THE PEARL ESSAYS-KCSE ESSAY QUESTIONS ANALYSIS

Good families are built on love and teamwork. With reference to Kino and Juana in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, write an essay in support of this statement.

 

How to answer essay questions based on The Pearl

1.     Read the question carefully

2.     Identify the KEYWORDS to aid in your interpretation of the question

3.     Identify the actions (love and teamwork) and their outcomes (good families)

4.     Come up with points of interpretation based on point (3) above

The keywords in the question above are “good families” “love” and “team work”. Talk about Kino and Juana's family, which is the good family in this case, and show how it thrives because of love and teamwork. 

Each of your points must have love and teamwork and not just one or the other.

 

1.     Use Kino and Juana's family to develop your essay

2.     Identify challenges that force Kino and Juana to work as a team in order to overcome them

3.     Show the love among Kino, Juana and Coyotito

4.     Show the teamwork between Kino and Juana

 

Reasons why students lost marks in this question

Students’ essays lacked textual illustrations on:

1.     The challenge

2.     The love

3.     The teamwork

Some students used characters that are irrelevant to this question most notably Juan Tomas (Kino's brother) and his wife Apolonia. Since the question restricts you to Kino and Juana, adhere to the rubric strictly.

 

The Pearl essay: writing the introduction

1.     Demonstrate your interpretation of the question (Families stick together through thick and thin as a result of love and common goals or collaborative effort)

2.     Include the keywords in your introduction (good families, love, team work)

3.     Paraphrase

4.     Be brief, concise, precise

 

The Pearl KCSE question: sample introduction

Love and teamwork glue the family together. Without them, a family cannot overcome challenges or prosper. Kino and Juana face numerous obstacles but they endure them as a family because of deep affection and togetherness.

The Pearl essay: developing the body

1.     Give at least 4 well developed points

2.     Each point must fall on a separate paragraph

3.     Give adequate illustrations on the challenge,  love and teamwork that make Juana and Kino's family a good one

 

Points of interpretation

1.     Scorpion bite (p22) 

2.     Pearl fishing

3.     Second attack (p79)

4.     Killing

5.     Trackers

6.     The return (to La Paz)

For each of the points above, you must identify a challenge that forces Kino and Juana to battle it together (action/teamwork) as a good family.

Paragraph development

Challenge: Scorpion bite.

·        A child could easily die from the poison (p23).

·        The doctor is urgently needed. To get him would be remarkable (p23). 

 

Action: Kino kills the scorpion while Juana sucks the poison (p22) (teamwork and love)

·        They go to the doctor together (p24) (teamwork.)

·        The doctor was not of his race. "This doctor was not of his people" (p26)

·        Kino has no money; he only has 8 misshapen seed pearls. (p28)

·        The doctor refuses to the treat the baby (p28)

·        The beggars, stragglers and neighbours melt away (pg28)

·        Only Juana stands beside Kino long after everyone else leaves (p29)

·        They go fishing together. Kino sets up his fishing gear while Juana takes care of Coyotito (p32-33). 

·        Juana gathers brown seaweed poultice – a good remedy (p33). 

·        Kino and Juana slide the canoe down the beach to the water (teamwork) (p33). 

·        Juana prays for a pearl (p33)

·        They drive their double-bladed paddle into the sea in co-ordination (teamwork) (p33)

Outcome: Juana and Kino stick together as a family in the face of adversity. Coyotito is cured of the scorpion sting (p38). 

 
Sample set book question (and answer) based on The Pearl

A great family springs from mutual respect, a healthy dose of understanding and love. However, sometimes these pillars of a family are difficult to attain. In John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, Kino and Juana invest on love and teamwork as they confront their challenges.

We see love and teamwork between Kino and Juana when their baby Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. As the scorpion edged closer to the baby Juana muttered a Hail Mary and repeated the ancient magic to guard against such evil while Kino glided across the room noiselessly hoping to grab the animal before it stung the baby. Coyotito laughs shaking the rope and the scorpion lands on his shoulder and strikes. Kino grabs it and rubs it into a paste and beats it into the earth floor. Juana sucks the puncture hard and spits and sucks again as Coyotito screams in pain. A baby could easily die from the poison. Juana wants the doctor but everyone knows he would not come. He prefers treating the rich. Kino and Juana go to the doctor together, and a large crowd follows them. The doctor is not of his race. Unsurprisingly, the doctor refuses to treat the baby because Kino could not afford the treatment. He only has eight ugly misshapen seed pearls. The crowd melts away leaving Kino embarrassed and only Juana stays by his side for a long time. They then go pearl fishing together, to look for pearls to pay the doctor. Kino and Juana slide the canoe down the beach to the water. They drive their double -bladed paddles into the sea in coordination. As Kino searches for pearls, Juana attends to the baby applying the brown seaweed poultice to his swollen shoulder - a good remedy for his pain. It is evident that Juana and Kino work together as a family even though they have no money to treat their son.

