1. Do you think that it is right to allow Clay to believe that there is a pearl in the oyster? Explain your answer.
Ans. Clay is a poor, innocent boy. He wants money to put in an ad for his disappeared father. His father had left home a month ago. Clay knew that the basic reason for his leaving home was money which was a constant cause of dispute between his mother and father. Harry's effort to give the boy a hope of a pearl in the oyster is the virtuous act of human side of him. Perhaps no happiness could have been bought for three hundred dollars that Harry was going to give to the boy. He wanted the boy to have enough money to do something to bring his father back to the family.
2. In your opinion, why is the writer willing to buy the pearl? What has he received in return? What does he mean by saying: "As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing's a pearl."
Ans. In my opinion, the writer wants to help the little boy in his efforts to bring his father back. He is certainly moved to the quick after knowing all about the boy and his family. For him the whole thing has given him such a rich experience of human emotional life that is worth three hundred dollars he pays for the oyster. In fact, seeing a small boy struggling so hard to shoulder the miseries of his family is in itself a pearl of human traits that is why the writer makes this statement." As for as I'm concerned, the whole thing's a pearl."
3. What has attracted Harry and other people to O.K.-by-the-Sea? Is it the kind of town that appeals to you? Do you think that it resembles an ideal town? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. Small in population and unimportant in any commercial sense, this town is like a gem in the crowd of heartless city life. The people are poor but honest and loving. The family units are closely knitted. Though they have little means to earn their livelihood, they have the wealth of contentment. Accordingly, these are the attributes of the people of O.K.-by-the-Sea, which has attracted Harry and other people to this town. This is the kind of town that appeals to me. A place where people possess such qualities as honesty, love and sacrifice and I am sure that it will certainly appeal to everyone.
...the rich (higher class) refuse to help the poor (lower class). Having this included in The Pearl,definitely shows you that their are many social problem in their culture. Finding familiar elements in literature can improve your understanding and enjoyment of the reading. I believe this because when you make a connection with the story you tend to have better understanding because you can relate it to other literature you have read and see the similarities. It also adds to your enjoyment of the book because when you see these connections it gives you a deeper meaning of what the other is say. It also allows you to predict possible events to come in the story. I would definitely recommend reading How to Read Like Literature Professor before you read your next novel. Doing so would not only further your skills as a reader, but also improve your enjoyment of reading.
The novel is centred on Victorian London, in the period of the industrial revolution. The very British, civilised behaviour on the surface masked the uncivilised life that lurked beneath. London was a heavily polluted town, drowning in thick, heavy smog. Consequently, it was a brilliant location to base a Gothic novel. Another reason why setting it in London was suitable was because of how close the rich and poor lived from one another. The prosperous used their positions of power to exploit the poorer citizens of society, but despite their superiority, they still felt threatened by the poor’s’ close proximity.
In the novel, the main character, Kino, goes out to find a pearl in hopes of getting money to pay the doctor to treat Coyotito, his son, who has been bitten by a scorpion. Kino discovers the biggest pearl anyone has ever seen, and believes the pearl will bring nothing but good for him and his family. The pearl does change the lives of Kino, his wife Juana, and Coyotito, but not in the way he had hoped. When the people in La Paz find out about Kino’s pearl, he is visited by a greedy priest and doctor, the deceitful pearl buyers try to scam him into selling it to them for less than it’s worth, and the pearl was almost stolen twice. Kino kills the second thief in self-defense...
As Kincaid starts with describing one of the strongest memory she had about her childhood ,which was her teacher pointing out to the map of England , she reveals that she had no connection with it , and that she doesn't feel that she belong to this place , although the institutions in her society force her to feel so , and she emphasise on the great pressure that her society put in her to feel like she is a part of England ,as she pointed at “when my teacher had pinned this map up on the blackboard , she said, “this is England”_ and she said it with authority , seriousness , adoration , and we all sat up (332)” , even more the pressure to love this new culture was in her house from her family, she observed how much her father is holding on England culture “my father ...
At first, the pearl symbolized aa amazing providence. With the discovery of the great pearl, Kino began to have hope for Coyotito’s future and thought of the different possibilities that lead before him. However, as the town found out about ‘“the Pearl of the World”’(Steinbeck, 1947, p. 23), it began to have an injurious effect into Kino’s simplistic life (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). Juana and Kino’s brother began to seek the pearl as a threat rather than a blessing as the pearl began to symbolize and associate more materialistic desires. With Kino’s desire to acquire wealth from the pearl, he altered from a happy and content father into a savage criminal. By Kino’s demonstration of the destruction of innocence from greed and desire, the pearl soon became a symbol of human destruction. Kino’s gluttony shortly leads him to violently mistreat his wife and also to the death of his only son, Coyotito (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). SparkNotes Editors (2002) believed that his greed ultimately isolated Kino from his cultural customs and society. Overall, according to Wheeler (2008), the parable’s moral lesson was that “money cannot buy
If you were given a million dollars, what would you do? Spend it in a short amount of time? Or save it responsibly for the future? Many would say the latter, confident that they will accomplish that. But for a few, it doesn’t turn out that way. In the book, The Pearl, a family, Kino, Juana and their child, Coyotito, go through various hardships after they have found a pearl, eventually losing everything they had loved. With three examples from the novel, I will explain what the pearl in the book symbolizes.
