1. The plot-
Exposition: The story starts off with the description of a very rustic and shabby town in which Kino and his wife Juana are raising their very young son Coyotito. The family is living on the beach side in a very rough community full of poor Native American families. As an opening scene, the reader familiarizes himself with the daily routine and learns that as Coyotito was put down for a nap, he was stung by a scorpion in the shoulder. As his father kills the scorpion and his mother frantically tries to remove the venom from her baby, the surrounding villagers all gather to try and help if at all possible. As Kino and Juana rush Coyotito to the doctor, they arrive but are refused service because they cannot pay for the medical treatment. The reader also learns of Native American culture when Kino refers to his 'songs' in which represent the emotion and inner conflicts through out the extent of the novella.
Inciting Incident: Following their daily routine, the family gets up as if it were another normal morning and after eating breakfast, head out to the oyster bed just off the shore line. Kino dives down Ito the water and spotted a huge oyster that he believes he saw a pearl in. Carrying his oyster up to the surface along with all his others, he opens his oyster very last out of them all. As he opens the oyster, he sees that he had discovered a huge pearl within. When the family heads home, the town is all in awe and Kino soon becomes the topic of discussion for every conversation. As the couple describe what they are to do with the money they will receive, some of the villagers are hesitant to what the future hold for the family and others are awe struck with such beauty.
Climax: As things between Kino and Juana start to heat up over the pearl, Juana is starting to see that the pearl isn't bringing any luck and is actually causing more problems than fortune. In hopes to get rid of the pearl, Juana takes the pearl to the beach and as she starts to throw it into the ocean, Kino stops her and end up beating her because of it. As the family starts to walk back to the hut, they get attacked and Kino ends up killing one if the attackers. In hopes to leave their past behind them, the family attempts to flee and as they are running away, Coyotitio gets shot by a coyote hunter and ends up dying.
Falling Action: Kino and Juana carry their beloved son back to the village in hopes to help their mourning process.
Resolution: Kino throws the pearl into the ocean as Juana wanted to before anything had happened at all.
2. The theme of the novel is very evident in my case as I read the novel. As it relates to the modern world, Steinbeck depicts the common theme that wealth does not always bring fortune and power corrupts. Although the pearl was considered very valuable and was seen by all the villagers as an item on huge profits, in the end Kino was the one whom had to learn the hard way that it was not a good find at all. Because of the Pearl, and the power that Kino believed he know obtained because the pearl was to make him a rich man, he lost the life of his beloved son; an event in which he would never be able to undo.
3. Steinbecks tone thought the extent of the novel was very constant. Describing his surrounding and each moment in such detail that the reader could feel the passion and the pain beneath the words written on the pages of the paper. It was obvious that Steinbeck put a lot into his writings and it was seen crystal clear as a reader.
- (p. 9) "She could stand fatigue and hunger almost better than Kino himself. In the canoe she was like a strong man. And now she did the most surprising thing."
- (p. 49) "And there was terror in her voice. Then coldness came over him as quickly as the rage had, and he said, 'I am all right. The thing has gone.'"
- (p. 111) "And Kino crept silently as a shadow down the smooth mountain face."
4. Use of Figurative Language-
Simile: (p. 9) "In the canoe, she was like a strong man."
Allusion: Although it is not clearly shown through one specific sentence of the novel, God was commonly referred to as the almighty and a reflection of the choices the family was making.
Foreshadowing: (p. 8) " ... And the Coyotito might die if enough if the poison had gone in."
Personification: (p. 10) "And the yellow sun threw their black shadows ahead of them so that they walked on their own shadows."
Symbolism: (p. 118) "And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared."
Imagery: (p. 13) "He had on his dressing gown of red watered silk that had come from Paris, a little tight over the chest now if it was buttoned."
Irony: A pearl is known to bring fortune to a family yet when Kino found the Pearl it was only unfortunate events that followed the discovery eventually leading the the death of his son.
Metaphor: (p. 27) "A town is a thing separate from all other towns, so that there are no towns alike."
Hyperbole: (p. 118) "And the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped toward the bottom. The waving branches of the algae called to it and beckoned to it."
Idiom: (p. 108) "There is a way."
Characterization:
1. Both the doctor that helps Coyotito and the hunters that kill Coyotito are described with direct characterization. Showing that the doctor was lazy and the hunters weren't empathetic for what they did gave the reader a very straight forward insight on how the characters were to be perceived. The villagers as well as Kino himself were described though an indirect characterization. Kinos true self was shown through the appearance of the pearl and how he truly cared about social image and wealth over the power of family and love. The villagers were characterized through tinge death of Coyotito in that as they found out he had passed, they all came together to support Juana and Kino but also to remember his life and show the true meaning of a communal family. Steinbeck uses both approaches to show the contrast between the importance of each character. As the more evident characters were pin pointed, the more prominent or more complex characters were given more adversity to interpretation.
2. Steinbecks diction as he would describe one character to another or a specific scene versus another was very dynamic. Changing on what he was trying to say or how he wanted the message to come across depended on the language he used to display his wants. However, through out his novella, his syntax remained the same as descriptive sentences were lengthy yet action scenes were described with short and choppy phrases.
3. The protagonist of the novel is very much so a dynamic one. Playing the role of both a family oriented dad yet also being the businessman trying to negotiate a price for the pearl in which he discovered, Kino was constantly changing viewpoints as his character continued to develop through out the story line.
4. After reading this novel, I feel like I have met another person dealing with everyday struggles of high school. Of course in the novel the stories based upon finding the pearl and the pearl being the modern representation of an A grade in high school. As you try your hardest to earn it or in this case find the pearl, once you achieve your goal, your passion to achieve more and exceed that point diminishes. Whether being in a novel or in your life becoming someone else because you achieve something isn't an uncommon characteristic, and as hard as we try to remain true to who we are and what we believe in, life is constantly changing and therefore we have to continually change with it.
