Who Is Juana In The Pearl

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The mother, wife, and strong soul that is Juana in The Pearl by John Steinbeck, draws us in with her unique personality. Juana lives in a brush house by the sea, with her husband, Kino, and infant son, Coyotito, poor but content. Juana is wise, motherly, and silently strong because of her love for her family.

There are many examples of Juana’s wise mind. Juana tries to tell Kino she has noticed its evil after the baby gets sick and the shadowy figure tries to steal the pearl and attacks Kino. When Juana says “[The pearl] will destroy us! Let us crush it between stones.” (38) is one example. This shows that she senses that the pearl is bad luck. It makes sense that Juana is the smartest character, because she senses the evil and realizes it first. She starts to realise the pearl’s power early on, and tries to talk to Kino about this, but he wants to believe in his dream and shuts her down. A second example is shown when Juana and Kino are being chased by the trackers and Kino becomes despaired. He, Kino, …show more content…

One example that shows this is when she is trying to warn Kino of the pearls’ evil that she has noticed, and he tells her “Hush- do not speak anymore” (39). This explains that Juana is being silenced, but is strong in her opinion. She is very smart to stay silent, in my opinion, because she knows that that is the only possible way to try to keep some of the old peace. Juana puts her own opinions away for her family. After the pearl-buyers offer Kino so low a price for the pearl and Kino states he will go to the Capital, she knows that the best way “she could help him was by being silent and being near” (55). This makes a very sweet and caring connection and support on Juana’s side, because she knows just how to help her husband. Juana knowing just what to do shows how being silent can help someone who is stressed. This is one of Juana’s stronger noticeable trait, though she has

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