She is truly a wild spirit and wild child at heart. Yet this young, free child has some of the most tortured feelings of them all. She see’s Dimmesdale 's not wanting to publicly give affection to her and her mother as shame, and she resents him for it. Which is expected from a young child. For a long time she knows nothing of Dimmesdale connection to her and her mother as family, but when it starts to become clearer, she aches for that love to always be there, not just when in secrecy. But Pearl really has no one to forgive, not at first at least. She cannot forgive her mother for her sin because without her sin, then there would be no Pearl (Wagenknecht 69). And young Pearl really does not have anyone else in her life, but her mother, to begin with. Yet it is when the change starts to happen and it all seems like it will all be well soon, that Pearl gets angry. She does not like her mother giving any attention to anyone but her, she is not used to her not having the scarlet letter on, she doesn’t like her mother changing herself; the woman Pearl only knows, all for a man she only knows as who will not publicly love them. This is a lot for a seven year old child to think about. But when it all comes down to an end, and Pearl is finally given what she wants, to be known by all the people that Dimmesdale truly loves Pearl and Hester, she finds in her young seven year old heart to look past the denial of Dimmesdale
In “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck it shows that family and tradition should be valued above material possessions. It shows that Kino’s people are very poor, they have been doing the same things their whole lives, and that Kino's family will be destroyed by the pearl. To some people this tells them a lot and to others it shows them that being poor and about to be destroyed by the pearl shows
The setting is also influential to the reader, because it gives them a background as to why the characters are acting the way they do. This poem is set in 19th century London, England. The setting is needed to understand the last section of the poem:
Focusing a small part of the novel in the city of Cape Town and most in the country parts of Salem allows the readers to contrast the settings and see how each section of the tow...
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito go back to the beach and row out to an oyster bed, where he begins to search for the pearl. As Kino continues to search, Juana takes things into her own hands after being refused by the doctor and sucks the poison out of Coyotito and then puts seaweed on the wound, unknowingly healing him. Meanwhile Kino gathers several small oysters but suddenly comes across a particularly large oyster. He picks the oyster up and returns to the surface. When Kino opens the oyster he discovers the pearl. Word that the pearl has been discovered travel through the town quickly. People in the town became jealous of Kino and his family which eventually leads to a great deal of harm.
This story is so realistic in its context of the time and its superb character dialogues, that it is very easy for the reader to be transported right in the middle of that age, and right in the company of sea-faring pirates. The authorís vivid descriptions of Jim, the main character and narrator, the many Pirates and other characters he comes across during his adventures are painstakingly detailed. You can see young Jim's eager and excited face when he finds out he is going on a treasure hunt. You can also easily picture the rips and bloodstained rags of the pirates, and smell the foul alcohol on their breaths. The description of the island itself is extremely detailed also, and it seems like the author was looking straight off a geographical map when he wrote the in-depth account of it.
In Matthew 26:16 it says, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Truly, the question posed in this quote is one that applies to the main character, Kino, in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. Steinbeck composes a narrative, in which the characters are driven by unrelenting greed, resulting in disastrous consequences. Steinbeck is an exemplary author in the genre of tragic, fictional literature. Indeed, Steinbeck effectively utilizes elements of fiction including characterization, symbolism and conflict in order to convey the theme that misery is inevitable when a person’s insatiable greed precedes it. Steinbeck capably uses characterization to show the reader how the characters evolve as the story progresses, while demonstrating how their insatiable greed led to their downfall. Likewise, Steinbeck utilizes symbolism in the story to give seemingly mundane objects a more profound and substantial meaning, that foreshadow the outcome of the characters’ unquenchable greed. Furthermore, Steinbeck effectively uses different types of conflict, namely internal and external, to communicate to the reader the struggles that follow a greedy heart. Through the use of these elements of fiction, Steinbeck is able to show how greed affects these characters and the unavoidable misery that follows. By reading this essay, the reader will understand how Steinbeck uses various elements of fiction to demonstrate the devastating effects of a person’s greed in a world where the evil in people is often far greater than the goodness in people.
Having lived in London last year, for my junior year, I am able to relate to the viewpoints of Kluckhohn; as I traveled to many places dripping with their own uniqueness and culture. In London, I experienced the afternoon tea break and although not conforming to it, the societies acceptance of bathing only a few times a week. In Holland, I depended on bicycles as my main source of transportation for miles around, and viewed the old windmills and thatched roofs that are so typical in the country.
This leads to change and, eventually, downfall. Before he finds the pearl, Kino “was a well-liked man” (43), and adored by all of his neighbors. Everyone looked up to his kindness and sympathy, but when he finds the Pearl, he changes. The pearl takes control over him, and he becomes too obsessed with getting his money. He loses his many things over it: “now it is my misfortune and my life and I will keep it” (66). The neighbors even suspect, “‘what a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all.’” (43) For example, KIno loses his family when he tries to protect the pearl and defies the pearl buying system, and when he mishandles Juana. Loisng his canoe symbolizes thi sloss of his family. He also loses his sanity. he beats Juana and kills four men. He “‘killed a man’” (61) and joins in many fights. For greed, he turns down the salesman`s offer for the pearl and ends with nothing left. Kino has the chance to take the money offered to him and be done, but he is greedy and he wants more. Then, at the end of the book, Kino throws the pearl into the sea, and with it, all the money he could possibly gain. He also lets the doctor treat Coyotito, even with his doubts, and now can not pay him because the pearl is his payment method, which is now gone. He thinks his money is secure, and in his mind, he is a rich man. This is not necessarily true, as readers learn, and because he was so secure, he must now pay for unnecessary