Angelica Pearson
Jedidah Blake
English
5/5/08
Animal Farm
This story is about animals rebelling against the evil Mr. Jones and I agree with the rebellion because that farmer was very mean. A farmer should be kind to his animals or be arrested for animal abuse. The men on the farm shouldn’t have whipped the animals. The animals broke into the feed bin because they were hungry since of Jones’s neglect of feedings. To the animals it was unjust to whip them for the break in. They went ballistic and chased the humans away. I’m not surprised that the animals were able to rebel because they have weapons of their own called hooves, horns, mouths, claws, beaks, and heads. The pigs got so intelligent that they became what they feared, humans. In real life an animal can stand up if it is being supported by its owner (I should know I taught my cat to dance with me).
The day after the rebellion the animals finished the hay harvest (the pigs supervised) and wrote the commandments (apparently pigs can write). Later there is the Battle of the Cowshed where six men including Jones are fought. The humans were repelled and only a sheep was killed (Jones had a gun). Mollie the horse was still acting like she did during the Reign of Jones (eating sugar lumps and wearing ribbons) and eventually ranaway. The plans for field improvements commenced in the 5th chapter. Snowball the pig made the plans. The windmill was a great idea for more efficiency for the farm (as in machines for the fields). I knew that the 9 puppies that Napoleon took in the 4th chapter would become guard dogs because I sensed an evil look on his face. Snowball seemed nicer then Napoleon. I think that whenever Napoleon did something like a human he changed the commandments.
The windmill was destroyed twice. It was knocked down in the 6th chapter by Snowball and blown up by humans in the 8th chapter and was completed in the 10th chapter.
I felt bad when Boxer the horse “died” and I think that Napoleon sold him to the glue factory. It may be good to see the good in people but you might just find the evil instead. In other words, some animals liked Napoleon until he had his dogs kill animals for treason. When the sheep say “four legs good, two legs bad” that can get on your nerves but when they say “four legs good, two legs better” something is wrong even though it is a little true.
Animal farms might appear when humans are gone and they evolve over generations (I saw this in a documentary about the future after we are gone like the dinosaurs). Animals might rebel like slaves or people of a brutal empire of evil. Napoleon took command after Snowball was chased away. This is very common in the wild as well. Think of Animal Farm as a small kingdom, the leaders have their castle (farmhouse), the king has a taste tester and guards (dogs), the people have various jobs and projects, there are messengers to neighbors (pigeons), they sell food for supplies, the people have a city (barn), and there are laws and punishments (commandments). Those animals are really smart with all this organization and plans for the battles, I’m surprised that the animals on the neighboring farms didn’t run away and join them. When they built and rebuilt the wind mills I was surprised that they finished without Boxer but if he didn’t get all those loads to the site the wind mill would have been a bust. I ‘m guessing that since he is so big that he must be a Clydesdale and I’ve seen them and they are big and very powerful horses used to carry big loads and pull large carriages. After the rebellion I wasn’t surprised that the pigs didn’t help very much because they are very lazy animals but very smart with using mud as sun block on hot days. Benjamin is very stubborn but that is how all donkeys and mules are at an old age. Over the years the animals were treated the same as when humans ran the farm. But not until the end was when a whip came into the farm after all those years that whips were destroyed and not seen on the farm until now. When the book said that the animals couldn’t tell who was human and who was pig, that was a really good ending.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee
Summary:
The main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout, Atticus, and Jem Finch. Scout, Jem and Atticus all live in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch is not and ordinary girl, she is a tomboy and Scout seems to handle her life as a tomboy pretty well. She lives with her brother who is Jem Finch and her father who is Atticus Finch. Since Scout Finch is a tomboy she can do what Jem and Dill do. Scout got her tomboy status from her father, Atticus Finch. Atticus taught her how to be a tomboy. Scout is smart but she usually doesn't figure things out with her head, she usually goes for a more "hands on approach" but Scout does remember when Jem broke his arm and how that changed the events overall. Although Scout Finch is an intelligent girl, she doesn't like to show it much.
Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem's father. He became a lawyer in the town of Maycomb with his brother, Jack Finch, who wanted to go to Boston and go to medical school there. Atticus' sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed at the house. In this book, Atticus looks like he has been respected by everyone including the poor people. Even in this book now they're being racist. Francis called Atticus a " N Lover"(pg. 86) because Atticus tries hard to stop a racial prejudice. Atticus is a non racial person who doesn't care of what nationality or what colored skin you are. He knows that everyone is created equally. Atticus teaches good things to Scout and Jem and never holds grudges against the townspeople. At the beginning of this book, Scout and Jem do not look up to Atticus.
Jem Finch is the son of Atticus Finch and the brother of Scout Finch. During the trial with Tom Robinson, who is black, and Atticus Finch, who helps defend Tom Robinson at the case, Jem starts to go through his puberty. This moment for Jem is a big change because it can get hard for him and complicated. Jem is a person that with hope in him. Atticus tells Scout to have Jem figure out on what he is learning. When Atticus is teaching Jem all this stuff, he believes that Jem will eventually know what is going on and follow the process of what he learned from this. In the beginning of Chapter 25, Jem tells Scout after he stops her from killing it,"Reckon you're at the stage now where you don't kill flies and mosquitoes..."(page 239). Jem told Scout this because the roly-poly bug never did Scout any harm and Jem was probably thinking "what was the point in killing it anyway". Jem has become protective in this part of the book. He probably thinks that you shouldn't hurt anything if it didn't do anything to you. Jem has matured too because it's how he speaks to Scout on page 239 about the roly-poly bug.
