Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah: Episode 1-5

Blossoms of the Savannah: Episodic Analysis By Wafula Wekati

Episode 1: Journey to Nasila  (Pg 1-10)

 

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1.       What is the main event in this episode?

Ole Kaelo's family is relocating from Nakuru to Nasila following his retrenchment from Agribix Limited.

 

2.       Who are the characters involved in this episode?

In this episode we meet Ole Kaelo and his family - his wife Mama Milanoi and daughters Taiyo and Resian.

After the relocation Taiyo would miss Nakuru's crowded streets, the bustle and excitement of the retail and wholesale markets and its boisterous bus stage. She would also miss her boyfriend Lenjirr. (P 3)

Resian is not interested in working at her father's shop in Nasila. She has dreams of enrolling at Egerton University to take a course in Veterinary Science. She asks Taiyo to persuade their father to allow them to go back to Nakuru and join the university.

Ole Kaelo comes off as hostile and aggressive. Taiyo recalls the time he refused her permission to attend an extravaganza in Mombasa. She lost the faith and trust she had in him then. He also detests Resian. He had prayed for at least 3 boys and was infuriated when his second born child turned out to be a girl.

Mama Milanoi ponders what awaits them in Nasila. She hopes her daughters would be married off to reputable sons-in-law but is worried about FGM, an endeared cultural practice in Nasila, since her daughters are uncircumcised.

 

3.       What actions/activities are the characters involved in in this episode?

Taiyo and Resian watch as loaders pack goods into the vehicle. Resian makes it clear that she has ambitions of joining Egerton University. Mama Milanoi and Ole Kaelo are busy with the bustle of relocation. He had informed her earlier about the retrenchment and imminent relocation.

 

4.       How do other characters react to these actions?

Mama Milanoi was shocked when Ole Kaelo broke the news of retrenchment and relocation. However, she embraced the idea after her husband convinced her not to worry about the change. Taiyo and Resian have reservations about moving to Nasila. They are concerned about the change in lifestyle and their education.

 

5.       What is the moral/lesson/value in this episode?

In this episode, we appreciate the inevitability of change. In life, some situations are unavoidable.

Ole Kaelo has worked at Agribix Limited and lived in Nakuru with his family for over 20 years but time has come to move. They have little choice but to embrace the unprecedented change.

It is vital to accept change and adapt to new situations that are inescapable.

The relocation from Nakuru to Nasila may symbolise change in lifestyle, culture, mindset etc. Nasila culture is characterised by constant change and progress and some aspects have been inevitably shed off. 

Change is surely inexorable.  

 

BONUS

6.       What are the main issues in this episode?

• Education
• Culture – marriage, FGM
• Change
• Male Chauvinism

 

Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah:

Episode 2: Reception at Nasila (p10-20)

 

1.      What is the main event in the episode?

The Kaelos arrive in Nasila to a warm reception. They are received by Ole Kaelo's younger brother, Simiren. The family settles into the new lifestyle.

2.      Who are the characters involved in this episode?

In this episode we meet Simiren, Ole Kaelo's younger brother.

Simiren and other relatives give Ole Kaelo and his family a cordial welcome. Simiren is a strict adherent to his people’s customs and traditions. He has 4 wives and 16 children. He respects his elder brother Ole Kaelo. He helped Ole Kaelo in buying and selling livestock and constructing his shop and residential building when he was away in Nakuru. (P 15-16)

Mama Milanoi feels uncomfortable because Resian and Taiyo are not circumcised.

Resian tells Taiyo that she is not ready to be a parent soon. She will consider such trivial issues after she obtains a degree.

In this episode, we also meet a callous young man who harasses Taiyo and Resian because they are “intoiye nemengalana”

 

3.      What actions/activities are they involved in?

We appreciate the positive tenets of Nasila culture owing to the warm reception the Kaelo's receive in Nasila.

“When they step out of the vehicle, the girls were hugged, kissed and their heads touched by uncles, cousins, aunts and other relatives they had never met.”

