The story The Pearl has many people facing challenges. Many people in the story are punished for stepping out of their place in society. The author conveys throughout the story that bad things happen to those who step out of place in society.
Every year, this was the priest's sermon. Every priest was a white Spaniard; part of their duty was to help keep the natives in their place. The religion was forced on the natives, and they were forced to practice it. However, many of them still believed in their traditional religion. Scaring the natives by telling them they will be punished by God worked well. The natives in Kino's town were not educated and found it hard to tell whether they were being tricked. No one stepped out of place in fear of being noticed.
The village Kino and Juana lived in seemed nice in the beginning, but once kino found the pearl he always had to watch his back. Everyone started acting suspicious and watching Kino's every move. Now that they were different than everyone, they were noticed. Juana wanted to go back to how they were, but Kino, having the chance to be rich, wants to take it. His decisions were made out of desperation and not over what would be best for his family. The author makes it clear that the town is
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As a woman back in this time, she does not have much freedom. She does all the housework and takes care of the child. She is first punished for stepping out of her place when she disobeys her husband and tries throwing out the pearl. Kino, being the man in the family, decides what will be done with the pearl. It is not Juana's choice, as a woman to decide what is to be done with it. Juana also disobeys Kino and does not split ways with him. He tells her to take Coyotito and go to the city and let him lead the trackers into the mountains. For her actions, she is punched and beaten by her husband, and her child is
outcome of Juana's loyalty to Kino. Her loyalty caused her to lose all that was
Juana showed greed in the beginning quote “Juana’s eyes were on him and she could not wait, she put her hand on Coyotito’s covered head. Open it, she said softly” (p.19). Later on she realized what the pearl had been doing to Kino, turning him into an evil man. She also saw that everyone was going to try to steal the pearl from Kino and knew what would happen to the family if they held onto the it, for example when she said “Kino, the pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before ti destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs” (p.56-57). This made Juana want to throw away the pearl and return to the old way of life where Kino and herself appreciated the little, enjoyable parts of life.
“Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face… He heard the rush, got his knife out and lunged at one dark figure and felt his knife go home,”pg 59. In the previous quote, Kino’s wife Juana steals the pearl and tries to throw it into the ocean but is beaten and punished by Kino. Soon after this two mysterious figures try to steal the pearl from Kino and he violently stabs one of them. The only reason that this happens is because humans love attention, and if somebody has something that you do not have you want it. Juana wishes that Kino would quit worrying about the pearl so much, and focus more on his family. This pushes her to try to steal the pearl and return it back to its rightful home. Whereas, the unknown figures are jealous of Kino’s pearl and they wish that they had it for themselves, this is why they try murdering Kino, and stealing the pearl. This is not the only instinct shown through this quote though, humans are very protective of there stuff and often times violence can ensue if people try stealing what is rightfully yours. Kino is very protective of his pearl and when everybody tries taking it from him he becomes violent and chaos comes soon after. Being protective is why you have to teach babies how to share, and why many wars break out.
Kino attacked Juana and took the pearl. Later he went back to see that people were by his hut looking to steal the pearl (pg 59). They take the pearl from Kino and flee the scene. Juana then finds the pearl that the thieves dropped along the trail. Shortly afterward, Kino and Juana go to the Sea shore to get to the boat that they would take to the Capital, to realize it had been destroyed (pg 62). They then return home only to see that their hut it had been burned to the ground. So now Kino, Juana, and Coyotito take refuge from the thieves and any more harm to come to them in Juan Tomas’ house and decide they will go north to get rid of the pearl that has brought more bad than good to their family (pg 64-67). This is Ironic because when Kino first found the pearl he stated he would not let greed take over him. The events afterward look as if the greed has taken over Kino. The narrator makes it seem that once Kino and Juana leave the village for the north I think that no more good will come to them. Such as, Kino attacking Juana again or the thieves finding them and taking the pearl. If the characters were smart, they would get rid of the pearl for it has obviously corrupted Kino’s good will. But they also need the pearl because they care about Coyotito and they want her to
When Kino finds the pearl he believes it is a new dawn, a good thing. To him, “It was the greatest pearl in the world,” but Juana sees otherwise. And when Juana attempts to fling the pearl out to sea, Kino “strikes her in the face with his clenched fist” and “kicks her in the side.” Kino harms Juana, whom he loves, because of attachment to the pearl. Kino refuses to let Juana destroy the pearl because, “"This pearl has become my soul," says Kino.
