The Pearl
Vocabulary list
Context clues
●Check for meaning
behind the words
surrounding the
unknown word.
●Look for clues in
suffixes and
prefixes.
●Does the word
have a Latin
base?
●What is the tone of
the passage?
List #1 1 & 2
● Covey
o “Outside the brush
house in the tuna
clump, a covey of
little birds
chattered and
flurried with their
wings” (Steinbeck
1).
● A small flock of birds
●Plaintively
o “. . .the Song of the
Family cried
plaintively”
(Steinbeck 6).
●Expressing
sorrow.
List #1 3 & 4
● Lymphatic
o “. . .the red
swelling extended
farther around it in
a hard lymphatic
mound” (Steinbeck
8).
● Of or pertaining to the
lymph nodes.
● Consolation
o “They slept at their
posts in the
shadow of the
church so that no
one crept in for
consolation without
their knowledge”
(Steinbeck 11).
● To comfort in time of
grief or loss.
List #1 5 & 6
● Avarice
o “They knew his
ignorance, his
cruelty, his avarice,
his appetites, his
sins” (Steinbeck
11).
● Greed
● Indigent
o “They followed to
see what the fat
lazy doctor would
do about an
indigent baby”
(Steinbeck 12).
● A destitute or needy
person.
List #1 7 & 8
● Suppliant
o “. . .Kino stood in
front of the gate
with Juana beside
him. Slowly he put
his suppliant hat on
his head”
(Steinbeck 13).
● Expressing humble
characteristics.
● Estuary
o “The town lay on a
broad estuary…It’s
old yellow plaster
buildings hugging
the beach”
(Steinbeck 17).
● An arm of the sea
that extends inland to
meet the mouth of a
river.
List #1 9 & 10
●Bulwark
o“It is the bulwark
against
starvation”
(Steinbeck 19).
●Providing
protection.
●Unsubstantial
o“…the minds of
the people are
as unsubstantial
as the mirage of
the gulf”
(Steinbeck 20).
●Lacking strength.
List #2 - 11 & 12
●Undulate
o “Above, the
surface of the
water was an
undulating error of
brightness”
(Steinbeck 22).
●To move in a
smooth wavelike
motion.
●Obscure
o “Kino moved
cautiously so that
the water would
not be obscured
with mud or sand”
(Steinbeck 22).
●Indistinct. Not
easy to see
through.
List #2 - 13 & 14
●Perceptible
o “There was a
secret little inner
song, hardly
perceptible, but
always there. . .”
(Steinbeck 23).
●Capable of being
noticed.
●Speculatively
o “He looked
speculatively at the
basket” (Steinbeck
25).
●Unsure, but
thoughtful.
List #2 - 15 & 16
●Illusion
o “In this Gulf of
uncertain light
there were more
illusions than
realities”
(Steinbeck 25).
● A mistaken
perception of reality.
●Deft(ly)
o “Kino deftly slipped
his knife into the
edge of the shell”
(Steinbeck 25).
●Skillfully.
List #2 - 17 & 18
●Incandescent
o “[The pearl] captured
the light and refined it
and gave it back in
silver incandescence
“(Steinbeck 25).
●Light emitted by
an object.
●Judicious
o “. . .When it was
made plain who
Kino was, the
doctor grew stern
and judicious at the
same time”
(Steinbeck 28).
●Having judgment.
List #2 - 19 & 20
●Almsgiver
o “. . .They knew that
there was no almsgiver
in the world like a poor
man who is suddenly
lucky” (Steinbeck 29).
●A person who
gives money or
goods to charity.
●Semblance
o “. . .There was only
one, and he kept these
agents in separate
offices to give a
semblance of
competition”
(Steinbeck 29).
● Closely resembling,
or being like
something else.
List #3 - 21 & 22
●Precipitate
o “The essence of pearl
mixed with essence of
men and a curious
dark residue was
precipitated”
(Steinbeck 30).
●To condense and
fall as rain or
snow.
●Distillate
o “The news stirred up
something infinitely
black and evil in the
town; the black
distillate was like the
scorpion. . .”
(Steinbeck 32).
● The liquid condensed
from vapor.
List #3 - 23 & 24
●Disparage
o “And this is said in
disparagement whereas it
is one of the greatest
talents the [human]
species has and one that
has made it superior to
animals” (Steinbeck 32).