The party then sits around a bonfire to enjoy roasted meat together. (P 11)

Since Nasila culture favours the male gender, Ole Kaelo is confronted with a daunting issue where the elders have been deriding him since he only has one wife who has borne him 2 daughters – no son.

The sensitive issue, however, is the fact that his daughters are uncircumcised (P 13)

Taiyo and Resian are confronted and harassed by a tall heavyset young man who raises reservations about their state of being “intoiye nemengalana”. He grabs Taiyo’s arm and tells the girls that there is no place in the society for uncircumcised women like them. He does not consider them “decent women.”

4.      How do other characters react to these actions?

Taiyo and Resian are confused because they did not expect to be received so warmly by a crowd of exultant and joyful relatives.

Ole Kaelo was angered by the elders who were compelling him to marry more wives. He called them megalomaniacs who were stuck in archaic traditions that ought to be moribund; buried and forgotten.

Taiyo and Resian are terribly shaken when they are accosted by the brute, who harasses them for being uncircumcised. Although they wear brave faces and try to fight back, they are profoundly upset and disturbed.

 

5.      What is the moral lesson/value/lesson in this episode?

Some cultural practices make innocent peoples suffer. Nasila is male-dominated and some men feel like they have every right to dictate what women can or cannot do. This causes women untold grief/agony.

The elders who compel Ole Kaelo to marry a second wife since the one he has only borne him daughters give the man unnecessary pressure to do something he does not want. This causes him pain. No wonder he is angry at them and he blurts out that some cultural practiced ought to be buried and forgotten.

We also appreciate the positive aspects of Nasila traditions when the Kaelos are received cordially.

Culture may have both good and bad sides.

 

BONUS

6.      What are the main issues addressed in this episode?

•          Family
•         Culture – FGM
•          Gender inequality (male chauvinism)

 

 

Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah: 

Episode 3: Ole Kaelo's meeting with Ole Supeyo (P 20-26)

 

1.      What is the main event in this episode?

Ole Kaelo visits his mentor Ole Supeyo with a view of listening to his wise counsel as he tries to fit back into the Nasila way of life. He also wants to seek some advice concerning his business that is the agricultural inputs shop he set up in Nasila.

 

2.      Who are the characters involved in this episode?

Soin Ole Supeyo is a 61 year old and a member of the Imolelian clan. He is a self-made business magnate that rose from a cattle trader to a reputable man of means. He owns the largest sheep ranch in Nasila, a fleet of lorries, shops, real estate etc.

Ole Supeyo is a respected elder and Ole Kaelo considers him his mentor.

He did not attend school and is a conservative conformist of culture. He has 6 wives and about 32 children. All his sons were sent to school while his daughters were married off to elders in Nasila.

He believes that women are a wild gender that has to be tamed through the cherished culture of FGM. This is why he clashes with Minik ene Nkoitoi, a fiery crusader against FGM and early marriage, when she tries to stop him from circumcising his daughters.

In this episode, Ole Kaelo visits him for wise counsel.

 

3.      What actions/activities are they involved in?

Ole Kaelo visits Ole Supeyo and they talk about  a few issues, key among them business. Ole Kaelo reveals that he is about to secure a lucrative 4 years' contract to supply all government institutions in Nasila with agricultural inputs.

He tells his mentor that he got help from a man called Oloisudori.

Ole Supeyo warns Ole Kaelo that Oloisudori is corrupt. Ole Kaelo feels a little dispirited and even thinks his mentor is just jealous.

Ole Supeyo equates Oloisudori to a hyena in the homestead. His reputation could rival that of a randy he-goat. (P 26, also 108) He tells Ole Kaelo to keep him away from his daughters.

 

4.      How do other characters react to these actions?

When Ole Supeyo warns Ole Kaelo against involvement with Oloisudori, Ole Kaelo feels a little dispirited. He even thinks his mentor may be jealous of his breakthrough.

Even after the advice and stern warning from a man he considers a confidant and mentor, Ole Kaelo is none the wiser. He does not understand, even though it has been explained.

