BOOK REPORT OF THE PEARL

1. Title : The Pearl

2. Author : John Steinbeck
3. Publisher : Penguin Books
4. Year of publication : 1994 edition
5. Plot summary

Exposition
Kino’s son is stung by a scorpion and the doctor refuses to cure the baby.
In the early morning in La Paz, California, when Kino and Juana have just woken up,
when Kino is outside to see the sunrise, a scorpion stings Kino’s son. The baby crying makes
the neighbors see what happens. Juana is desperate and anxious because the sting of a
scorpion is deadly for a baby. So, they take Coyotito, their baby, to the doctor in the town
even though they know that the doctor might refuse them as they have little money.
Unfortunately, the rich, jerk doctor has gone and indeed refuses them and despises them
because Kino has not enough money. From this, Kino is put in an emotional state, for he
becomes angry.

Rising action
Kino and Juana find The Pearl of the World
That morning the same day, Kino and Juana, with her baby, as usual find oysters in
the sea using a boat. They then find The Pearl of the World, the great pearl, perfect as the
moon. It is as large as a sea-gull’s egg, it captures the light and refines it back in silver
incandescence. From that, Kino and Juana become so optimistic that they will be rich. They
dream about curing Coyotito’s swollen arm, buying a rifle, or making sure Coyotito will go
to school once he has grown older. The news spreads quickly in the town and village nearby.
However, everyone also dreams big and ready to do anything to get the pearl from Kino and
Juana. Even the Father of the Church comes to see. After the priest’s visit, the jerk doctor and
his servant come to Kino’s house. The doctor lies to Kino about curing the baby so that Kino
will think that the doctor is really generous although what the doctor actually wants is the
pearl. After the visit, Kino is attacked by a stranger in the dark. The man in the dark probably
wants to steal Kino’s pearl. Then, Kino gets injured. That day, Juana starts to think that the
pearl is bad for them.

Complication
Unknown attackers destroy Kino’s boat and burn his house
The next day, Kino tries to sell the pearl to the dealers who usually have business on
selling and buying pearls. The pearl-buyers try to scam Kino with such a low price and say
that the pearl is clumsy and unworthy. Kino then gets mad and goes home. He then intends to
sell the pearl to the capital. Later that day at night, Kino is attacked by two strangers in the
dark. Kino fights them and one of them dies. Then, Kino and Juana with the baby try to
escape from the stranger but the boat has a hole in it. Suddenly, their house is burned. The
three of them then go to the house of Kino’s Juan Tomas, Kino’s brother. The neighbors and
the attackers do not notice them. Then, Kino intends to go to the cities in the north to escape
by the next night because it is no longer safe.

Climax
Strangers follow Kino and Juana on the way they escape
Kino and Juana go to the north and avoid shore. They also hide in the woods.
Unfortunately, there are trackers who follow them. Kino and Juana climb the hill and find a
pond. Then they find a cave to hide. While they are hiding, Kino watches the trackers down
the beach. There are three trackers and the two of them are sleeping and one of them stays
awake with a rifle in his hands. Juana waits in the cave. The climax happens when Kino
attacks the trackers by taking over the rifle and shooting them dead. Unfortunately, they
heard a cry from the cave, “cry of death” as mentioned in the book.

Falling Action
Kino and Juana return to La Paz after Coyotito is dead
The “cry of death” from the cave is probably either Coyotito’s cry or Juana’s
mourning. However, it can be concluded that Coyotito is dead although it is not mentioned
frankly in the book.

Denouement
Kino throws the pearl into the ocean
Juana convinces Kino that the pearl is evil and that they should get rid of it. After
such argument, Kino is finally convinced to let the pearl go. He throws it out of their lives
and it can be assumed that they go back to being poor... minus a canoe, house, and their son.

6. Characters and Characterization

Kino
- Optimistic
 When Kino thinks about selling the pearl, he is very optimistic he will get much
money. Unfortunately, the dealers trick him. Another occasion is that Kino is
optimistic about another chance. One chance has gone, then another chance will soon
welcome him. For instance when he is refused by the dealers, Kino then intends to
sell the pearl to the capital city. Kino also thinks of going to the north to escape from
the attackers and he is very sure about it.
- Religious
Kino often says some utterances mentioning the existence about God. For instance,
“go with God”.
- Ambitious
When Kino finds the pearl, he is full of dreams and ambitiousness that they will
escape from poverty.
- Hard-working
He never gives up on the bad things that happen to his family. He always tries to find
a way out.
- Has a strong heart
Whatever happens to him, Kino never shows sadness or despair. He also always
calms Juana down when something happens.
- Loyal
Kino is loyal to Juana whatever bad occasions happen. Even when they are followed
by the trackers in the woods, Kino always makes sure that Juana will be alright. Even,
Kino tells Juana to hide in the woods then in the cave while he himself attacks the
trackers.

