.
In this novel , the people who are already rich keep wanting more wealth. This is demonstrated by the behaviour of the doctor and the pearl buyers who try to cheat Kino.
The attackers and trackers attempt to steal the pearl from Kino. The pearl buyers plan to cheat Kino into selling the pearl at a very low price.
HOPE
The Pearl tells us the story of the hopes and aspirations of a poor fisherman and his family. To Kino’s family, the pearl represents hope for a better future. But Kino and his family make the mistake of placing all their hopes on a single object. This object if stolen or lost would mean that their hopes would be lost as well.
The poor family hopes to have a better life after they find the pearl. Kino hopes to get married in a church, buy new clothes for the family, get a rifle and a harpoon and send Coyotito to school. But his hope is lost by the greed and unkind behaviour of other human beings. As a result the pearl only brings loss of property, death and sadness.
When Kino finds the pearl, everyone hopes for something from it. To the priest, it means help for his church. His attitude towards Kino and the Indians shows that he really looks down on them yet he is willing to go to them when he wants money.
The doctor’s attitude towards the pearl shows greed and hypocrisy. The news about Kino finding the pearl immediately changes the doctor’s attitude to him. He sees himself in Paris, sitting in a restaurant waiting for a waiter to serve him wine.
The pearl buyers hope to buy the pearl cheaply. The shopkeepers think of the goods that have not sold well. The villagers hope that Kino’s wealth will indirectly change their lives for the better.
OPPRESSIONS OF THE POOR
The doctor and the priest are people who are supposed to always help the poor and helpless but this novel shows us even these people are oppressing the poor people. The rich people in the town always treat the poor people badly. The doctor refuses to treat Coyotito fo a scorpion bite because Kino had no money to pay for the treatment.
When Kino tries to sell the pearl, the buyers conspire and offer to buy the pearl at a very low price.
VIOLENCE
Violence comes as a result of the various attempts to steal the pearl from Kino. It begins with a simple attempt in the brush hut and Kino hurting the attacker. It ends with Kino killing the three trackers. As men’s greed grows, so does the violence. Kino also attacks Juana, his loving wife ,when she tries to get rid of the pearl.
LOVE FOR THE FAMILY
Juana loves her family very much. This is shown by the way she reacts when Coyotito is bitten by the scorpion. She makes the decision to take him to the doctor’s house for treatment.
She does not really care about the pearl. Her interest is more for the safety of her husband and son. When she finds that the pearl causes the family hardship, she decides to throw it into the sea.
When the family is running away from the trackers, Kino suggests that they split up so that he can lead the trackers away from his wife and son but Juana refuses. Her actions can be seen as her wish to keep the family together.
At the end of the novel, though Juana feels regret for what has happened to Coyotito who is killed by a tracker, she still stands by her husband.
Juana’s actions throughout the novel demonstrate love for her family. These prove that the family is the love of her life.
Juan Tomas and Kino have a strong bond. Juan Tomas is Kino’s only supporter and friend. The family bond is extended to include Apolonia and Juan Tomas’s four children. When Kino is in trouble, Juan Tomas and his whole family are there to offer their help and support.
SACRIFICE
Juana is willing to throw the pearl into the sea in order to bring peace back to her home and keep her family safe.
Kino offers to lead the trackers away to that Juana and Coyotito will be safe.
Finally Kino throws away the pearl (and his dreams ) in the end in order to become once again the kind and simple man he was in the beginning.
APPEARANCE VERSUS REALITY
The pearl usually represents everything that is good and pure but in this story, it represents the worst of human greed. Kino believes selling the pearl will make his dreams come true. However , he finds that it becomes an evil thing as people try to steal it from him. He is forced to commit the worst evil of all, that is, killing other men. His son, Coyotito, is also killed as a result. In the end, the pearl which seems to represent wealth is a source of evil. And Kino realizes that it is not as important as the real jewels – his happy family and his simple life.
SYNOPSIS
The novel tells the story of Kino and his family. Kino is a poor Mexican-Indian fisherman who lives near the town of La Paz. The family’s poverty causes them a lot of hardship. This is demonstrated when his son, Coyotito is refused treatment by a greedy doctor because Kino does not have money to pay for it.
When Kino finds a large pearl, he thought that all his troubles would be over. Unfortunately, this is not true. He and his family face many more hardship because of the pearl.
The pearl only brings him hardship and sorrow. He becomes the prey of many people; the doctor, the priest, the pearl buyers, cheats and thieves. Many people try to steal the pearl from him. They even burn down the family’s house. Kino accidentally kills a thief in one of the fights. The family fear persecution and decide to run away from the village. In the mean time they hide in Juan Thomas’ house. He leads the villagers to believe that Kino and his family are dead.
In the end Kino loses his only son who is killed by a tracker. He and Juana are in despair because it was for the son that they sought a better life. Finally, Kino and Juana throw the pearl back into the sea.
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