 

5.      What is the moral/lesson/value?

It is good to seek wise counsel from those who have more experience or knowhow than us. It is even more important to heed wise advice. Ignoring wise advice can lead to unpalatable repercussions as we later find out, in the case of Ole Kaelo.

 

BONUS

6.      What are the main issues in this episode?

•         Culture – FGM
•         Change – war against FGM
•         Gender inequality/ place of women in society
•         Moral decadence

 

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INHERITANCE ESSAY-KCSE QUESTIONS ANALYSIS

INHERITANCE ESSAYS – KCSE ESSAY QUESTIONS ANALYSIS

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Many African problems are caused by ineffective leadership. With reference to David Mulwa's Inheritance, write an essay to illustrate the truth of this statement.

How to answer essay questions based on Inheritance

1.      Read the question keenly

2.    Identify the KEYWORDS in the question

3.    Identify the INEFFECTIVE practices by leaders that lead to PROBLEMS

4.    Develop points of interpretation

The keywords in this question are INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP and PROBLEMS. Show how the citizens of Kutula republic experience a myriad of problems as a result of incompetent leadership by Lacuna Kasoo and his equally inept henchmen.

In each of the points you come up with, link the ineffective leadership to problems the citizens encounter.

 

Task

Show the link between ineffective leadership and suffering of the people. The problem should be an outcome/consequence of ineffective leadership.

 

Reasons why students lost marks in this questions

Most essays lacked textual illustrations on:

1.      The ineffective leadership

2.    The problems

3.    Background information about ineffective leadership

 

Inheritance essays: writing the introduction

1.      Tell us how you understood the question (es the student understand the demands of the question? You must show how citizens suffer because of inept leadership.

2.    Include the keywords in your introduction

3.    Do NOT simply rewrite the question as your introduction

4.    Write a brief, precise introduction

In your introduction, we must see both the poor leadership and the problems (suffering). The suffering must be directly linked to the leadership.

 
Inheritance sample introduction

A good leader inspires his or her subjects to success not failure. On the other hand, ineffective leaders bring disillusionment and do not inspire confidence among their people. In the world today, scandals have tainted reputations of many people, and leaders worthy of trust are more in demand than ever. David Mulwa's Inheritance depicts an example of ineffective leadership meted out on the people who suffer as a result.  

 

Inheritance essay: developing the body

1.      Give at least four well-developed points

2.    Each point must occupy a separate paragraph

3.    Give adequate textual illustrations on the action (ineffective leadership), background and outcome (problems)

Points of interpretation

1.      Impoverishment

2.    Poor planning

3.    Brutality

4.    Corruption

5.     Vengeance

6.    Exploitation

7.     Favouritism

 

Inheritance: Paragraph development

Action: Ineffective leadership - Lacuna favours his incompetent friends and tribesmen at the expense of other citizens of Kutula. (Give sufficient textual details to support this)

Outcome: Problems - Show how citizens of Kutula e.g. Tamina, Lulu, Bengo and Judah bear the brunt of Kutula's nepotism and favouritism. (Give sufficient textual illustrations)

Background information

“These many years and he hasn’t seen anyone but his clansmen. And his bevy of concubines” -Tamina (p29)

“So I took courage and made friends with the manager who’s a tribesman of Leader Kasoo. It pays to know the leaders' tribesman.” -Zen (p34)

“I have the report here. It says there's no management worth talking of … political appointees and lax tribesmen” – Goldstein (p71)

“Anyone against the evacuation is to be dismissed forthwith. And start an immediate recruitment of people from our loyal clan, regardless of this education. Fill those positions with people … men I can trust.” -Lacuna (p96)

 

Sample set book essay question and answer based on Inheritance.

Ineffective leadership causes citizens a lot of difficulties. Citizens suffer impoverishment, detainment, harassment, cruelty among other ills. Lacuna Kasoo is inept as a leader and citizens of Kutula suffer as a result.  