My Reflection:
In this story, To Kill a Mocking Bird has to do with the presence of good and evil the social inequalities. I've noticed that Jem and Scout have only seen good but hardly any evil. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not ready for their future, soon enough they find evil and then they are both killed. Even Jem notices after the trial about racism and how evil it is to people that don't quite fit in. Scout, on the other hand, seems to notice everything that is going on here but she doesn't really make a big deal about it and manages to keep herself steady from evil. Jem's faith is dieing down because of Tom's conviction and Jem is reacting to this by entering a disillusion state. Atticus eventually keeps cool about the evil that is going on and he also keeps his faith so his mind won't do berserk. Scout is also the same way like Atticus. The reason why Jem reacts to it, it is because he is young and he doesn't know what is going on so I think he is kind of confused in my opinion. Most of these people in this story have been both good and evil towards one another. The way people treat each other is the result of the good and bad situation that is happening in this story. They need to treat each other with more sympathy so they won't have to do through anything evil again. Scout's character growth has to do with the teachings that Atticus taught her. Scout gradually develops and understands what Atticus wants her to do. Near the end of the book, Scout finally looked through Boo Radley and saw him as an ordinary person. Since Scout is learning most of this from her father, she is also losing her innocence to the people.
The Social Inequalities in this book are from people just being mean to each other to people being racist to other people. This also has to do with the social classes in Maycomb, Alabama. All of this racist talking and yelling at each other isn't setting a good example to the children, especially Jem since he is going through puberty. The Cunninghams are near the bottom of the social classes because they are farmers who are ignorant to other people. The people that are a lower class in the social classes are the Ewells but even now there are some people even lower than that. Tom Robinson is below Ewells and just because Ewells is not that much higher of a social class than Tom Robinson, Ewells thought he could prosecute him but apparently Ewells did prosecute him. This confuses Scout because she doesn't understand why her Aunt Alexandra wouldn't talk to Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children's own confusion to at the layering Maycomb to the roles of the society and human interaction. The way I think these people can work out these social classes is not to fight a lot on what social class you are in. This book's descriptive text had a major impact on people in here because lots of people changed the way they acted, some are growing up, and some are still the same. Between the three main characters, Jem and Scout were the ones who grew up and kind of knew what to do because they learned it from Atticus. Atticus, pretty much, focused on his children because he wants them to be taught well in the future. I also think why Atticus Finch teaches his children like this is because when they get older they are probably going to experience this same criteria in several years or maybe even a couple of decades. When his children get to about his age they might even experience the same thing too. This is only my opinion about the book's good and evil situation and the social classes situation.
---Daniel Miller
1140 words
The main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout, Atticus, and Jem Finch. Scout, Jem and Atticus all live in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch is not and ordinary girl, she is a tomboy and Scout seems to handle her life as a tomboy pretty well. She lives with her brother who is Jem Finch and her father who is Atticus Finch. Since Scout Finch is a tomboy she can do what Jem and Dill do. Scout got her tomboy status from her father, Atticus Finch. Atticus taught her how to be a tomboy. Scout is smart but she usually doesn't figure things out with her head, she usually goes for a more "hands on approach" but Scout does remember when Jem broke his arm and how that changed the events overall. Although Scout Finch is an intelligent girl, she doesn't like to show it much.
Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem's father. He became a lawyer in the town of Maycomb with his brother, Jack Finch, who wanted to go to Boston and go to medical school there. Atticus' sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed at the house. In this book, Atticus looks like he has been respected by everyone including the poor people. Even in this book now they're being racist. Francis called Atticus a " N Lover"(pg. 86) because Atticus tries hard to stop a racial prejudice. Atticus is a non racial person who doesn't care of what nationality or what colored skin you are. He knows that everyone is created equally. Atticus teaches good things to Scout and Jem and never holds grudges against the townspeople. At the beginning of this book, Scout and Jem do not look up to Atticus.
Jem Finch is the son of Atticus Finch and the brother of Scout Finch. During the trial with Tom Robinson, who is black, and Atticus Finch, who helps defend Tom Robinson at the case, Jem starts to go through his puberty. This moment for Jem is a big change because it can get hard for him and complicated. Jem is a person that with hope in him. Atticus tells Scout to have Jem figure out on what he is learning. When Atticus is teaching Jem all this stuff, he believes that Jem will eventually know what is going on and follow the process of what he learned from this. In the beginning of Chapter 25, Jem tells Scout after he stops her from killing it,"Reckon you're at the stage now where you don't kill flies and mosquitoes..."(page 239). Jem told Scout this because the roly-poly bug never did Scout any harm and Jem was probably thinking "what was the point in killing it anyway". Jem has become protective in this part of the book. He probably thinks that you shouldn't hurt anything if it didn't do anything to you. Jem has matured too because it's how he speaks to Scout on page 239 about the roly-poly bug.