●Making someone
feel low -- like they
are beneath you.
●Prophecy
o “But Kino’s face shone
with prophecy”
(Steinbeck 33).
● A prediction.
List #3 - 25 & 26
●Subjugate
o “Kino stood in the door, and
hatred raged and flamed in
back of his eyes, and fear
too, for the hundreds of
years of subjugation were
cut deep in him” (Steinbeck
38).
● To bring under the
domination of another.
To enslave.
●Inaudible
o “There came a sound
so soft, a touch of a
foot on earth, the
almost inaudible purr
of controlled breathing”
(Steinbeck 48).
● Not capable of being
heard.
List #3 - 27 & 28
●Consecrate
o “From a secret place,
Juana brought a little
piece of consecrated
candle” (Steinbeck
49).
● To declare as holy.
●Poultice
o “It’s warm lucence
(sic) promised a
poultice against
illness and a wall
against insult”
(Steinbeck 51).
●A thick paste used
to heal a sore.
List #3 - 29 & 30
●Diffuse
o “[He saw] the tone of
the diffused green
light of the sea
bottom” (Steinbeck
51).
● To scatter or spread
out; to make less
brilliant.
●Lucent
o “It’s warm lucence
(sic) promised a
poultice against
illness and a wall
against insult”
(Steinbeck 51).
●To give off light.
List #4 - 31 & 32
●Tithe
o “The beggars in front
of the church spoke
of it, for they would
be there to take the
tithe of the first fruits
of the luck”
(Steinbeck 54).
● A 10% gift of one’s
salary given to charity.
● Countenance
o “This was
extravagant and
not to be
countenanced”
(Steinbeck 54).
● A look that shows a
person’s feelings.
List #4 - 33 & 34
●Stalwart
o “…an old man came
to see, riding on the
stalwart shoulders of
his nephew”
(Steinbeck 60).
● Having physical
strength.
● Benign
o “His face was
fatherly and
benign, and his
eyes twinkled with
friendship”
(Steinbeck 61).
● Good natured; kind.
List #4 - 35 & 36
●Lethargy
o “Kino sat brooding on
his sleeping mat. A
lethargy had settled
on him” (Steinbeck
71).
● The condition of being
tired and sleepy.
● Preservation
o “Sometimes the
quality of woman,
the reason, the
caution, the sense
of preservation,
could save them
all” (Steinbeck 77).
● To maintain
unchanged.
List #4 - 37 & 38
●Exhilaration
o “Through the night
there came a rush of
exhilaration”
(Steinbeck 90).
● To be happy.
● Wary
o “Some animal thing
was moving in him
so that he was
cautious and wary”
(Steinbeck 90).
● To be on guard;
watchful.
List #4 - 39 & 40
●Monotonously
o “The family went on
monotonously hour
after hour” (Steinbeck
90).
● Dull and repetitious.
● Triumphant
o “The music of the
pearl was
triumphant in
Kino’s head”
(Steinbeck 91).
● Victorious;
conquering.
List #5 - 41 & 42
●Monolithic
o “Ahead were the
naked granite
mountains, rising out
of erosion rubble,
and standing
monolithic against
the sky” (Steinbeck
99).
● Massive; solid and
uniform.
● Freshet
o “The freshets had
made a small
sandy beach
through which the
pool flowed”
(Steinbeck 104).
● A sudden overflow
from a stream.
List #5 - 43 & 44
●Petulant
o “The baby was weary
and petulant, and he
cried softly”
(Steinbeck 104).
● Irritable.
● Erosion
o “He saw a series of
erosion caves”
(Steinbeck 106).
● Natural processes
that wear away a
substance.
List #5 - 45 & 46
●Clamber
o “He slipped off his
sandals, and
clambered up to
them, gripping the
bare stone with his
toes” (Steinbeck
106).
● To climb with difficulty
using both hands and
feet.
● Malignant
o “And the pearl was
ugly; it was gray,
like a malignant
growth” (Steinbeck
117).
● Evil; bad.
Be a Team
● Choose a team
leader
● Pick a team name
● Set up study
groups/study partners
● Exchange e-mail
addresses/phone
numbers
● Work as a team.
● The leader should be
someone who will
unite and motivate
the whole class. This
person will be
impartial and
inclusive.