Boekverslag : John Steinbeck - The Pearl
De taal ervan is Nederlands en het aantal woorden bedraagt 989 woorden.
De taal ervan is Nederlands en het aantal woorden bedraagt 989 woorden.
Primary information
Publisher : The Heinemann Guided Readers
Published in : 1948
Kind of book : Novel
Number of pages : 86
Illustrations : Vera Jarman
Reading time : 7 hours
Finished reading : 14th of March 2000
Why I've choosen this book
I decided to read The Pearl after I asked some schoolfriends if they knew a good book for me to read. One of them mentioned The Pearl and said he liked it. Then I asked my mother she likes to read very much and has read a lot of books in different languages. She knows what kind of books I like best. The books I like have to be thrilling, moving or creepy.
She suggested to read The Pearl, because it's exciting, touching and easy to read.
Expectations previously
I never heard about the author before, but some people told me it was a nice book and that it was thrilling. So I hope they're right.
First reaction retrospectively
My expectations have been come true. It was very exciting especially at the end. There were some moving parts too.
1 = not 2 = a bit 3 = a lot
thrilling : 3 most of the time, especially at the end, you don't know how it will end
gripping : 3 you keep on reading because you won't to know how it ends
moving : 2 it's sad what happens to the baby
funny : 1 all the time there's a lot of misery
realistic : 3 especially in those countries it can still happen
imaginative : 2 it's a realistic story, but the author had to invent a plot of course
interesting : 2 it's interesting to read that the difference between rich and poor still existst and that richnes is not a guarantee for happiness
original : 2 the theme is not very original, but the way he has written the story is
easy to understand : 2 in general it was easy to read, but sometimes there were difficult words in it
Contents of the book
Summary
Kino is a poor Mexican-Indian who lives in a little wooden house at the sea with his wife Juana and his son Coyotito. He makes his money by fishing for pearls.
Kino finds a vey big oyster with a very big pearl in it. He dreams of all the things he always wanted to do if he had any money and now he can, if he sells the pearl.
Kino's life isn't save anymore because everybody wants the pearl. He tries to sell the pearl, but the buyers say it doesn't have any value because it's too big. At night Juana tries to throw the pearl back into the sea but Kino sees her and hits her in the face. A man tries to kill Kino, but Kino kills him.
When they return to the house, it's on fire. Kino tells his brother that he's going away. Then Kino discovers 3 men who are following them. Kino, Juana and Coyotito go the mountains to hide in a cave. At night Kino tries to take the riffle of one of the trackers. But suddenly Coyotito cries and the man thinks it's a wild dog and shoots at the cave. Kino kills all three of them. The bullet has killed Coyotito. Then Kino and Juana return home and throw the pearl into the sea, because it had brought a lot of misery and death.
Main characters:
Kino:
Kino is a poor fisherman for pearls. He's a Mexican-Indian. He's a kind man, but when he finds a very big pearl his life and also his character changes.
The character of Kino is very realistic. He works hard to take care of his family he feels very responsible for them., but when all the misery starts he changes from a very kind man into a more agressive person, but just to protect his family.
Juana
She's Kino's wife and the mother of Ciyotito. She takes good care of Kino and Coyotito. She's a nice person and she has to obey Kino. She sees very soon that the pearl brings bad luck, but Kino doesn't allow her to throw the pearl away.
Coyotito
He is the babyboy of Kino and Juana.
Build up
It was easy to read because the story took place in a few weeks, so no time changes. It was easy to understand. At the right time it became thrilling and the end was very surprising.
Time/setting
The story probably took place in former days, because nowadays people have more rights, even the poor and also the trackers don't exist anymore. The book was first published in 1948 and it isn't a science fiction story so it must have been taken place earlier.
The story takes place for the biggest part in a village near the sea in Mexico. At the end of the story it takes place in the fields and the mountains. All together the story covers a few weeks.
Most important events
The most important events were the find of the pearl and the death of Coyotito. The events were realistic, exciting and also sad, especially the death of Coyotito at the end. It made me feel angry that the rich people had everything and treated the poor people so bad.
Deepening tasks
Task 9
The story could have taken place in another time, in the past as well as in the future.
Hundreds of years ago there was already a difference between the rich and the poor. There were people who owned the land and others who worked on it for little money.
We can't see into the future, but I think there will always be a difference between rich and poor.
Task 12
After a lot of misery and the death of their babyboy they decided to throw the pearl back into the sea, because all it had brought them was bad luck.
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