My Reflection:
In this story, To Kill a Mocking Bird has to do with the presence of good and evil the social inequalities. I've noticed that Jem and Scout have only seen good but hardly any evil. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not ready for their future, soon enough they find evil and then they are both killed. Even Jem notices after the trial about racism and how evil it is to people that don't quite fit in. Scout, on the other hand, seems to notice everything that is going on here but she doesn't really make a big deal about it and manages to keep herself steady from evil. Jem's faith is dieing down because of Tom's conviction and Jem is reacting to this by entering a disillusion state. Atticus eventually keeps cool about the evil that is going on and he also keeps his faith so his mind won't do berserk. Scout is also the same way like Atticus. The reason why Jem reacts to it, it is because he is young and he doesn't know what is going on so I think he is kind of confused in my opinion. Most of these people in this story have been both good and evil towards one another. The way people treat each other is the result of the good and bad situation that is happening in this story. They need to treat each other with more sympathy so they won't have to do through anything evil again. Scout's character growth has to do with the teachings that Atticus taught her. Scout gradually develops and understands what Atticus wants her to do. Near the end of the book, Scout finally looked through Boo Radley and saw him as an ordinary person. Since Scout is learning most of this from her father, she is also losing her innocence to the people.
The Social Inequalities in this book are from people just being mean to each other to people being racist to other people. This also has to do with the social classes in Maycomb, Alabama. All of this racist talking and yelling at each other isn't setting a good example to the children, especially Jem since he is going through puberty. The Cunninghams are near the bottom of the social classes because they are farmers who are ignorant to other people. The people that are a lower class in the social classes are the Ewells but even now there are some people even lower than that. Tom Robinson is below Ewells and just because Ewells is not that much higher of a social class than Tom Robinson, Ewells thought he could prosecute him but apparently Ewells did prosecute him. This confuses Scout because she doesn't understand why her Aunt Alexandra wouldn't talk to Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children's own confusion to at the layering Maycomb to the roles of the society and human interaction. The way I think these people can work out these social classes is not to fight a lot on what social class you are in. This book's descriptive text had a major impact on people in here because lots of people changed the way they acted, some are growing up, and some are still the same. Between the three main characters, Jem and Scout were the ones who grew up and kind of knew what to do because they learned it from Atticus. Atticus, pretty much, focused on his children because he wants them to be taught well in the future. I also think why Atticus Finch teaches his children like this is because when they get older they are probably going to experience this same criteria in several years or maybe even a couple of decades. When his children get to about his age they might even experience the same thing too. This is only my opinion about the book's good and evil situation and the social classes situation.
---Daniel Miller
1140 words
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Scourge of Social Inequity in To Kill A Mockingbird -By Kelly Culliney
Scout and Jem Finch live with their widowed father Atticus in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus is a well-known lawyer in Maycomb and he and his children are well off compared to the rest of the town.
One summer, Jem and Scout meet a small boy named Dill who they befriend and act out stories with. Over the summer, the trio finds fascination in the old Radley house, and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there.
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place. A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb.
One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story".
On Dill's last night in Maycomb,the trio go onto the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade. More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks.
That winter was cold and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about it by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house. Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is killed by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
(page 281)
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
"why were you scared of Bob Ewell?"
" I was scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do"
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195 and 198)
The all white jury said that Robinson was guilty. Dill and Jem were in tears,
"well Dill, after all he's just a Negro"
"I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that - it makes me sick"
(page 199)
Jem sobbed
"how could they do it, how could they"
Atticus answered
"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again"
(page 213)
It seems as if Tom Robinson was not the only black man to be unfairly tried, many before him had been, and many more would follow his sad footsteps.
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell.
They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird taught us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
Scout says once to Jem,
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
She means that even though the people of Maycomb might be very diverse and different, both racially and financially, that everyone has someone common ground and the only way to understand someone is to see where he's coming from, to walk in his shoes.
Even Atticus, the lawyer seemed to understand,
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Atticus seemed to understand that you can't judge a person until you see what his life is like, until you walk in his shoes. Once you understand where one is coming from, it is easier to see the situation from his point of view.
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
One summer, Jem and Scout meet a small boy named Dill who they befriend and act out stories with. Over the summer, the trio finds fascination in the old Radley house, and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there.
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place. A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb.
One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story".
On Dill's last night in Maycomb,the trio go onto the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade. More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks.
That winter was cold and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about it by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house. Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is killed by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
(page 281)
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
"why were you scared of Bob Ewell?"
" I was scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do"
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195 and 198)
The all white jury said that Robinson was guilty. Dill and Jem were in tears,
"well Dill, after all he's just a Negro"
"I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that - it makes me sick"
(page 199)
Jem sobbed
"how could they do it, how could they"
Atticus answered
"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again"
(page 213)
It seems as if Tom Robinson was not the only black man to be unfairly tried, many before him had been, and many more would follow his sad footsteps.
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell.
They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird taught us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
Scout says once to Jem,
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
She means that even though the people of Maycomb might be very diverse and different, both racially and financially, that everyone has someone common ground and the only way to understand someone is to see where he's coming from, to walk in his shoes.
Even Atticus, the lawyer seemed to understand,
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Atticus seemed to understand that you can't judge a person until you see what his life is like, until you walk in his shoes. Once you understand where one is coming from, it is easier to see the situation from his point of view.