Juana
- Religious
Juana, likewise, often says some utterances mentioning the existence of God.
- Loyal
When Juana is told by Kino to wait in the woods while Kino outwits the trackers,
Juana says she must come with him wherever he goes. After that, they both never
separated until the moment Kino attacks the trackers while Juana waits in the cave.
- Caring
Juana cares so much about her son and Kino. When Coyotito is stung by a scorpion,
Juana becomes so anxious and wants to rush to the doctor. That way we can tell she is
a caring person. Another occasion is, she immediately tries to heal Kino when some
strangers attack him in the dark.

Coyotito
- Coyotito is still a baby, so the characterization cannot be told much.

The doctor
- Greedy
When he hears that Kino has a worthy pearl, he starts to think about such a paradise
and holiday in Paris and that he can go there again using the pearl if he has it.
 - Selfish
When he is asked to cure Kino’s son, he refuses and despises Kino’s poor family, asks
if Kino has money or not instead of helping them. He does not even bother to get out
of his house and welcome Kino’s family and he tells his servant instead. Knowing
that Kino and Juana are such a poor family, he then goes away to such an important
thing.
- Materialistic
When he suddenly becomes a kind man towards Kino after he knows about the pearl,
he cures Kino’s baby and saying some nice thing to Kino. Whereas, he only wants the
pearl and money.

The pearl-dealers
- Tricky
They want to buy the pearl with the lowest price they can get. They lie to Kino that
the pearl is worthless.
- Greedy
Whereas, they are just the same as the doctor who only wants the pearl that can make
them rich.

The neighbors
- Sympathetic
When they hear Coyotito crying because of the sting of the scorpion, the neighbors
come to see Kino's house of what happened that morning. They often assemble as a
unified chorus or procession to follow and support the family. However, some of
them are probably as greedy as everyone who also wants to own the pearl. Oftenly,
Kino is attacked by some strangers in the dark at night.

The priest
- Religious
While Kino and Juana are persuaded by his benevolence, he reminds Kino and Juana
to thank God for their discovery, that he, too, is only interested in the wealth that their
pearl promises.

Juan Tomas (Kino’s older brother)

- Supportive
He give shelter to Kino. He also advices Kino to get rd of the pearl because it brings
evilness.
- Religious
Same as Kino and Juana, Juan Tomas also often says utterances that mention God.

Doctor’s servant
- Polite
He does not show selfishness when he knows that Kino does not have enough money.
Apolonia
- Apolonia is Juan Tomas’ wife. In the story, Apolonia does not appear that much.
Same as Juan Tomas, she supports Kino’s family.

7. Setting (Place and Time)

Places
The story is set in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
- In a small village near the sea.
- In Kino’s small house.
- In the sea, where Kino and his wife finds the great pearl.
- In the pearl-dealers’ place.
- In Juan Tomas’ small house.
- In the woods where Juana and Kino hiding.
- In the pond where Kino and Juana take a rest from walking far.
- In the cave where Juana hids.
- In the beach where Kino kills the trackers.
Times
The story is set in the 1940s.
- During the dusk, in the afternoon, during the dawn, in the night.

8. Atmosphere
- Intense
Throughout the story plot, almost everything is intense and emotional because it is
full of surprising and bad things which happen to Kino and Juana. Only when Kino
finds the great pearl that shows happiness in Kino and Juana’s minds because they
dream about many things.
- Thrilling
The atmosphere is always thrilling because from the beginning to the end, the main
characters have been facing problems. Starting from when Kino’s son is stung by a
scorpion. The story becomes more thrilling after Kino has found the great pearl. After
Kino owns the pearl, many bad things happen to his family. The most thrilling
moment is when Kino and his family are followed by the trackers in the woods and
when Kino is attacking the trackers at the beach.
 BOOK REPORT OF THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

1. Title : The Old Man and the Sea

2. Author : Ernest Hemingway
3. Publisher : Charles Scribner’s Sons
4. Year of publication : 1952
5. Plot summary

Exposition
Santiago, an old fisherman, has gone eighty-four days without taking a fish. He can be
categorized as a salao or “unlucky”—the most severe lack of luck. Santiago’s friend,
Manolin, a young boy, has been forbidden by his parents to go taking fish with him any more
and told to join the boats that have more successful fishermen. Manolin is very loyal to
Santiago and he visits him in his run-down shack every night and helps him prepare his
fishing gear. The old man barely eats and Manolin tries to encourage him by cooking for him.
Both of them talk, mainly about baseball and Joe Di Maggio, baseball player that is their
favorite player.

