Name__________________
Reading Guide for The Pearl
Period_____
You are expected to keep this sheet in your notebook and bring it to class every
day as we read The Pearl together as a class. You will be responsible for learning
the terms on this sheet and for understanding how they apply to this book.
Terms to know
1. novel a long work of fiction (emphasis not called chapter book)
2. novella a short novel
3. parable a story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson
Elements of a novel – setting, point of view, characterization, plot and theme
1. setting where and when a story takes place
setting of The Pearl La Paz, Mexico
2. point of view the perspective from which a story is told
point of view of The Pearl 3rd person
3. characterization (include the methods of characterization)
The techniques an author uses to create and develop characters. Five methods:
1. Show character in action. 2. Show character in conversation. 3. Give a
physical description. 4. Reveal the character’s thoughts. 5. Show how other
characters respond to the character.
Characters in The Pearl
Character
Kino
Juana
Description – cite pages
Father, loves his family, young and strong (4)
Loving mother, blue shawl, dark eyes, protective of
child. Strong (7)
Coyotito
Baby, bitten by scorpion in beginning, dies at end
The doctor Fat, lazy, avaricious, rich, rude, racist, mean (10)
The priest
Talks to Kino and Juana like they are children (27)
Wants Kino to give $ to the church (28)
The dealers Try to cheat Kino, sneaky and nasty (49-52)
The
One on horseback, two on foot, one rifle, compared
trackers
often to dogs in Chapter 6.
4. plot the events of the story
Plot Summaries by Chapter
Chapter 1
Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, and the doctor refuses to help because the family
is poor and do not have the money to pay him.
Chapter 2
Kino finds a pearl and calls it the “greatest pearl in the world” (19).
Chapter 3
The doctor comes to “help” Coyotito (probably after learning that Kino has found
a valuable pearl). The doctor gives Coyotito a pill, but the baby becomes sicker.
The doctor gives him more medicine, and he recovers. It seems that the doctor
made him sick with the first medicine so he could cure him. Someone tries to steal
the pearl.
Chapter 4
The pearl dealers refused to make Kino a fair offer for the pearl. It seems they
had a plan to trick/cheat him. Kino decides to travel 1,000 miles to the capital to
sell it. He is attacked in the night.
Chapter 5
Juana tries to destroy the pearl and Kino attacks her. The canoe is broken and
the house burned down. Kino kills a man in self-defense. Juan Tomas hides the
family during the day, and they leave at night.
Chapter 6
Juana and Kino flee La Paz but are followed by the trackers. Kino kills the
trackers, but Coyotito is shot and killed. They return to La Paz and throw the
pearl back into the ocean.
5. theme the message about life or human nature communicated by a work of
literature
Examples from The Pearl:
 Greed can destroy relationships.
 The desire for money can cause people to act in evil ways.
 Value the love of family more than material things.
Literary Terms and Devices
conflict a struggle between two opposing forces. Conflicts may be external
(character vs. character; character vs. society; character vs. nature) or internal
(character vs. self).
Kino vs. Self (obsession with pearl/his greed)
Kino vs. Society (doctor, priest, pearl dealers – society has subjugated Kino and
his people)
Kino vs. Juana and Kino vs. trackers (character vs. character)
simile a comparison between two seemingly unlike things using the words like or as
ExampleS: “He hissed at her like a snake” (59)
“Kino had become as cold and deadly as steel” (87)
metaphor a comparison between two seemingly unlike things without using the
words like or as
Example: “Kino was a terrible machine” (87)
personification describing nonhuman animals, objects, or ideas as though they
possess human qualities or emotions
Example: “The little flames danced” (27)
imagery (including light and dark imagery) the use of language that appeals to the
reader’s sense in order to heighten the emotional effect of the writing
Example: “The wind blew fierce and strong, and it pelted them with bits of sticks,
sand, and little rocks. Juana and Kino gathered their clothing tighter about them
and
covered their noses and went out into the world. The sky was brushed clean by the wind
and the stars were cold in a black sky” (68).
symbolism the author’s use of symbols (objects/people/animals that have deeper
meaning and represent something else) in literature
What does each symbol represent in the book?
canoe livelihood, independence
scorpion evil
pearl (and how does this symbol change throughout the book?)
at first symbolizes hope and later symbolizes evil