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
The Pearl- By Ben Steuri
Summery:
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about an Indian family living in the poor town of La Paz. The main characters were a couple named Kino, Juana and their son named Coyotito. They lived in a small tent outside the city walls and right on the beach of a gulf. One morning, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion and is in need of medical assistance. The family left their house and confronted the doctor. The doctor was as rich, fat man who didn’t feel that it was important enough to tend to a poor man from a different tribe. Kino would not have had enough money to pay for the baby’s health; Kino actually didn’t have any money at all. He knew that if nothing would be done about his son’s sting, there would be a good chance that Coyotito would die. So he decided to take his boat out and go pearl diving to raise enough money for the treatment. While diving, Kino spots a good size oyster with its shells partly opened and inside he sees a descent size pearl. He takes it to the surface and sure enough the “Pearl of the World” is buried in the oysters flesh. The news of Kino found a giant pearl spread through the town and into the gates of the city very fast. As soon as the doctor was informed he rushed to Kino and preformed the treatment. Kino didn’t have the money up front so told the doctor that he would sell the pearl the following day and then pay him back.
That night, someone snuck into Kino’s tent and tried to steal the pearl, but their mission was unsuccessful. The following morning, Kino walked to the city along with Juan Tomas, his brother, Juana and many other supporters of the pearl. There were four pearl buyers and each one thought the pearl was worth less because of its incredible size and how dull its color was. Since no one would buy it in this city, he decided to go on the following morning to the capital city and see if it would be worth any thing there. And the baby’s treatment still hadn’t been paid for. That night while Kino was sleeping, Juana, who did not encourage the idea of going to the capital, tried to sneaks the pearl out and through it in the ocean but Kino is awaken and goes after her. He rips the pearl out of her hands and beats her in the face. He then walks back to his tent but is jumped by a thief and again is attacked for the pearl. Kino ends up accidentally killing the man who attacked him and is forced to flea the area. They are unable to use their boat because the robber had also smashed a whole in the floor of it. That morning, Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito are on their way traveling on foot to the capital city. A search party of three men (one armed with a rifle) is sent out to find them and sure enough they find the family’s tracks. Kino leads his family in to a cave in the mountains to hide from the trio as he attempts to kill them. During the evening, Kino charges the man with the gun and stabs him with his knife. He then takes the gun, kills the other two men and sees another reflection of eyes in the dark and by reaction fires the gun. Only then he realized that he had fired upon the cave and had in fact shot at Coyotito’s reflection. Finally the ultimate curse of the pearl had come to Kino. The couple then walked back to La Paz, was welcomed back and both decided that it would be better if they no longer owned the pearl. Kino threw the cursed pearl into the gulf where it sunk to the bottom and was never seen again.
Reaction:
In my reaction of the pearl, I will discus the issue of “Greed as a destructive force”. When Kino had found the “Pearl of the World”, he looked into the pearl and saw himself holding a Winchester Carbine and said, “A rifle, perhaps a rifle.” He had also seen Coyotito going to school and being well educated he the said, “My son will go to school… This is what the pearl will do”. He had gotten so caught up in his visions that he was obsessed with the pearl. But others also saw what this pearl could do for them selves. Kino had taken harsh beating from thieves attempting to steal the pearl. When Kino wanted to cash the pearl in to buy other thing and repay the doctor, the strong will lead him to a dangerous game of hide-and-seek and eventually lead to the death of his son, Coyotito. All this greed for the value of the pearl did indeed “destroy” them. The boat had been ruined, their house had been burnt down, the unsafe nights fearing the robbers, and most heart breaking to Kino was the loss of Coyotito. Greed truly did bring a destructive force upon Kino, Juana, and even to Juan Tomas and his wife, Apolonia. If Kino would not have been so greedy in terms of getting “fifty thousand pesos” for his pearl, he would have gratefully taken the one thousand peso offer from the first dealer. That would have saved him pretty much all of the evil curses that the pearl had brought onto him. I don’t blame Kino for his greed because I think a lot of people in America would want to get as much out of any thing they sell as they could. To tell you the truth, I think I would even try and find a higher bidder for my pearl. Everyone makes mistakes just the end results of all of them come out differently. Kino was truly doing it for a good cause; all he wanted was Coyotito to do well in life and be able to support his family and friends for life. I wouldn’t necessarily call it greed; I would call it being desperate for some money and while he is at it, get some good money. In conclusion, I think this was a good book, the author went into great detail explaining the environment and the setting in which thing were happening. I can recall about two pages towards the end were strictly used to explain the mountains and the cave that the family hid in. It was very helpful to set good imagery for the reader.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about an Indian family living in the poor town of La Paz. The main characters were a couple named Kino, Juana and their son named Coyotito. They lived in a small tent outside the city walls and right on the beach of a gulf. One morning, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion and is in need of medical assistance. The family left their house and confronted the doctor. The doctor was as rich, fat man who didn’t feel that it was important enough to tend to a poor man from a different tribe. Kino would not have had enough money to pay for the baby’s health; Kino actually didn’t have any money at all. He knew that if nothing would be done about his son’s sting, there would be a good chance that Coyotito would die. So he decided to take his boat out and go pearl diving to raise enough money for the treatment. While diving, Kino spots a good size oyster with its shells partly opened and inside he sees a descent size pearl. He takes it to the surface and sure enough the “Pearl of the World” is buried in the oysters flesh. The news of Kino found a giant pearl spread through the town and into the gates of the city very fast. As soon as the doctor was informed he rushed to Kino and preformed the treatment. Kino didn’t have the money up front so told the doctor that he would sell the pearl the following day and then pay him back.
