Pearl Diving
Pearl diving is an ancient trade that has been practiced since early times. In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, pearl diving is very important to the city, La Paz, where the story takes place. The history of La Paz is rooted in pearl diving. Pearl diving, although it is a dangerous profession, shaped the history of La Paz and the writing of The Pearl.
Pearls are the only gems that are produced by a living organism. Pearls are formed when a tiny substance, usually a small organism enters into a mollusk. The substance irritates the mollusk, causing it to produce a substance called nacre, or mother of pearl. The nacre coats the substance until it becomes a beautiful pearl. (Pearl Guide) There are many different types of pearls. There are akoya pearls, which are perfectly spherical and the most valuable of all of the pearls. There are mabe, pearls which are hemispherical. There are seed pearls which, are shaped like seeds. These pearls are very small and invaluable. There are blister pearls which are hollow and look like blisters. There are also baroque pearls which are misshapen. (Roxana Pearls)
Pearl diving is incredibly dangerous, with hazards around every corner. There are dangerous fish, such as sharks, poisonous jellyfish, and saw fish to look out for. Saw fish have been known to cut divers completely in half. There is also the risk of drowning, hypothermia, and ships getting destroyed by powerful winds. The most dangerous danger of them all, perhaps, is decompression sickness. Decompression sickness, also called the bends, is a serious and sometimes fatal condition that divers get. During a dive, the body tissues absorb nitrogen proportional to the pressure being exerted on the diver. As long as the diver remains ...
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"History of Pearling in La Paz." GIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. .
"Lessons in Pearls." Pearls Roxana. Roxana Pearls, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. .
"The World's Largest Pearl Information Source." Pearl Information. Pearl Guide, n.d. Web. 06
May 2014. .
Deep water and strong currents could lead to drowning. - stay away from the sea.
John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, is written as a parable, which allows the reader to interpret its themes in their own way. It can take place in any time period, with any setting, and using any protagonist. The themes Steinbeck used throughout his book are universal and can applied to anyone’s lives. Its contrasting portrayal of good and evil creates a clear understanding of themes such as greed, illusions, and humanity and reason versus animalism and instinct.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is the main character who commits the sin of adultery and bears a child. Most readers pay attention to Hester because of her sinful act and the hardships she endures. Her hardships are very important, but the fact about how her daughter, Pearl, has to go through them with her is also crucial to the story’s plot. Pearl is a very complex and important aspect to the story. Even though her mother committed a sinful act of adultery, Pearl still looks up to her mother with love and grace. Pearl recognizes characters and their significance in her and her mother’s life. There are some points in the story where Pearl is considered a child of the Devil simply because she is the result of a sin. Pearl continuously finds ways to defy the image of being an evil child. Throughout the story, Pearl illustrates an “elf-like” intelligence and a maturity that children do not normally have. Pearl gives her mother the hope she needs to carry on in her life with her head held high and the ability to wear the scarlet letter, “A”, with confidence.
Human Diving Response. Department of Biology, saint Louis University. Retrieved from starklab.slu.edu/PhysioLab/Diving.htm. April 18, 2011.
To do a front dive a diver pushes his hips upward just slightly as he leaves the board. After he had begun to go up into the air, he throws his arms downward just enough to make is upper torso rotate around his hips. At the peak of the dive, the diver tightens his stomach muscles and pulls his legs up towards the sky, leaving his body in a perfect upside-down position to enter the water head-first.
Robert Currie’s “The Diver”, on the surface, recounts a diver’s descent and ascent into a river as onlookers eagerly anticipate his fate. Beneath the surface, this poem is actually very spiritual. The diver’s descent into the water, and his arising from the water, can be compared to the crucifixion of Jesus. Through the masterful use of imagery and Biblical comparisons, Currie depicts the message that rebirth and hope can captivate and revitalize our spirits.
Divers cannot put the equipment on and immediately dive in. Before diving there are a series of procedures the diver and their partners must do before going down. In addition, the further down the diver dives the more pressure pressing down on the diver which lessens the amount of oxygen in the scuba tank. Therefore, the further down the diver dives the less time the diver can spend on the bottom. But now, by far the largest group of divers is “Recreational Divers”. These dives are practiced at depths of less than 130 feet, from these depths, divers can make a straight ascent to the surface. Diving beyond this limit requires advanced training. Also, when diving the diver must take into account the amount of time spent descending and ascending in the water. If the diver descends too quickly the pressure can deflate their lungs and cause problems. Similarly, if they ascend too quickly nitrogen bubbles can form under the diver’s skin causing bends or decompression sickness. This sickness can be extremely harmful and possibly fatal. Lastly, a dive watch or computer is needed to calculate the amount of oxygen left in their tank and the depth. Dive computers help the divers be aware of their conditions and keep them
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of a pearl diver named Kino. Kino lives a simple life, and adores his family. At the beginning of the story Steinbeck shows how content Kino’s family is. Everything seems to be going perfect for Kino and his family that is until the discovery of the most wonderful pearl in the world changes his life forever. As the story advances Kino’s newborn, Coyotito gets bitten by a scorpion. Kino’s wife, Juana insists that they take Coyotito to the town’s doctor. Inevitably the doctor refuses to help Coyotito because Kino is unable to make a payment.
Instead of forming into a pearl, it creates a whole new individual that is as
A Deadly Sin Indeed: The Elements of Fiction that Convey a Theme of Greed in The Pearl
Many people think of scuba diving as just a swim in the water, but in reality it is a very exciting, dangerous, and potentially fatal sport and activity. There are many types of scuba diving, ranging from recreational to sport to career diving. Scuba Diving is just not a swim in the water, scuba requires certification, uses technical equipment, and there is a lot of risk involved with scuba diving.
The world of materialism is like a gigantic mall of life. In this mall of materialism, each store tries to sell its own product with a claim to uniqueness. A store may attempt to sell success in the business world, while another might advertise sure fame in the Hollywood arena. Some stores in the industry of lottery and gambling endeavors to sell a mass of cash. Regardless of the claimed uniqueness of the variety of products in the world of materialism, all attempt to guarantee the same promise, true meaning and significance in life. However, in The Pearl, John Steinbeck conveys the truth that materialism, as an answer to people’s quest for what is good, is merely a counterfeit of that which is good found in the wholeness of the family itself. This truth is portrayed in Kino’s discovery, possession, and lost of “The Pearl of the World.”
This book The Black Pearl is about a young boy named Ramón taking place in Baja California, the Mexican peninsula that runs south from California into the Pacific Ocean. From the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar found a black pearl. The pearl was so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven. Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the boastful Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this.
“It is wonderful the way a little town keeps track of itself and of all its units.” (41) In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, a poor fisherman named Kino and his family find the pearl of the world and must defend themselves from jealous attackers. They then go on a life changing journey to seek the right payment for their newfound treasure and encounter many obstacles along the way. Through the use of characterization and symbolism, the author demonstrates that greed and obsession lead to downfall. Steinbeck uses the pearl buyers, the aristocrats, and Kino to illustrate this message.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver who lives in Mexico with his wife, Juana and his baby boy, Coyotito. One day Kino finds a huge pearl worth a great deal of money. Kino dreams of being rich and buying all that he wants after he sells the pearl. The one thing that Kino doesn't realize is that there are many people who will do anything to steal the pearl from him. No one ever suspects the pearl's power todeceive, corrupt, and destroy. Hence, The Pearl depicts the ultimate battle between good and evil.