Post-Reading Activity: Chapter 1

The novella opens at dawn in the impoverished brush-house village of Kino, a young Indigenous pearl diver. As he awakens to the simple, peaceful "Song of the Family," his day is shattered w1hen a scorpion stings his infant son, Coyotito.

Desperate, Kino and his wife, Juana, rush to the local European doctor for help. However, the doctor, living in luxury in his stone house, cruelly refuses to treat the baby because Kino has no money and is of a lower social class.

Humiliated and enraged, Kino returns to the sea not to find wealth, but in a final, desperate hope that a pearl might pay for his son's treatment. This act of despair sets the stage for a discovery that will change their lives forever.

By Jason Greenfield

​Chapter 1 Synopsis

Now that you have finished reading Chapter 1, you are going to breakdown and analyze how the contrasting worlds of Kino's village and the Colonial Town create the central conflict within this story.

​We are going to look at three separate aspects of how Kino and his family are characterized vs. the Doctor and colonial powers .

• Housing and Possessions

• Beliefs and Actions

• Relationship with Nature and Community.

There is a clear contrast in the quality of housing that the native people, and Kino's family live in compared to the Doctor and characters who are meant to symbolize the colonial powers.

Your next task will present four separate statements about the housing or possessions of these two characters and your task is to match these quotations (or statements) to the appropriate group of people.

Housing and Possessions

Categorize

Options (7)

They have dirt floors

They sleep on a mat

Their house is made of natural materials like brush

His house is full of expensive foreign objects

He sits in a large comfortable chair and sleeps in a bed

His house is made of stone and concrete

His house has a garden and birds in a cage

Organize these options into the right categories

Kino and the Village

Doctor and the Town

Kino's family live in a "brush house" made of natural materials, where his wife and he sleep on a mat that is placed on the raw, dirt floor.

His most valuable possession is a canoe, which is used for his livelihood and is the way that he can provide for his family.

Kino and Family

​The Doctor lives in a walled compound, that is made of stone and concrete - his House has a garden and caged birds.

He owns a wide range of expensive foreign objects like his silk dressing gown and his high, comfortable bed.

The Doctor (Colonial Power)

Open Ended

Compare the living conditions of Kino and the Doctor, what do these conditions highlight about the inequality within the setting? Why do you think Steinbeck highlights this?

Examine the beliefs and actions of Kino and the Villagers - how do they feel about their respective places in society and how does this influence their actions?

Contrast this with the behaviour of the Doctor.

Match the appropriate quotes to the appropriate character.

​

Beliefs and Actions

Categorize

Options (6)

Values money over human lives

Is directly racist towards natives and calls them animals

Isolates himself from the larger community

Takes communal responsibility

Is treated poorly

Frustrated at his present situation

Organize these options into the right categories

Kino and the Villagers

Doctor and the Town

The villagers each take communal responsibiltiy and everybody comes together to visit the Doctor's house when Kino carries Coyotito to ask for treatment.

The villagers and Kino have a poor relationship with the Doctor, due to his colonial history and so reacts in anger when the Doctor rejects treating his son.

​​Kino and the Village

​The Doctor is a man who values money over human life, as he rejects even seeing Coyotito on the basis that he believes Kinos family have no money.

He further illustrates his racist attitudes towards the Villagers, calling them animals.

His point of contact with the village is through his servant, who acts as a gatekeeper and barrier between him and the natives.

Doctor and the Town

Open Ended

How do the contrasting attitudes and actions highlight the difference between The Villagers and those who live in The Town?

Steinbeck

"The Pearl is a story that explores the conflict of a native man vs. the inequality of colonial society that limits the ability of Kino and his Family to have a fulfilling life." 

Open Ended

To what extent do you agree with the statement on the previous slide: The Pearl is a story that explores the conflict of a native man vs. the inequality of colonial society that limits the ability of Kino and his Family to have a fulfilling life.

Why do you think this way?

What evidence in Chapter 1 supports your belief.