When the doctor refuses to treat Coyotito, Kino and Juana are left with an egg on their face. They are embarrassed because they have no money to settle the doctor's bill. They decide to fish for pearls to pay the bill. They work in coordination to push the boat into the sea. As Kino dives for the pearls, he knows that Juana was praying. She loves her son. She steadies the boat as Kino climbs in. She lifts the poultice and calls Kino. The swelling has reduced and the poison is receding. Juana and Kino demonstrate teamwork and love when they fish for pearls and get the pearl of the world. Even though, they have no money for the treatment of the child they stay together as a family through the predicament even when everyone else leaves.

When Kino finds the valuable pearl, he faces the trial of constant attacks from unknown persons. He tries to sell the pearl for fifty thousand pesos but the pearl dealers offer prices as low as five hundred to fifteen hundred pesos. Kino decides to sell his pearl at the capital instead. That night Kino senses danger outside his hut. Juana unsuccessfully tries to stop him. She seizes a stone and rushes out after him. Kino had been attacked. She helps him to his feet and supports him to the house. Kino is cut in his cheek from ear to chin and blood oozes out. Juana wipes the blood with her skirt. She then offers him pulque. She also brings her clay pot of water and washes the cut on his face. She urges Kino to destroy or throw away the evil pearl before it destroys them. Kino dismisses her saying he is a man. He tells her that they will have their chance. With softened loving eyes, he touches Juana's shoulder gently to reassure her. She disagrees with him but obeys him. She agrees to accompany him on a mission to sell the pearl. She is not afraid. He gives her a warm soft look before they go to bed. Kino and Juana face the attack together as a family, as much as they hold different views about the pearl. (p 78,79,80) 

The family faces another challenge when Kino kills a man. When Juana gets tired of Kino's inaction, she tries to throw the pearl back into the sea. Kino catches her and strikes her with a clenched fist and kicks her in the side. After the attack, there is no anger in her for Kino. As she returns from the beach, she notices a dead man on the path, Kino’s knife beside him. Kino had killed a man. She knows the old life had gone. She quickly drags the dead man into the brush and sponges Kino’s face with her wet skirt. She tells him that they must go away. The men in the city would not listen to his justification about self-defense. Kino admits that she is right. He asks him to go and get the baby. He then figures that his canoe had been destroyed and his hut burnt. Despite the drawbacks, he takes Juana's arm and together they go to Juan Tomas's house. Juana sticks together with Kino because of love in spite of the trials.

Kino and Juana are followed by trackers while on the journey north. Kino obstinately refuses give up the pearl. He decides to go north and attempt to sell it. He says the pearl has become his soul. While trekking north together, Kino and Juana encounter many challenges. They face fierce, strong winds that pelt them with sticks and little rocks. The journey north is difficult. They are cautious and wary of animals. Juana is worried that the enemies may follow them. She tirelessly carries the baby and soothes him to sleep. They then notice that they are being hunted by trackers. Kino says, “Perhaps I should let them take me.” Juana knows that if he capitulates, they would all be killed. Kino suggests that they split up and Juana and Coyotito go north to Loreto or Santa Rosalia. Juana repeatedly says no to Kino's goading. They must stick together. There was no weakness, fear or irresolution in her. Juana offers Kino her blessing when she sets out to confront the trackers. She tells him to go with God. While Juana watches over the child, Kino confronts and kills the enemies. They face many hurdles but endure together as a family.

Lastly, Kino and Juana return to La Paz together after the death of their son Coyotito. Even after their biggest possible loss, Kino and Juana still remain together as a team. This is testament to the great love they share as a family. They return walking side by side, not in a single file as usual. Juana looked fatigued. They seemed removed from human experience. They do not answer Juan Tomas greetings. They look neither right nor left, up nor down – they stare straight ahead. They stand side by side and Kino offers Juana the pearl to throw it but she declines. He flings it into the sea with all his might. And they stand side by side watching the place for a long time. Kino and his wife literary remain a formidable team right to the bitter end. The tides rock their family but don’t break their unbreakable bond.

When family members work together, they balance strengths and weaknesses. This is what is depicted by John Steinbeck in The Pearl.

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