THE PEARL SUMMARY

THE PEARL BY JOHN STEINBECK-SUMMARY

In this chapter we focus on The Pearl summary. The Pearl is a 1948 novella written by John Steinbeck.  The simple story that he considers a parable revolves around Kino, the protagonist and his young family.

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The Pearl summary 

When Kino finds a pearl, he hopes to change his life for good. Little does he know that the pearl would destroy his family and wreck his life. 

  THE PEARL SUMMARY 

  THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter One (pg 17-29)

   Day one

Major events

ü Scorpion sting (pg 22)

ü Visit to the doctor (pg 24-29)

Major issues

•     Poverty (pg 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 28)
•     Racial prejudice/Racial prejudice (pg 26,28)
•     Family ( pg 17, 18, 20,24)
•     Contentment ( pg 24)
•     Class differences (pg 21, 28)
•     Fate (pg 19)
•     Religion (pg 21) 

 

THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter Two (pg 31-38)

Day one

Major Events

ü The pearl of the world (pg 37)

Major Issues

·        Unreliability of appearance  (pg 31, 32, 37, 38)

·        Family (pg 32, 33)

·        Colonization/oppression (pg 34) 

·        Luck (pg 35, 35) 

·        Religion (pg 34, 35, 37)

·        Superstitions (pg 37)

 

 THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter Three (pg 41-61)

Day one (pg 41-60)

Day Two (pg 60-61)

Major Events

ü News about the Pearl spreads (pg 41-43)

ü Kino’s dreams (pg 44-46)

ü Priest's visit (pg 47-48)

ü Doctor's visit (pg 50-56)

ü The attack (thief) (pg 58-59)

ü Juana's plea (pg 59-60)

Major Issues

·        Greed or evil (pg 41,43,45,49,54,56 )

·        Unreliability of appearance (pg 41,43,50) 

·        Luck (pg 42,44,55) 

·        Family (pg 43, 49, 51, 52, 57, 61) 

·        Poverty (pg 44, 45, 46, 51, 54, 55) 

·        Colonisation (pg 45, 50, 60 )

·        Religion (pg 47, 49) 

·        Education/Ignorance (pg 45, 48) 

·        Colonialism/ Oppression (45, 46, 50)

 

·        

THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter Four (Pg 63-80)

  Day two

 Major Events

ü The procession to the dealers (pg 63-69)

ü  At the dealers' shop (pg 69-75)

ü Juan Tomas' advice (pg 76-77)

ü The attack (pg 78-79)

ü Juana's second plea (pg 79-80)

  Major Issues

·        Appearance vs reality (pg 64, 69, 70)

·        Oppression/colonialism/ Ignorance (pg 64, 75) 

·        Poverty (pg 63, 65, 66)

·        Family (pg 67, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)

·        Religion (pg 68)

·        Education (pg 77)

         Fate (pg 73, 76) 

 

             

THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter Five (pg 83-92)

 Major Events

ü Kino strikes Juana (pg 83)

ü At Juan Tomas house (pg 89-92)

ü Juan Tomas helps Kino (pg 90-92)

§  (Protects him, divert attention, supplies, advice)

 Major Issues

·        Evil (pg 83, 84, 87) 

·        Greed (pg 84) 

·        Family (pg 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92)

·        Contentment (pg 85-86)

 

THE PEARL SUMMARY Chapter Six (pg 95-118)

Major Events

ü The journey north (pg 95-108)

ü Coyotito's death (pg 115)

ü The grief/agony/throwing the Pearl (pg 116- 118)

Major Issues

·        Family (pg 97, 105)

·        Evil (pg 100, 104)

·        Religion (pg 112)

·        Fate (pg 116-118) 

 

Characters in The Pearl

1.       Kino- A young fisherman who lives in La Paz. Pearl diving is his source of livelihood.

At first he seems contended with his life but after the discovery of the pearl he becomes overambitious. He ends up losing his property and his son Coyotito.  

2.       Juana-Kino’s wife

She is the voice of reason in Kino's life. 

3.       Coyotito-their son

4.       The Doctor

The Europen doctor is avaricious/greedy. He tries to extort Kino for his pearl.  

5.       The Priest

Hypocritically, even the priest tries to cheat Kino out of his pearl.  

6.       The Dealers

They are deadly schemers who have planned to get Kino's pearl at the lowest possible price.  

7.       Juan Tomas-Kino’s brother

8.       Apolonia-his wife

9.       Others (Trackers, beggars, Kino’s neighbours)

Summary of The Pearl-by John Steinbeck 

The Pearl Chapter One Summary

·         The scorpion sting

·         The visit to the doctor

Kino is the protagonist in the pearl. He is a native Indian who lives in the Mexican town of La Paz with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. They live in a brushwood hut in the poor neighbourhood. He is a fisherman and a pearl diver. He is poor but seemingly happy/contented with his life. They usually have a simple meal of corn-cakes, sauce with pulque.  They sleep on a mat while their baby sleeps in a hanging box!

