NAME: _____________________________________ DATE: ______________ PERIOD: ___________
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Genre: Mexican folktale
Setting: Colonial Mexican society
Location: Coastal village, La Paz
Timeframe: 19th or 20th Century
Style: Parable - a simple, short work, usually fictitious, that relays a moral lesson (often about good and evil)
Chapter 1
Vocabulary
Feint (4) n. A movement made to trick an enemy
Quote from book: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Plaintive (5) adj. Expressing sorrow
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Avarice (9) n. Excessive desire to gain and keep wealth
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Indigent (9) adj. Lacking money; impoverished
Quote from book: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Directions: Respond to the following quotes, terms, or questions in complete sentences. Explain what is occurring, how it
relates to an event, or why it is significant to the novel.
1. “… he would have called it the Song of the Family” (2-3). What does this “song” sound like? What does it mean to Kino?
2. “… a new song had come, the Song of Evil …” (5). What does this song sound like and what does it indicate?
3. “’The doctor,’ she said. ‘Go get the doctor’” (7). Why does this statement surprise Kino and the others who hear it?
4. “… the thousand washings of his clothes …” (8). What does this show?
5. “I am a doctor, not a veterinary” (11). Explain the doctor’s meaning.
6. “The doctor has gone out …” (12). Explain the significance of this statement.
Chapter 2
1. “… sea and land had the sharp clarities and the vagueness of a dream” (14).
2. “… a boat can guarantee a woman that she will eat something” (14). Use this passage to help explain the symbolism of
the boat.
3. “… Juana was making the magic of prayer…” (17); “… Juana repeated an ancient magic to guard against such evil …” (5).
Connect these two quotes and explain what they reveal about Juana and her culture in general.
4. “It is not good to want a thing too much. It sometimes drives the luck away” (18).
5. “Juana came near to stare at it in his hand, and it was the hand he had smashed against the doctor’s gate …” (19-20).
Explain the symbolism of the hand. Why does Steinbeck want you to see the pearl in his hurt hand?
6. “… the poison was receding from its body” (20). What is this event linked with? Compare the end of this chapter with
the end of chapter one.
NAME: _____________________________________ DATE: ______________ PERIOD: ___________
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Vocabulary
Undulate (17) v. To move with wavelike motion
Quote from book:
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Deft (19) adj. Neatly skillful and quick in one's movements
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Subside (19) v. Wear off or die down
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Alms (22) n. Donations given to the poor
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Disparage (25) v. Express a negative opinion of; belittle
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Curt (30) adj. rudely brief; using few words
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Dissemble (32) v. To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance
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Furtive (37) adj. Secretive and done to be hidden or to escape notice
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Chapter 3
Remember, to understand the meaning of these quotes, you should refer to the text and read the passage surrounding it.
1. “ … a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church” (21). What does this show about the priest and religion in
general?
2. “ … he became curiously every man’s enemy” (23). Why?
3. “It was in the pearl—the picture glowing there” (24). Why do these images appear in the pearl? What does the pearl
function as in this scene (what is it similar to)?
4. “‘My son will go to school,’ he said … ” (25). Why is this dream significant? What is the role of knowledge in this society?
5. “He was trapped as his people were always trapped … ” (30). Explain this and possibly connect to question #4.
6. “Out in the estuary a tight woven school of small fishes … ” (32-33). What does this image represent? Why does
Steinbeck choose to describe this image at this time?
7. What do you know about the “thing” that comes in the night? How do you know? (37)
8. Find an example of what you think is foreshadowing in this chapter.
NAME: _____________________________________ DATE: ______________ PERIOD: ___________
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Chapter 4
Vocabulary
Stalwart (47) adj. loyal, reliable, and hardworking
Quote from book:
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Benign (47) adj. gentle; kindly
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Contemptuous (49) adj. showing deep hatred or disapproval
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Brood (53) v. Think deeply about something that makes one unhappy
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1. “But each one must remain faithful to his post and must not go running about … ” (46).
2. “ … the face did not change, but the secret hand behind the desk missed in its precision” (49).
3. “ … then all of us have been cheated all our lives” (53).
4. “He had lost one world and not gained another” (53).
5. “He heard … the sleepy complaint of settling birds, the love agony of cats, the strike and withdrawal of little waves on
the beach, and the simple hiss of distance” (55).
6. “I am a man” (57).
NAME: _____________________________________ DATE: ______________ PERIOD: ___________
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Chapter 5
Vocabulary
Edifice (63) n. a building, especially a large, impressive one
Quote from book:
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Remember, to understand the meaning of these quotes, you should refer to the text and read the passage surrounding it.
1. “ … she had accepted it, and she would not resist or even protest” (59).
2. “ … she knew that the mountain would stand while the man broke himself” (59).
3. “Juana knew that the old life was gone forever” (60).
4. “The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat” (62).
5. “The pearl has become my soul” (67).
NAME: _____________________________________ DATE: ______________ PERIOD: ___________
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Chapter 6
Vocabulary
Guttural (72) adj. produced in the throat; harsh-sounding
Quote from book:
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Scuttle (73) v. run quickly or secretly with short quick steps
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Goad (75) v. provoke or annoy someone so as to cause some action or reaction
Quote from book:
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1. “ … some animal thing was moving in him” (69).
2. “ … and it was interwoven with the music of evil” (71).
3. “The little pools were places of life … and places of killing … ” (79).
4. “The family song was alive now and driving him down on the dark enemy” (84-85).
5. “ … Kino ahead and Juana behind as usual, but side by side” (88).
6. “Kino had a rifle across his arm … ” (88).