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Womens role in literature
Womens role in literature
Gender and roles of women in literature
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One of the main characters in the novel “The Pearl,” written by John Steinbeck, is a caring, strong willed and loyal woman called Juana. This character is the wife of Kino and mother of Coyotito. Juana is the type of person who thinks first before they act. The problem includes Coyotito getting stung by a scorpion. Even though Juana knows that the doctor would most likely not come to their aid, she still requested for his help. Upon hearing that the doctor would not help them, she mustered up her courage and said “Then we will go to him.”She was determined to keep her family from harm by doing everything she could to help. Once horrible things started to happen after Kino found the ‘Pearl of the World’, Juana felt that the pearl brought them misfortune. She wanted the pearl to be discarded and said “Let us destroy it before it destroys us.” …show more content…
Since she and Kino do not have a lot of money, she works hard to feed her family by preparing them food for every meal. She also takes care of Coyotito by cleaning him, feeding him, and making sure he is safe. When Coyotito got stung by the scorpion, she immediately started to take out the poison so that it would not spread. Coyotito was Juana’s first baby, he meant everything in the world to her, and so she would go to great lengths in order for her child to be healthy again. When she and Kino were trying not to get caught by the trackers, she made sure Coyotito was quiet so that their position would not have been given away. Juana only does what she thinks is best for her and 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.
In the novel, the main character, Kino, goes out to find a pearl in hopes of getting money to pay the doctor to treat Coyotito, his son, who has been bitten by a scorpion. Kino discovers the biggest pearl anyone has ever seen, and believes the pearl will bring nothing but good for him and his family. The pearl does change the lives of Kino, his wife Juana, and Coyotito, but not in the way he had hoped. When the people in La Paz find out about Kino’s pearl, he is visited by a greedy priest and doctor, the deceitful pearl buyers try to scam him into selling it to them for less than it’s worth, and the pearl was almost stolen twice. Kino kills the second thief in self-defense...
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
this is when Juana, the wife, tries to rid them of the pearl because she
Besides Juan Tomas act of vigilance towards his brother, Kino’s wife, Juana, has been a crucial part of
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.
At first, the pearl symbolized aa amazing providence. With the discovery of the great pearl, Kino began to have hope for Coyotito’s future and thought of the different possibilities that lead before him. However, as the town found out about ‘“the Pearl of the World”’(Steinbeck, 1947, p. 23), it began to have an injurious effect into Kino’s simplistic life (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). Juana and Kino’s brother began to seek the pearl as a threat rather than a blessing as the pearl began to symbolize and associate more materialistic desires. With Kino’s desire to acquire wealth from the pearl, he altered from a happy and content father into a savage criminal. By Kino’s demonstration of the destruction of innocence from greed and desire, the pearl soon became a symbol of human destruction. Kino’s gluttony shortly leads him to violently mistreat his wife and also to the death of his only son, Coyotito (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). SparkNotes Editors (2002) believed that his greed ultimately isolated Kino from his cultural customs and society. Overall, according to Wheeler (2008), the parable’s moral lesson was that “money cannot buy
...een stones. Let us bury it and forget the place. Let us throw it back into the sea. It had brought evil. Kino my husband, it will destroy us” (38). The pearl brought greed to the forefront of the community; everyone wanted the pearl for him or herself. Juana, who was at one time thanking God for the pearl, was now telling Kino to throw it away because the greed that it was causing woul eventually destroy them.
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
One example that shows this is when she is trying to warn Kino of the pearls’ evil that she has noticed, and he tells her “Hush- do not speak anymore” (39). This explains that Juana is being silenced, but is strong in her opinion. She is very smart to stay silent, in my opinion, because she knows that that is the only possible way to try to keep some of the old peace. Juana puts her own opinions away for her family. After the pearl-buyers offer Kino so low a price for the pearl and Kino states he will go to the Capital, she knows that the best way “she could help him was by being silent and being near” (55). This makes a very sweet and caring connection and support on Juana’s side, because she knows just how to help her husband. Juana knowing just what to do shows how being silent can help someone who is stressed. This is one of Juana’s stronger noticeable trait, though she has
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.
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)
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