That night, someone snuck into Kino’s tent and tried to steal the pearl, but their mission was unsuccessful. The following morning, Kino walked to the city along with Juan Tomas, his brother, Juana and many other supporters of the pearl. There were four pearl buyers and each one thought the pearl was worth less because of its incredible size and how dull its color was. Since no one would buy it in this city, he decided to go on the following morning to the capital city and see if it would be worth any thing there. And the baby’s treatment still hadn’t been paid for. That night while Kino was sleeping, Juana, who did not encourage the idea of going to the capital, tried to sneaks the pearl out and through it in the ocean but Kino is awaken and goes after her. He rips the pearl out of her hands and beats her in the face. He then walks back to his tent but is jumped by a thief and again is attacked for the pearl. Kino ends up accidentally killing the man who attacked him and is forced to flea the area. They are unable to use their boat because the robber had also smashed a whole in the floor of it. That morning, Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito are on their way traveling on foot to the capital city. A search party of three men (one armed with a rifle) is sent out to find them and sure enough they find the family’s tracks. Kino leads his family in to a cave in the mountains to hide from the trio as he attempts to kill them. During the evening, Kino charges the man with the gun and stabs him with his knife. He then takes the gun, kills the other two men and sees another reflection of eyes in the dark and by reaction fires the gun. Only then he realized that he had fired upon the cave and had in fact shot at Coyotito’s reflection. Finally the ultimate curse of the pearl had come to Kino. The couple then walked back to La Paz, was welcomed back and both decided that it would be better if they no longer owned the pearl. Kino threw the cursed pearl into the gulf where it sunk to the bottom and was never seen again.
Reaction:
In my reaction of the pearl, I will discus the issue of “Greed as a destructive force”. When Kino had found the “Pearl of the World”, he looked into the pearl and saw himself holding a Winchester Carbine and said, “A rifle, perhaps a rifle.” He had also seen Coyotito going to school and being well educated he the said, “My son will go to school… This is what the pearl will do”. He had gotten so caught up in his visions that he was obsessed with the pearl. But others also saw what this pearl could do for them selves. Kino had taken harsh beating from thieves attempting to steal the pearl. When Kino wanted to cash the pearl in to buy other thing and repay the doctor, the strong will lead him to a dangerous game of hide-and-seek and eventually lead to the death of his son, Coyotito. All this greed for the value of the pearl did indeed “destroy” them. The boat had been ruined, their house had been burnt down, the unsafe nights fearing the robbers, and most heart breaking to Kino was the loss of Coyotito. Greed truly did bring a destructive force upon Kino, Juana, and even to Juan Tomas and his wife, Apolonia. If Kino would not have been so greedy in terms of getting “fifty thousand pesos” for his pearl, he would have gratefully taken the one thousand peso offer from the first dealer. That would have saved him pretty much all of the evil curses that the pearl had brought onto him. I don’t blame Kino for his greed because I think a lot of people in America would want to get as much out of any thing they sell as they could. To tell you the truth, I think I would even try and find a higher bidder for my pearl. Everyone makes mistakes just the end results of all of them come out differently. Kino was truly doing it for a good cause; all he wanted was Coyotito to do well in life and be able to support his family and friends for life. I wouldn’t necessarily call it greed; I would call it being desperate for some money and while he is at it, get some good money. In conclusion, I think this was a good book, the author went into great detail explaining the environment and the setting in which thing were happening. I can recall about two pages towards the end were strictly used to explain the mountains and the cave that the family hid in. It was very helpful to set good imagery for the reader.
the pearl
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a classic tale about an indian man named Kino and his fight for his family. Juana is the mom and Coyotito is the baby. Kino lives with his family in a house made of brush. Kinos baby Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. The doctor would not come and cure him because he knew that the family did not have much money. Kino and Juana decide to take the baby to the doctor. When they get to town the doctor doesn’t want to treat the child because he is a poor indian boy. Kino realizes that he has to make more money or find something of value to be able to pay for the treatment . Juana rubbed seaweed on the sting. She thought that that was a good a treatment as any. Kino finds a gigantic pearl. The docter hears about the find and decides to give treatment to the child. Juana thinks that the pearl is evil, and she does not want to have anything to do with it.Kino becomes more and more greedy and wants to see how much money he can get for the pearl. He decides to sell the pearl for 50,000 pesos. He goes to the capitol to see if he can get a more money for it. The pearl only brings him unhappiness. On his way to the capitol, evil men try to steal his pearl. When they do not succeed for revenge they destroy his canoe, and burn down his house. The pearl dealers were men that try to take advantage of what people do not know about pearls. They gave Kino a price that was under what Kino would have expected. Kino was mad so he didn’t sell the pearl, but decided to go into the capital of his country to sell it. The news spread and soon Kino was fighting off people to protect the pearl. The worst happened, and kino ended up killing a man and having to hide the body. Kino’s house was burned, and his canoe was punctured. He is forced to take his family into hiding so he had to take his family to the capital . They were followed by trackers. Kino and his family hide in a cave. He goes outside to attack the men that are still there, and one of the men ends up shooting Coyotito. Kino has to go back to town with his wife and without his son. When Kino and Juana are going to throw the pearl into the Gulf, they look into it. In it they see Coyotito, and the evil that killed him. Then they cast the pearl out into the water.
