“Juana, in her woman’s soul, knew that the mountain would stand while the man broke himself; the sea would surge while the man drowned in it” (60-61). The Pearl by John Steinbeck tells a story of a woman, Juana, and a man, Kino, finding ‘the Pearl of the World.’ In this pearl, the couple has hope for their only child, Coyotito, to acquire aid from the doctor to heal the baby’s deathly scorpion bite. However, Kino sees more in the pearl and becomes obsessed with its golden opportunities it can provide for his family, despite the danger it brings. Juana plays a key role not only as the typical titles a mother and wife would perform, but also as a person with a leveled mind shielded from the greed of the pearl. In The Pearl, women are typically …show more content…
She takes care of Coyotito as well as Kino and automatically puts their well-being before hers. Her impulses are exhibited throughout the novella; for example, when Kino found the great pearl “instinctively Juana went to Coyotito . . . and looked at his shoulder” (20). She right away thought of her child’s health by checking on the scorpion sting. She could have examined the pearl and thought of all the ways the wealth from the pearl could benefit her, but instead she immediately thought of her child’s needs. Also, Juana displays her nurturing character when Kino and she vanish to the mountains to escape the trackers. “[Juana] raised her bottle of water to Coyotito’s lips . . . she looked up at Kino . . . [and] saw him examine her ankles, cut and scratched . . . and she covered them quickly with her skirt. Then she handed the bottle to him . . . .” (77). Again, Juana put her baby and husband’s needs before her. Furthermore, she hid her wounds to mask weakness and femininity, so that Kino would let her continue up the mountain. The males in Juana’s life, Kino and Coyotito, are characterized as superior to her when she nurses them and puts their well-being before her
...hes her in the face and kicks her. He is disgusted with her. He then turns and leaves. Kino makes his way up the beach as a group of men assault him. Kino struggles to get away and while doing so he stabs one of the men and kills him. Juana finally gets on her feet and begins to make her way home. She sees Kino lying on the group hurt with another man dead next to him. She hauls the dead man into the brush and tends to Kino. She says they must run away immediately because of what a terrible crime Kino committed. Kino refuses at first, but then agrees. Juana runs back to the house grabs Coyotito, while Kino goes to the beach once again to prepare his boat, but realizes that the group of men made a hole in it. He becomes full of rage and kicks at the water. He then tells Juana what happened and they decide to hide at Juan Tomas’s house for a while.
Pearl, just as those found in nature, is very rare and unique. Her radiance in the “gorgeous robes…” (92) depicts an illuminating child standing out amongst all of the grey puritan children. Although Pearl was made out of a horrifying situation, she is a beautiful, extraordinary girl. As real pearls form from dirt and become beautiful and rare, Pearl is a living example. Hawthorne stresses Pearl as an “outcast of the infantile world” (95) because she is a precious gem that glows against the dark
On page 45 the author says, “Kino stepped with dignity out of the house, and Juana followed behind, carrying Coyotito.” In this quote Juana is following Kino of ouf their house. This shows that Juana is the Ally of the book because she is following Kino and taking care of the baby so he doesn't have to because that what the Ally does, helps the Main Character or Hero, Kino. Also in the book it says, “And when Juana had seated herself and had settled to nurse the baby, Kino went back to the road.” Again in this part of the book Juana is Nursing the baby so Kino can go do what he needs to do. That shows that Juana is the Ally because the Ally is always trying to help the Hero. That is why Juana is the Ally, because she is always following and help Kino, the
The aspect of the John Steinbeck novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, that is most comparable is how, in both books, Steinbeck denies the main characters of each book, Kino and George and Lennie to change their role in life or to beat fate. Steinbeck’s grim outlook of life was perhaps brought on through his early failures and poverty, because all three of the pre-mentioned characters had opportunities to change their fate or role but failed. The elements of discussion are Kino, George and Lennie, a comparison and a contrast.