Ineffective leadership leads to abject poverty. Tamina tells Bengo that Judah Zen Melo is wandering looking for jobs, competing with young people. Judah used to work for the government. When he falls out with the leader Lacuna, he is kicked out of his government house. Judah and Tamina lose their cars, government house and piece of land in Bukelenge.  They are left wallowing in abject poverty. Tamina is forced to pick coffee for Chipande on her former farm. Bengo says poverty makes it hard for them to see straight. Also, Lulu is sent home to collect school fees but Tamina cannot raise the money yet she works on the coffee farm all day with no extra money. On the other hand, Judah roams in search of a job and settles for one as a security guard in Patola. He lives in a cardboard house. Because of poverty, he is forced to compromise his principles. He befriends Mithambo, Lacuna's tribesman and a manager at Kasoo mines, because he needs his favour in getting a machine operator job. The desperation makes him to start drinking and to produce fake letters in pursuit of the job. In his drunken stupor, Judah says that a black man only rests when he  dies and is buried. He is overworked and underpaid. Sangoi tells Lacuna that there are many poor people crying at their doorsteps. Tamina's hut and clothes also depict poverty. Judah's family and many other citizens suffer impoverishment due to Lacuna's ineffective leadership.

Poor planning by Kutula's leaderships also causes problems for the citizens. The government dam project results in more harm than good. The valley dries up and Tamina has no choice but to walk up to fifteen kilometres from sunrise to sunset in search of the precious necessity. Also, schools charge exorbitant fees and most parents cannot afford. Lulu and three hundred others are sent home to collect fees for construction of a second perimeter wall, computer laboratory, games, and examination fees. In addition, the leaders borrow loans in their people's names but bank them in their individual accounts. They also throw useless lavish banquets and poor innocent citizens do not benefit at all. Everything is imported including the whiskies, canned beer, coffee etc. Lacuna also buys himself a swanky airplane and banks thirty percent of the balance in his account abroad. He cannot account for the expenditure of the loan and blames his cronies. As he squanders borrowed money, his subjects suffer poverty, unemployment and famine. This inefficiency can be attributed to appointment based on political loyalty and tribalism. Surely, citizens suffer when leaders run the affair of a country poorly.

More often than not, inefficient leaders are brutal. Bengo tells Tamina that elected leaders are servants not masters – but are they? When Judah refuses to murder his brother Bengo as instructed by Lacuna, he is fired and beaten to a pulp. He is saved by Dr. Jonathan. The cruel leader also arrests and detains Bengo for dissenting his savage leadership. Reverend Sangoi says many people disappeared on the day of his coronation. Lacuna wants Lulu to perform for him at his palace but her mother protests vehemently. She warns Tamina does not take no for an answer and may harm her family. Also, Lacuna plans to cruelly punish Lulu for dancing with Robert. She is to be charged with treason. This after detaining her illicitly against her will. She says Lacuna killed her father. Judah was murdered but Lacuna passed it off as an accident caused by the rotting machines. Robert dismisses this and affirms that it was murder for Judah. Lacuna is a cold-blooded tyrant who plans to violently quell an imminent uprising in Kutula. He asks colonel Yakumba to shoot protesters. He also executes a martial law with a strict dawn to dusk curfew. He instructs his officers to shoot looters and thieves on sight. Robert refers to this barbaric leader as a murderous thief , since he even requests for guns and ammunitions to use against his own people. Many innocent citizen like Lulu, Tamina and Judah suffer under this ruthless regime because of Lacuna's brutality.

In addition to that, Kutula faces the trial of corrupt leadership. First, Bengo notes that the people's sweat poured through Lacuna's porous pockets and bank accounts. Due to misuse of public funds, Lacuna plans to overwork government workers. He is also compelled by the foreign financiers to evacuate citizens from the valley and privatise the land.  Although he grossly misused the first loan disbursed to him, Lacuna still clamours to borrow more. Robert also notes that Lacuna banks these monies in his own foreign accounts across the world including Canada and Luxemberg. Due to the cash crunch caused by corruption, Lacuna plans to freeze people’s salaries, overtax businesses, abolish positions etc. Bengo says he has lost his family through Lacuna's greed and mismanagement . Surely, Bengo and others suffer because of Lacuna's incompetent leadership. Ineffective leadership thrives on corruption.

