Analysis Of The Pearl

Mindy Pang

Pearl Final (Analysis /Synthesis)

1. I think it is ironic that Kino is being followed by trackers because all throughout the story, Kino makes connections with animals. Kino and Juana are compared to being animals that are chased down by hunters. As Kino is supposedly an animal, it is ironic because trackers are known to follow animals. Just like animals, Kino and Juana try to escape the hunters, going to the mountains, where there is high elevation, something an animal would do. Another example of Kino’s comparison to an animal is when Kino needs to find a strategy in which the trackers won’t see him, so he takes off his clothes (what us, humans wear), as an animalistic technique, since animals don’t wear clothes. His own son also “becomes” an animal, at least to the trackers, who think the baby’s cry was a coyote cry, and this causes Coyotito’s death by a gunshot from them. This also brings us to the irony of Coyotito’s name, and as readers, we find out why he was named this at the end of the story. Steinbeck also describes the characters literally as animals; for example, “Kino hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide, unfrightened eyes like a sheep before the butcher.” Not only does this help us picture what is going on, but the author is also trying to make more references to animals. These are only a few of the examples of when the author creates animal imagery/ reference, but because the author compares Kino and his family to animals so often, it is ironic how they is being followed by trackers.

3. The brief introduction connects to rest of the story very well. John Steinbeck explains the book’s parable. The introduction is pretty self-explanatory. The story is not just about Kino, it i...

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...d to harm Kino, mugging him, injuring him, attempting many times to steal the pearl, destroying his precious pearl. Kino could no longer protect himself, like he used to. He tried his best, but now his protection “shell” has been cracked and he is no longer as strong as he used to be, just like an oyster without a pearl. The oyster protects its precious pearl on purpose, and has a shell to help protect it, but when the pearler forces the shell open, the protection is gone. The canoe had its wood, as a layer of protection, blocking out things on the outside that could potentially harm things that are inside the boat, but the canoe was destroyed and its protection is now useless. Kino, the canoe, and the pearl all caused and meant trouble. Now they all have lost, they have all shattered, they have been destroyed. Now, they all represent and have become something else.