The story takes an interesting twist when Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. Juana cries for the doctor but everyone says he will not come because the selfish European doctor only fancies treating the rich people. This is after she desperately sucks the poison out of the child’s swollen shoulder. They decide to go to the Doctor. The Doctor refuses to treat Coyotito. He contemptuously remarks that “the little Indians” never have any money. He is of a different race from Kino and clearly despises Kino and his people.  Kino can only afford a measly eight seed pearls. Kino is so angry when the doctor refuses to treat his son that he strikes the doctor’s gate with his fist.

The Pearl Chapter Two Summary

·         Kino’s Pearl

Kino and Juana set out to look for a pearl with which they can pay the Doctor to treat their son.  Juana gathers some brown seaweed and applies to the bay’s shoulder. She also prays that they find a pearl. In the long run Kino manages to find a pearl that is unlike any other. It is perfect as the moon and large as a seagull’s egg. Its curve is perfect. “It was the greatest pearl in the world.”  

Juana and Kino also notice that the swelling is going out of the baby’s shoulder. The poison is receding. Kino howls attracting the attention of the other pearl fishers.

The Pearl Chapter Three Summary

·         Kino’s visitors

·         Thief

The news of Kino’s pearl spreads like wild fire. It comes to the priest walking in his garden, the shopkeepers, the doctor, the beggars and the pearl dealers in their small offices. Everybody grows interested in Kino. Everybody wants to benefit from Kino’s pearl.

Kino makes big plans as a result of having the pearl. He talks about getting married in the church, acquiring new clothes, a new harpoon, a rifle (A Winchester carbine), and education for his son Coyotito.

The Priest visits Kino’s brushwood hut. He tells him that he is named after a great father of the church. He asks him to remember to give thanks for his great fortune. 

Later that evening, the doctor visits Kino.  He warns him about the effects of a scorpion sting. He gives the baby a white powder enclosed in a capsule of gelatine. He poisons the poor child.  He then goes away. After a while the baby is very sick. The doctor returns and administers 3 drops of ammonia to “cure” the baby. He asks when Kino can pay the bill. He says he will after he sells his pearl. The doctor pretends that he had not heard about it. He even offers to keep it safely for Kino and hints that it may be stolen before Kino could sell it. He leaves after Kino refuses to part with it or even show him where he hid it.

Kino becomes suspicious and says that he fears everybody.

That night someone tries to steal the pearl. Kino bruises his forehead trying to protect it. Juana says that the pearl is like a sin and that they should destroy it or get rid of it. He says that it will destroy them. Kino is adamant that his son must go to school. Eventually Juana gives in.

The beauty of the pearl gives them a guarantee of comfort and security. They begin the next day with hope.

The Pearl Chapter Four Summary

·         The Pearl dealers 

·         Kino attacked

Kino goes to sell his pearl. The pearl dealers have conspired to cheat Kino out of the true value of his pearl. There is only one buyer with many agents creating a semblance of competition.

 The first dealer looks deceptively fatherly and benign. When he looks at Kino’s pearl, he says that it’s too large. He calls it a curiosity. Fool’s gold. He offers a paltry one thousand pesos. Kino says that it is worth fifty thousand pesos.

 The first dealer calls the pearl a monstrosity and refuses to make an offer.

 The second dealer, a shy man with a soft voice, examines the pearl under a glass; He says that better pearls are made of paste.

 The third dealer offers five hundred pesos claiming one of his clients “likes such things”, and could buy it for six hundred pesos.

 The fatherly man behind the desk sticks to his offer of a thousand pesos but later goes to fifteen hundred.

Kino is vexed and says that his pearl is not for sale there. He decides that he wants to sell it at the capital. His brother Juan Tomas later tries to dissuade him from going to the capital. He says “I am afraid for you.”

That night Kino senses evil around him. He is attacked by someone who was lurking outside his brushwood hut. Blood oozes from his scalp and there is a deep cut in his cheek from ear to chin, a deep bleeding slash.

Juana asks Kino to get rid of the pearl because it is evil. Kino insists that the pearl will give them a better life. He says that he is a man when Juana insists that they throw it back into the sea.

He says that they the next day they will go over the sea and over the mountains to the capital to sell the pearl.

The Pearl Chapter Five Summary

·         Juana tries to throw the pearl away

·         Kino kills a man

That night when Kino and Coyotito are asleep, Juana sneaks out of the house with the pearl to throw it away. Kino catches her and beats her with a clenched fist. He even kicks her on the side. 

Kino is then attacked by an assailant trying to steal his pearl. He kills the man but is injured in the process.  Juana picks the pearl and hands it back to Kino. 

They decide to leave for the capital. Kino finds out that his canoe is broken. His hut is also burnt by unknown people searching for the pearl. They go to Juan Tomas’ house. He says that there’s a devil in the pearl. Kino, Juana and Coyotito leave for the north.

The Pearl Chapter Six Summary

·         Journey to the north

·         Coyotito’s death

·         Kino’s return

Kino and Juana leave for the North. They try to cover their tracks. Kino finds out that they are being pursued by three trackers, two on foot and one on a horse with a rifle.  Kino asks Juana to head north to Loreto or Santa Rosalia, while he tried to lose the trackers but she refuses. They keep going trying to shake off the trackers until they get to a point where they decide to rest. 

Kino later kills the trackers but Coyotito is shot dead. Kino and Juana return to La Paz with their dead son. Kino finally gives in and hurls the pearl back into the sea.  

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