Reaction:
my rection to this book is that it is ment to show that being greedy is not good. the only reason why kino went to find the pearl was so that Coyotito could get the scorpion out of him. but after kino realizes how much more money he can makeoff the pearl instead of the money that he could of used he forgets that the only reason that he got the pearl was for his son. and in reasult to his greedyness Coyotito ends up getting shot in the head by someone trying to steal the pearl.
Reaction:
my rection to this book is that it is ment to show that being greedy is not good. the only reason why kino went to find the pearl was so that Coyotito could get the scorpion out of him. but after kino realizes how much more money he can makeoff the pearl instead of the money that he could of used he forgets that the only reason that he got the pearl was for his son. and in reasult to his greedyness Coyotito ends up getting shot in the head by someone trying to steal the pearl.
The Scourge of Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Nicole Malapit
Summary:
Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a timeless Classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all. A family, only consisting of an old father and two children (Scout, the main character, and Jem, Scout's brother), goes through tough times, which many were caused by racial prejudice. It all started when Dill, their next door neighbor in summertime, came to Maycomb. That summer, Scout, Jem, and Dill ventured around the neighborhood. They soon became very curious about Boo Radley, a resident in Maycomb. There has been a rumor that states Boo Radley only came out in the night, and if you go near his house, he could get you, and you would never see the daylight again. The children attempted to place a note to Boo on the window sill of his house, but was caught by Atticus, Scout and Jem's father. Wanting to be in contact of Boo somehow, Jem ran to Boo's house because of a dare, and touched the side. Nothing happened. They stopped trying to meet Boo at this time, since all of their tactics were failing. School had started up again, and Dill had left. Jem took Scout to her first day of school. Scout's teacher didn't allow Scout to read or write, as that would interfere with her method of teaching. Scout was furious, but that didn't stop her from reading at home on Atticus' lap. One day, as Scout raced by the Radley's property, she spotted something in a hole of an oak tree. In it, she found a wad of gum. Later, when Jem and Scout had passed the Radley property, they saw something else in the hole of the oak tree. It was a purple box wedding rings came in, and in it, was two Indian-head coins. They didn't know who put such treasures in the oak tree, so they kept them. Scout, Jem, and Dill now really wanted to know about Boo. Curiosity took the better of them, and they went over to his property one night. As they were coming back, Jem's pants got caught on Boo's fence. They left it there, but when they came back to get it, it was folded nicely and stiched up.
Scout and Jem later found out that Atticus was defending a black man, Tom Robinson. Tom was falsely accused of raping a young girl in her home. Because of this, the neighborhood, as well as extended family, accused Atticus, Scout, and Jem, of being "nigger lovers", as Mrs. Dubose stated. Jem was fed up with it all, and tore up Mrs. Duboses' flowers. Jem had to then read to her for a month. Students at Scout's school would aggravate her because Atticus defended a negro. This would start fights that Scout was involved in.
Calpurnia, Atticus' maid, took Scout and Jem to church one Sunday. It was quite a different experience from what they were ussually accustomed to at their own church. Scout and Jem, being whites, were yelled at for coming to a negro church. Many people there couldn't read or write, so they sang hymns without hymn books.
One day, Atticus' sister, Aunty Alexandra moved in with Atticus, so the children would grow up with a female guide in their life. Scout did not like this decision. Aunty prevented Scout from behaving like a tom boy, or going to places she really wanted to go to.
The time came when Atticus had to defend Tom in court. Atticus was very polite, and handled the whole situation with much maturity and wisom. Everyone knew what the outcome was going to be, as it was one negro against two whites. Atticus was determined to change the thinkings of everyone. The jury took a while to make the verdict, and this was a surprise to everyone. Atticus did a great job of defending Tom. The jury had to think of how they were going to respond. They did so, in a cruel way. They made the decision of putting Tom in jail. He was a negro, and was bound for jail. Tom was in jail, when he jumped the fence, but had been shot to death because of it.
Scout and Jem went to a Halloween pageant, and on the way home, they were being stalked by four men: Mr. Ewell and his friends. Mr. Ewell attempted to kill Scout and Jem, but Boo came to their rescue, and carried Jem away to their house. Jem had been knocked unconcious, with a broken arm, but Scout walked away unharmed. Mr. Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself. Boo had saved their lives.
Reflection:
Harper Lee did a great job at showing how much people can be so judgemental. Racism is evident throughout the story, and is shown in such real situations that just reveals how humans can be so cruel. It is what the book is based around. One of the times social inequality was present was the entire time Atticus was defending Tom Robinson. Neighbors, students, and authority would shout from their porches, horrid remarks Scout and Jem would never forget. The verdict Tom recieved was obvious and everyone knew it. Because of racism, Tom was not given fair, thorough, clear minded thinking. Tom was black, and no one who was black won in court. Atticus tried so hard, and did all he could do to save Tom from getting thrown in jail, but he couldn't change the racism of the jury. If Tom had been a white man, he would have won, not gone to jail, and not leave behind a loving family.