The leaders in Kutula are hell-bent on wreaking vengeance on any dissidents. Citizens like Bengo and Judah Zen Melo suffer for opposing the policies of Lacuna's authoritarian rule. Bengo was thrown behind bars for opposing Lacuna's brand of leadership. Lacuna had initially hatched a plan which would involve killing his brother Bengo, a thorn in Lacuna's political side. When he declined, Judah was sacked, grievously attacked and stripped off of all government property and condemned to a life of insolvency. He suffers wandering from town to town in search of employment with a view of feeding his family. Lacuna also takes revenge on Lulu for dancing with Robert due to jealousy. He detains her for ostensibly for refusing to participate in some traditional ceremony. Lacuna tells Sangoi that drastic measures would be taken against all dissidents if they resist the evacuation of citizens from the valley. Lacuna also vengefully kills Judah Zen Melo. Lastly, Bengo refuses to take up leadership to avoid taking people to the dark days of anger and revenge, exemplified by Lacuna's cruel regime. Surely, vengeful leaders cause many problems in Africa.  

Citizens of Kutula suffer exploitation by their leaders. First, the schools charge obscene amounts of fees at the expense of struggling parents like Tamina. Students like Lulu suffer as they struggle to achieve their dreams. Lulu wants to be a doctor but the mother cannot afford school fees despite working tirelessly at Chipande's farm. Lulu is so desperate to finish her studies that she pleads with her mother to borrow money. She has worked hard in school and is always among the top three in class. Chipande uses his position to forcibly buy land from Tamina for peanuts, deny others license to grow coffee and employ Tamina to pick coffee beans at his farm for low wages. Lacuna only cares about his clansmen and bevy of concubines and cannot help Tamina, or other citizens for that matter, to raise the school fees. After toiling at Kasoo mines, Judah can only raise a paltry eight hundred shillings which can barely meet their needs. Moreover, the leadership also plans to forcibly evacuate poor citizens from the nationalised valley. Lacuna also plans to freeze salaries and overtax citizens. Citizens in Kutula are overworked and thus suffer because of this exploitation.

Lulu suffers in Lacuna's hands since he is shamelessly immoral. He forces Lulu and other school girls to dance for him. He expects Lulu to sup with him in his private chambers supposedly to quench a national itch. Robert refers to Lacuna as an immoral ragamuffin in adult panty-hoses. Lacuna is angry at Robert for dancing with Lulu.  Goldstein warns Robert against infatuation for Lulu since she is a goddess to be used in some immoral ritual.  Lacuna stoops too low as a leader, as he flirts with and even kisses a nineteen year old schoolgirl. Lulu resists his advances telling him that she respects him as an elder and a leader. She is his daughter and still in school. Because of his immoral lust, Lacuna abuses his own wife in front of Lulu, insolently describing her as a demon and a cobra-headed hand grenade. Lacuna even has the temerity to send emissaries to ask Tamina for Lulu's hand in marriage. He wants to marry her by force, with Chipande as a best man. Because of his amorous lust, he even ignores his spiritual leader's advice.  Lulu and her mother really suffer this ordeal. This is testament to Lacuna's ineffective leadership.

Lastly, Lacuna favours his friends and relatives at the expense of other citizens. Lacuna does not care about people like Tamina's problems. He only entertains his clansmen and assemblage of concubines. Mithambo, his cousin, manages Kasoo mines. Judah has to befriend him in order to get the machine operator's job. This is after days of fawning and buying him drinks. He says it pays to know the leader's tribesman. Lacuna's leadership is inept because he hires inept officers with questionable management skills or no skills whatsoever. These are his political appointees and lax tribesmen. During the insurrection, Lacuna orders recruitment of army officers from his loyal tribe regardless of their education. He replaces industrious citizens with incompetent men he can trust. Surely, African problems arise due to such ineptitude.

In conclusion, ineffective leadership breeds corruption, abuse and misuse of authority, arrests, detention among other ills. As a result, citizens suffer.

 

Read Inheritance essay questions & answers here. 

Comment below if you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions. 

 

 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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