The Pearl

Click here to visit our Reader/Writer web page  where you'll  find the Reader/Writer questions for the novel. Curently we have questions available for chapters 1-3 only.

Useful  Links (Optional)

Steinbeck's acceptance speech for the Nobel  Prize in Literature.  As you read try to answer this question:  What important responsibilities does  Steinbeck believe writers have? 

Read these instructions on how to write a dialectical journal entry.   I will tell you in class which chapters to do a dialectical journal for, instead of answering the As a Reader/As a Writer Questions.

• What is a fable?  Visit this website AesopFables.com.  Read at least four fables.  Then ask yourself:  what do they all have in common?  Create your own definition of a fable based on your reading.
• What is a parable?  In class we will read several parables from different religious and cultural traditions in order to deduce the definition of a parable.  Click here to read the parables.  Then apply this understanding to Steinbeck's novella, The Pearl.  He calls it a parable.  What should you look for in his little book if it is a sophisticated parable?

• What does it mean to live "the good life"?
• If one is living "the good life," what role do material possessions, money, and  accomplishments play in ones life?
• What does our society think of people who don't place a high value on possessions, money, and accomplishments?
• What groups have "the good life"?  What groups don't?
• Can one have very little money and yet enjoy "the good life?"
• How important will living "the good life" be to you in the future?

Using the internet or print resources below gather information about 

• Oysters and Pearl Diving  
• La Paz in Baja California, Mexico

Then make a bulleted list containing 5-10 interesting and relevant facts about each topic.  

• Do you believe in good and bad luck?  Do you think a person can be lucky?  Or do you think things just happen?  
• Do you believe that "God or the gods" (pp.16-18) send people good things or gives people good luck?
• Is it bad to "want a thing too much?"  Can a person drive luck away by wanting it too badly?  Or if you believe in divine intervention instead of luck, can demanding things from the heavens cause the gods/God not to give you the thing you demand?

Visit at least two online sources and one print source to take notes on John Steinbeck's life and writing.  Use your notes to write a one to two paragraph biography of his life.  Remember to cite your sources parenthetically. FYI:  there is a false story floating out there that Steinbeck spent a year living as a migrant worker in CA. That is not true.

Recommended on-line sources:

• Brief biography of Steinbeck compiled by the Nobel Museum.
• Biography page from San Jose State University's Center for Steinbeck Studies.
• Commercial web page, Vintage Library, selling novels includes a brief biography of Steinbeck.  But you don't need to buy anything to read the biography.
• Carlton Sheffield's recollections of Steinbeck. They wrote many letters to one another throughout their lives.
• A more complicated Steinbeck web page, created by a Ph.d. student, Scott Simkins in conjunction with his dissertation research at the University of Southern Mississippi.

For a print source, you may access CVMS subscription to hundreds of books and magazines which is on-line (yes, these will count as print sources).  See our librarians for the access code.

1. Imagery
2. Parallelism
3. Foreshadowing
4. Cadence/rhythm
5. Steinbeck's writing style

What kinds of conflicts occur in The Pearl?  In other words, if Kino is the main character, or the protagonist, against whom and what does he struggle?  What prevents him from reaching his goal? Explain your answer.

TOPICS or ISSUES:

• Ignorance
• oppression and exploitation
• social class
• racial tension
• illusions
• free will v. fate (destiny)
• poverty and possessions
• wealth's destructive power
• hope
• greed
• hypocrisy
• wanting something better

THEMES:

Pick one of the topics above.  What argument is Steinbeck making about that topic?  That argument is a theme.

Example:  One topic of The Pearl is ignorance.  Steinbeck suggests that ignorance makes it easier for the educated and wealthy to exploit the poor villagers, like Kino.  This is a theme.