Another instance in To Kill a Mockingbird which showed racism, was when Cal took Scout and Jem to church. It was unheard of for a white to go to a negro church, but Cal took them anyway. "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here- they got their church, we got our'n.", was what Lula, a negro who went to this church told Cal.
Social inequaliy is even seen in this day and age. Everyone is affected by it. Everyday, you are being compared to others. People look down at who you are because of what race you are, or in Atticus' situation, who you defend. As Atticus sayed during the court, "...because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority." Harper Lee combines racial discrimination, your family's background, and how you conduct yourself, to convey the idea of human behavior. We need to have someone lower than ourselves, so we can feel elevated. By doing so, we have created social inequality, racism. It is a cruel fate, but this is how we behave. Even when we think we're not racists, in the back of our minds, we analyze each person, but judging their race, how they conduct themselves, how they dress, and how they speak. We shouldn't be so racial based, but we are. To Kill a Mockingbird breaks down how exactly we behave.
Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a timeless Classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all. A family, only consisting of an old father and two children (Scout, the main character, and Jem, Scout's brother), goes through tough times, which many were caused by racial prejudice. It all started when Dill, their next door neighbor in summertime, came to Maycomb. That summer, Scout, Jem, and Dill ventured around the neighborhood. They soon became very curious about Boo Radley, a resident in Maycomb. There has been a rumor that states Boo Radley only came out in the night, and if you go near his house, he could get you, and you would never see the daylight again. The children attempted to place a note to Boo on the window sill of his house, but was caught by Atticus, Scout and Jem's father. Wanting to be in contact of Boo somehow, Jem ran to Boo's house because of a dare, and touched the side. Nothing happened. They stopped trying to meet Boo at this time, since all of their tactics were failing. School had started up again, and Dill had left. Jem took Scout to her first day of school. Scout's teacher didn't allow Scout to read or write, as that would interfere with her method of teaching. Scout was furious, but that didn't stop her from reading at home on Atticus' lap. One day, as Scout raced by the Radley's property, she spotted something in a hole of an oak tree. In it, she found a wad of gum. Later, when Jem and Scout had passed the Radley property, they saw something else in the hole of the oak tree. It was a purple box wedding rings came in, and in it, was two Indian-head coins. They didn't know who put such treasures in the oak tree, so they kept them. Scout, Jem, and Dill now really wanted to know about Boo. Curiosity took the better of them, and they went over to his property one night. As they were coming back, Jem's pants got caught on Boo's fence. They left it there, but when they came back to get it, it was folded nicely and stiched up.
Scout and Jem later found out that Atticus was defending a black man, Tom Robinson. Tom was falsely accused of raping a young girl in her home. Because of this, the neighborhood, as well as extended family, accused Atticus, Scout, and Jem, of being "nigger lovers", as Mrs. Dubose stated. Jem was fed up with it all, and tore up Mrs. Duboses' flowers. Jem had to then read to her for a month. Students at Scout's school would aggravate her because Atticus defended a negro. This would start fights that Scout was involved in.
Calpurnia, Atticus' maid, took Scout and Jem to church one Sunday. It was quite a different experience from what they were ussually accustomed to at their own church. Scout and Jem, being whites, were yelled at for coming to a negro church. Many people there couldn't read or write, so they sang hymns without hymn books.
One day, Atticus' sister, Aunty Alexandra moved in with Atticus, so the children would grow up with a female guide in their life. Scout did not like this decision. Aunty prevented Scout from behaving like a tom boy, or going to places she really wanted to go to.
The time came when Atticus had to defend Tom in court. Atticus was very polite, and handled the whole situation with much maturity and wisom. Everyone knew what the outcome was going to be, as it was one negro against two whites. Atticus was determined to change the thinkings of everyone. The jury took a while to make the verdict, and this was a surprise to everyone. Atticus did a great job of defending Tom. The jury had to think of how they were going to respond. They did so, in a cruel way. They made the decision of putting Tom in jail. He was a negro, and was bound for jail. Tom was in jail, when he jumped the fence, but had been shot to death because of it.
Scout and Jem went to a Halloween pageant, and on the way home, they were being stalked by four men: Mr. Ewell and his friends. Mr. Ewell attempted to kill Scout and Jem, but Boo came to their rescue, and carried Jem away to their house. Jem had been knocked unconcious, with a broken arm, but Scout walked away unharmed. Mr. Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself. Boo had saved their lives.
Reflection:
Harper Lee did a great job at showing how much people can be so judgemental. Racism is evident throughout the story, and is shown in such real situations that just reveals how humans can be so cruel. It is what the book is based around. One of the times social inequality was present was the entire time Atticus was defending Tom Robinson. Neighbors, students, and authority would shout from their porches, horrid remarks Scout and Jem would never forget. The verdict Tom recieved was obvious and everyone knew it. Because of racism, Tom was not given fair, thorough, clear minded thinking. Tom was black, and no one who was black won in court. Atticus tried so hard, and did all he could do to save Tom from getting thrown in jail, but he couldn't change the racism of the jury. If Tom had been a white man, he would have won, not gone to jail, and not leave behind a loving family.
Another instance in To Kill a Mockingbird which showed racism, was when Cal took Scout and Jem to church. It was unheard of for a white to go to a negro church, but Cal took them anyway. "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here- they got their church, we got our'n.", was what Lula, a negro who went to this church told Cal.