First of all, Kino and Juana think the pearl is a great gift when they first discover it, but when bad fortune if brought upon them, they realize the pearl brings bad luck. In
One of Juana’s key motivators is a desire for peace. She shows this quality whenever she puts up with Kino, the head of the family, abusing her. This can be seen in the scene on page 59, when Steinbeck writes, “Her arm was up to throw
In The Pearl, Kino thought because he was rich and he had the Pearl of the World that he was more superior and he did not realize the harm and destruction it was bringing towards his family. “ He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.”(59). In this final quote from The Pearl, Kino is abusing Juana when she tries to throw the pearl in the
The theory of the world is that for there to be evil, like the pear, there needs to be good, like juana. In every story there’s always two sides. The good side and the side that needs to overcome. In The Pearl Kino Needs to overcome temptation. I think it’s interesting how even though there is a “good” side in this book they are more like side warnings. They don’t really help the main character overcome the evil. If you read the book Juana warns Kino and gets him thinking about the right thing to do, but in the end Kino overcomes evil by experiencing loss and realizes what the pearl is
At first we learn Kino only wants the best for his family and gets the pearl only for medicine. Then, as the story continues he starts wanting more for himself and for his family. For example, he says he wanted a gun and wanted to get married, even though they are happy as they are. Not only does he start wanting more, but starts acting differently. Juana starts to see these changes in her husband, so she tries to throw the pearl away. The way Kino reacts to this is by Sprinting after Juana and to stop her he punches and kicks her. This shows how he hit his own wife just to stop her from throwing a material. Then he doesn't even have to kick her, but he does out of greed and frustration. Then later in the story he starts to care again for the family, but as long as he has the pearl he still is ready to fight or even kill for it. Two trackers and a rifleman are after Kino because they want the pearl for themselves. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hide in a cave thinking that the three men will walk right past
For example, in the story, it says “ He struck her face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side” (59). This quote shows that Kino put the pearl above Juana when he mistreated her for getting rid of the pearl. Nobody should mistreat family members just because they want something. Another example from the story is “Hush, said Kino. “Do not speak any more”(39). This quote shows that Kino treats Juana like she is not equal to the pearl and like she is not equal to Kino. He treats the pearl better than he treats Juana. He demands her to do stuff to protect the pearl and to make sure it is not harmed. Kino does not listen to Juana when she says it is evil because he only sees satisyfing things in the pearl and he only trusts what he sees in it not what his family tells him. These pieces of evidence are connected to the theme because they show how Kino treated the Pearl better than his own wife
At the beginning of the book Kino and Juana lived a happy good life until their first and only child Coyotito got stung by a scorpion. The one-second that it took the scorpion to bite Coyotito changed the rest of Kino and Juana's life forever. Kino could not afford to pay for the medical attention Coyotito needed. Kino was determined to find a great pearl that could pay the doctor to save his son. "Kino in his pride and youth and strength, could remain down over two minutes without strain, so that he worked deliberately, selecting the largest shells."(Pg. 18)
Kino goes to sell his pearl, accompanied by his neighbors, but the pearl dealer only offers a thousand pesos when Kino believes that he deserves fifty thousand. Although other dealers inspect the pearl and give similar prices, Kino refuses their offer and decides to go to the capital to sell it there. That night, Kino is attacked by more thieves, and Juana once again reminds Kino that the pearl is evil. However, Kino believes that he will not be cheated, because he is a
Juana’s husband lost his logic while she did not, his word was constantly the one to be followed, “for his voice was command” (Steinbeck 87). Juana’s role in the book was underestimated because of her gender in The Pearl, when she clearly had the ability to avoid conflict that Kino did
Juana, the wife to fisherman Kino, is one of the main characters in The Pearl. Coming from poverty, Juana and her husband live a minimalist life, as her simple clothes show (a battered blue head shawl and skirt, and a green ribbon knotted in her braids). Many themes in the story revolve around her. Although Juana understands her role to be a subservient and passive wife, she is smart, brave, and determined throughout the novella. Symbolizing the power and strength of women, Juana gradually becomes dominant over her husband. Juana’s second role in The Pearl is to be the protective mother of her son, Coyotito. Last, she is wise and logical in troubling times and acts as the voice of reason. Juana’s words and actions emphasize her various roles in The Pearl.