Kino, the main character in “The Pearl”, starts off by being a loving, helpful companion to his lover Juana. The two are so connected they barely feel the need to talk to each other. Their life is almost perfect, until a scorpion stings their baby, Coyotito. Because the couple has very little money, the doctor will not cure Coyotito and says, “have I nothing
outcome of Juana's loyalty to Kino. Her loyalty caused her to lose all that was
When Juana wanted to destroy the pearl, Kino beat her unmercifully: He struck her in the face and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side...He hissed at her like a snake and she stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before a butcher. (742) Juana saw through the outer beauty of the pearl and knew it would destroy them, but Kino's vision was blurred by the possible prosperity the pearl brought. The malignant evil then spread to a secret cult known only as the trackers. This corrupt band of ruffians attacked and destroyed Kino's life. The very night that the trackers learned of Kino's pearl, they tried to steal it. The next night, Kino was attacked twice, which resulted in Kino committing murder. After the final struggle of the night, Juana went back to their home to find more baneful members of the heartless cult rampaging through their belongings to find the pearl. The end result was Kino and Juana's house going up in flames. The trackers then committed the cardinal sin, they destroyed Kino's canoe: This was an evil beyond thinking.
Readers can tell from the statement that many of the people Kino encounters after finding the pearl become bitter “friends”. At this point, Kino and Juana begin to realize that the pearl is bringing bad luck upon them. They are taken advantage of by the doctor and he decides to visit them after knowing they have the pearl. “This pearl is like a sin”(56). Juana begins to realize the pearl is bringing them bad luck, but Kino still trusts that it’s a gift. Readers can also assume that people are trying to take the pearl when Kino is suddenly attacked during the night. “Blood oozed down from his scalp and there was a long…”(56). Readers can now confirm that the pearl has changed and now represents evil. The pearl also begins to destroy Kino and Juana’s relationship as they have different opinions on what to do with the pearl. After Kino wakes up and follows Juana when she wakes up and walks out, readers know he has started to lose full trust in her. “He rolled up to his feet and followed her silently as she had gone” (58). Through the symbolism of the pearl and what it brings upon Kino and Juana, the author emphasizes how the pearl is not what it first appears to be, which was
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.
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.
After Kino found his great pearl bad things started happening, Kino and Juana's lives were in trouble. Two men notified in the book as the "dark ones" tried to steal the pearl, luckily Kino had been prepared and got rid of the enemies but that was not the end of the misery. Coyotito got very sick and the Doctor had deliberately made things worse. When it was time to sell the pearl, the buyers offered prices that Kino thought were too low. Kino was angry with the pearl buyers for what they had said. "I will not make an offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." Kino got angry and decided he wanted to go elsewhere and find a buyer for the pe...
For example, Kino was given the chance to get rid of the pearl many times. He could have given the pearl to the doctor or priest. He also could have sold the pearl for the 1,500 pesos the pearl buyers offered. That itself is a large sum of money. Kino should have been grateful and taken the money. The voices of reason were with Kino throughout most of these events. Steinbeck mentions, “Perhaps, some argued, perhaps it would have been better if Kino took the one thousand five hundred pesos.” (53) One voice(s) of reason was his neighbors. They said that Kino should have taken the money. Kino’s brother Juan Tomás was also there to provide reason. Juan repeatedly stated that Kino should get rid of the pearl as soon as the chance pops up. The biggest voice of reason was Kino’s wife, Juana. Not only did she try to reason with Kino, she also tried to get rid of the pearl herself. Juana states in the story that Kino needed to get rid of the pearl as it is evil. One night she tries to take the pearl and throw it in the ocean. If Kino had just let it go, the pearl would have been gone, and their troubles would have
Simultaneously, Juana represents the submissive yet dominant wife, protective mother, and wise woman. Throughout The Pearl, Juana grows exponentially. She defies gender norms and stands by her husband’s side, equal to him at the end of the story. The audience can conclude that Juana embodied multiple roles, and grew as a character and woman in the novella. The story successfully uses Juana’s words and actions to illustrate women’s roles and their development in The
... at a high price. For instance, by buying a rifle, Kino can show that he has the same goods that the rich have, and so could limit the difference between the two social classes (Johnson 184). However, Kino and Juana have one main dream, and that is to give Coyotito an education. This is important at that time because it would remove the family’s ignorance, and Coyotito would be able to survive in the changing world using that knowledge (Johnson 184).
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.