The Pearl
By: John Steinbeck
Kino lived in a brush house along the Gulf of Spain with his wife Juana
and baby boy Coyotito. Like his relatives, he was a poor diver and was not
very wealthy. He would dive to the bottom of the pearl beds and gather
anything of value that washed in from the Gulf. Kino was a strong young man
with long black hair that covered his face with a thin rough mustache. In
the mornings when he woke up, Kino would listen to the tiny waves roll up on
the shore. Since his people were once great song makers, Kino would sit,
think, and sing the beautiful songs of his great ancestors. The town along
the Gulf was small and peaceful, where everybody knew each other, which was
where Kino wanted to live his life. Things seemed to be going perfect for
him.
One morning his child awakened with a scorpion sting on his right
shoulder. The doctor would not tend to the puncture because he knew Kino's
family had little money. Kino became enraged with fury because the doctor's
greed of money was more important than the treatment and life of Coyotito.
Kino frantically needed to search the pearl beds below in order to come up
with something valuable. The perfect pearl about the size of a sea gull's
egg was found. This pearl meant everything to Kino because it determined the
life of his son . He began to think of ways of how to spend the money that
he would receive from the pearl. He saw in the pearl that his family would
have new clothes. He and Juana could now get married in a church. Kino saw
Coyotito having a harpoon, and himself with a new rifle. His son could...
The Pearl
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