READING III

Name : FerderikaFaot

Class / Semester : B / III

1. Summery of The novel “ The Pearl “

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Kino is a pearl seeker living in a small beach shack near La Paz, with his wife Juana and their
only son Coyotito. They lived peaceably and peacefully until a disaster in the form of a scorpion
that stung their baby's favorite son one morning. Seeing that, Juana immediately lifted her son
who screamed in pain and sucked a trace of sting on the little boy's shoulder. While Kino angrily
catches the scorpion that has injured his son then grasped and squeezed it hard with his hands so
that the animal was destroyed. With a panicked face Juana wants a doctor's help to treat her
baby. An odd desire because people in their neighborhood never knew a doctor. They just use the
natural environment to treat something.

Walking Juana holding Coyotito followed by husband and neighbors around. Arriving at the
doctor's house, he who is greedy and arrogant person knows which group of prospective patients
is coming from, so he tells his maid to ask they go because he suspects that they will not able to
pay for medical expenses. Knowing that, Kino felt utterly humiliated by the doctor's treatment
and reacted by hit the gate of the greedy doctor's home so that blood flowed between his fingers.

Walking the little family back to the village is still followed by faithful neighbors. Arriving at the
village, Kino and Juana are still holding their babies walking toward the canoe commonly used
by fishermen to work looking for pearls. Kino also pedaled his canoe to the sea and hoped he
would get enough pearls in order to pay the doctor to want to treat his son. Upon arriving at sea,
Kino gets out of the canoe to dive to the bottom for an oyster while Juana waits on it while
cladding Coyotito's wound with a herb. While Kino dived between the rocks and the rocks, he
saw an oversized oyster. Kino picks it up and takes it to the top of the canoe. Then he shuddered
open the oyster, Kino and Juana were very shocked to see a very large and beautiful pearl they
had never seen before. With the findings that Kino screamed loudly so the fishermen heard it. In
a short time news of the discovery of 'giant pearls' by Kino also spread throughout the village to
even the city.

In addition to bringing happiness, the pearl has also created anxiety in Kino's heart. He feels
uneasy and suspects everyone wants to grab his pearls. Neither his wife Juana or his brother Juan
Tomas had advised Kino to be careful with the pearls. They think it brings trouble and disaster to
Kino. But Kino insisted on keeping for the next day sold at pearl merchants. Among pearl
merchants, there has been a conspiracy that makes Kino unable to get a decent price for pearls.
He refused and decided to sell it directly to the big city.

Threats to Kino and his family are increasing. There are nighttime strikes from unknown people
to kill Kino and grab his pearls Knowing that, Kino and family run away from home and hide
while at Juan Tomas' house.

There they hid until the night. As the night wore on, the kino, Juana and Coyotito walked along
the coast out of town. They decide to look for an unassailable path to avoid those who want their
pearls. Once in the forest they rest. When Juana was asleep, Kino saw that in the distance there
were three people who followed in his footsteps. Knowing that they went back on their way to
the mountain. They arrive at the mountain in the evenings. Then Kino decided to rest in a cave
on a hill. When they rested, Kino returned to see the three men and this time they were very
close to the hiding place.

Kino left his wife and son in the cave. He sneaked through the bushes toward the resting place of
the three men. When Kino will kill one of them, a sudden cry from the cave of Juana cries and
the cry of death from Coyotito, Kino blindly attacked the three men. Finally Kino managed to
kill them and rushed to the cave where Juana was. Sorrow and anger raged in the cave.

With an uncertain step, Kino and Juana walking toward La Paz. Along the way everyone seemed
to be silent watching what they saw. Kino and Juana continued to walk, past their former tel-cabs

With an uncertain step, Kino and Juana walking toward La Paz. Along the way everyone seemed
to be silent watching what they saw. Kino and Juana kept moving, past their former shacks that
had been flattened to the ground and their half-drowned canoes. Their gaze was straight and
empty, heading for the beach. Arrived the beach, Kino pulls out his pearl. He held it tight, lifted
it high, then threw it all the way out to sea. They watched the pearl floating in the air, then fell
into the sea and disappeared from sight. The rhythm of beauty from the giant pearls gradually
disappeared into the ocean, and now all that remains is bitterness.

2. whether there is a conflict or not and how the conflict is resolved

There are three conflicts :
 Conflict between Kino and Docter
This conflict occurs because of economic problems, the doctor refuse to treat
coyotito because he think that they can not pay for medical expenses.
 Completion: Kino and his wife found a big pearl.Finally, the Docter treat
their baby in the hope of being paid handsomely.
 Conflict between Kino and the pearl merchants
This Conflict occurs because of discontentment of pearl price offerings is priced
too low.
 Completion : kino does not sell pearls to the merchants and plan to sell
the pearls to big city.
  Conflict between kino and hunters

This coflict occurs of the death of ciyocotito being shot dead by hunters.

 Completion : Kino killed the hunters and decided to throw the pearls to the
beach

3. Characters:
 Kino : Kino is a hardworking and lovely.He is a simple man who lives in a brush
house with his wife, Juana, and their infant son, Coyotito, both of whom he loves
very much. After Kino finds a great pearl, he becomes increasingly ambitious and
greedy.

 Juana : Kino’s wife. She is a good person, patient,lovely and care.

 Coyo : Kino and Juana’s only son, who is stung by a scorpion while resting in a
hammock one morning. not very much talk about child, in the novel more talk about
kino and juana.
4. Favorite character and reason :

In this novel my favorite character is juana. It is because She is a lovely person and
cared to his family and prayed for the healing of his son and she try to disenchant her
husband for his greed.

5. Message :
 in this novel we are made aware of the true meaning of life: wealth is not
everything and happiness can not be bought.
 Family is a priority, do not chase the terasure and leaving priority.
6. Assessment of the story :
I think this story is good. This is a very interesting story to read. Not only entertaining us
by telling stories, in this novel we are made aware of the true meaning of life.
I am disappointed with the kino character who was aim to save his son from sickness but
he instead to interested the pearl and forgot his main purpose.