Rising action
The next day, Santiago goes fishing alone, out further than usual, far into the Gulf
Stream, into the Straits of Florida. He sets his coiled lines going down the water. Before
noon, a line is taken by something big. Santiago thinks it is marlin. The marlin keeps
swimming and pulls the fishing skiff behind it, so then it turns out that the fish is really big
and strong. Santiago keeps hold on the line using his hand, until one of his hands is cramped.
He often says to himself that he will successfully kill the fish.
Two days and two nights pass. To make his mind feel better, the old man starts to
think about baseball. Santiago always keeps his coiled line. At the end of the second day, his
hands are more in pain. He also talks to the fish as if they are friends. He says he loves the
fish but he also wants to kill it.
Complication
On the third day, the fish is still pulling the skiff. Santiago’s pain has become worse.
The fish begins to swim in and circling the skiff. He tries to pull the marlin on to the side of
the skiff. When the right time comes, he kills it with a harpoon and straps it to the side of the
boat.

Climax
The marlin’s blood seeps out and becomes in the water, leaving clouds of blood. It
attracts the sharks to come that want to eat the marlin. Santiago fights them off and luckily
kills a great mako shark with his harpoon but his harpoon also drown down with as the shark
dies. By tying his knife to the end of an oar, the old man creates a weapon and starts battling
the other sharks. It makes the old man into as if an unending battle. He kills five eventually.
However, they return and eat the marlin fish.

Falling action
The sharks have devoured the entire fish by sunset, leaving just the skeleton, head,
and tail. The next day, Santiago finally arrives at the beach where he lives. He drags his
fishing gear to his shack and leaves the fish skeleton on the sand, still attached to the skiff.
Then, he goes back to his shack. He lies down in his bed and falls asleep quickly.

Denouement
In the morning, the other fishermen watch the skiff and they are amazed by the size of
the marlin. One of them measures it and declares the fish to be 18 feet long from the tip of its
nose to the tip of its tail, two feet longer than the boat. The fishermen depart for their day of
fishing, asking Manolin to apologize to the old man for what he has been going through.
Manolin rushes to the old man’s shack and sees him sleeping. He cries when he sees
how badly Santiago's hands have been hurt. He goes out and buys newspapers and coffee for
him. When the old man wakes up, the two decide to go fishing together once more. Then, the
old man falls asleep again, dreaming of his youth and lions on an African island.

6. Characters and Characterization

Santiago
- Optimistic
The old man is very optimistic about killing the fish. He never loses hopes.
- Religious
The old man often says some utterances remembering God. For instance, “Thank
God he is travelling and not going down”, “But I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail
Marys that I should catch this fish, and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin
de Cobre if I catch him,” “Hail Marys full of Grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art
thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of
God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
- Hard-working
He never gives up on bad things. He always tries to find a way out.
 - Fearless
When he is dealing with the marlin fish, he is pretty sure he will kill the fish.

Manolin
- Loyal
When Manolin is told by his parents to come with other lucky fishermen, he actually
does not want to leave the old man.
- Caring
Manolin cares for the old man. He tries to cook and bring food for him. Also, when
the old man comes back after three days out on the sea, he still takes care of him.

7. Setting (Place and Time)

Places
The story is set in Cuba, near Havana.
- The old man’s shack where he and Manolin talk with each other and have meals.
- The old man’s boat is out on the sea where he catches the big marlin and fights the
sharks.
- The seashore where the old man arrives after three days on the sea, where he puts his
skiff and the skeleton, where the other fishermen take a look at the skeleton.
Times
The story is set in the 1940's.
In the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, before dusk, at night, before dawn.

8. Atmosphere
- Intense
At the beginning until the climax of the story, almost everything is intense because
the old man struggles with many occasions such as when he is waiting for the right
time until three days to kill the fish. The worst occasion is that he has to deal with the
sharks which come to eat his fish.
- Pathetic
He finally kills five sharks, but at the end, on the way to the beach, other sharks keep
coming and eating his fish until his fish becomes just a skeleton. The pitiful part is
where he reaches the beach before dawn, when nobody is even around. It feels like a
failure for him, only himself and the skeleton and no one is around, after what he has
been going through out on the sea.
- Touching
It is when Manolin takes care of Santiago when he finds out that the old man is still
alive. Manolin even cries seeing the old man’s hurt arms. Also, when the people
gather around the skeleton, it feels like the people are proud of and feel sorry for the
old man. It is like a win and failure at the same time.