Social inequaliy is even seen in this day and age. Everyone is affected by it. Everyday, you are being compared to others. People look down at who you are because of what race you are, or in Atticus' situation, who you defend. As Atticus sayed during the court, "...because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority." Harper Lee combines racial discrimination, your family's background, and how you conduct yourself, to convey the idea of human behavior. We need to have someone lower than ourselves, so we can feel elevated. By doing so, we have created social inequality, racism. It is a cruel fate, but this is how we behave. Even when we think we're not racists, in the back of our minds, we analyze each person, but judging their race, how they conduct themselves, how they dress, and how they speak. We shouldn't be so racial based, but we are. To Kill a Mockingbird breaks down how exactly we behave.
The Scourge of Social Inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird, By Kelly Culliney
Jean Louise (Scout), and Jeremy (Jem) Finch live with their widowed father Atticus in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus is a well-known lawyer in Maycomb and he and his children are well off compared to the rest of the town. One summer, Jem and Scout meet a small boy named Dill who they befriend and act out stories with. Over the summer, the trio finds fascination in the old Radley house, and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there.
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it. She is accused of knowing too much for her age and was told not to learn anymore on her own. Scout asked Atticus if she could drop out of school and he denied her request.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. She ate it and was later scolded by her older brother, Jem, for eating food that was just laying around. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place, in the same tree.
A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb. One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Scout ran, as fast as she could, back home. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story". On Dill's last night in Maycomb, Dill, Jem, and Scout go into the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade.
More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks. That winter was the coldest in ages, and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about their father being a "nigger lover" by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man. Calpurnia, the Finches black nanny, takes the children to her church one Sunday to show them how much her black church cared about Tom Robinson and his wife
Later that year Alexandria, Atticus' sister, comes to live with Jem, Scout and Atticus to teach Scout how to be a lady. Scout despises Aunt Alexandria and does not want to learn ladylike manners.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house.
Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the all-white jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is stabbed to death by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195)
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.
when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell. They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird tought us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it. She is accused of knowing too much for her age and was told not to learn anymore on her own. Scout asked Atticus if she could drop out of school and he denied her request.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. She ate it and was later scolded by her older brother, Jem, for eating food that was just laying around. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place, in the same tree.
A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb. One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Scout ran, as fast as she could, back home. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story". On Dill's last night in Maycomb, Dill, Jem, and Scout go into the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade.
More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks. That winter was the coldest in ages, and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about their father being a "nigger lover" by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man. Calpurnia, the Finches black nanny, takes the children to her church one Sunday to show them how much her black church cared about Tom Robinson and his wife
Later that year Alexandria, Atticus' sister, comes to live with Jem, Scout and Atticus to teach Scout how to be a lady. Scout despises Aunt Alexandria and does not want to learn ladylike manners.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house.
Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the all-white jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is stabbed to death by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195)
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.
when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell. They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird tought us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
To Kill A Mockingbird
Scout Finch, a tomboy who solves most of her problems with her own two fists, lives with her older brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus. Jem and Scout’s mother had passed away from a sudden heart attack when Scout was only two years old. The family lives in Maycomb, where respect is based on reputations, social rankings and history of ancestors. Atticus, a busy lawyer, has help raising his children from their black housekeeper, Culpernia. Jem and Scout grow up knowing every one of their neighbors’ habits and histories. The only person they fail to understand is Arthur (Boo) Radley. Boo Radley lives in the Radley Place and never comes out of the house. One summer, Jem and Scout make a new friend, Dill, who is visiting from Meridian. They soon devise plans to lure Boo Radley out of the house, all of which fail.
One day, Jem and Scout find out that Atticus would be defending a Negro, Tom Robinson, who is wrongly accused of rape and beating a white woman. Many neighbors insult Jem and Scout, and they have a difficult time controlling their tempers. Jem is caught destroying Mrs. Dubose’s camellias after a confrontation with her about Atticus “lawing for niggers,” and as punishment, he must read to Mrs. Dubose for a month. Scout and Jem, although deathly afraid of Mrs. Dubose, learn a lesson in bravery from her.
The trial approaches, and Aunt Alexandra moves into the Finches’ home to provide Scout with a “feminine influence.” The next summer, the Robinson trial is in session. Although Atticus declares that Tom couldn’t possibly have committed the crime because he is crippled, etc., the jury still finds him guilty, and Tom is sent to prison. Even though Tom was convicted, Bob Ewell, the victim’s father, promises to get even with Atticus for “makin’ fun of his already tarnished” reputation. Not long after his conviction, Tom tries to escape from prison and is shot and killed.
Life seems to return to normalcy until the Halloween pageant. As Scout and Jem walk home, they hear “odd noises.” Suddenly, a fight breaks out with Jem and a mysterious stranger. Jem’s arm is badly broken, and he is unconscious. A stranger then carries Jem home. Once inside the house, the sheriff bursts in and announces that Bob Ewell was found dead where their fight had taken place. Scout figures out that the stranger who carried Jem home was Boo Radley and that he was the one who killed Bob Ewell. To protect Boo, the sheriff asserts that Ewell tripped and fell on his knife. As Jem lies in his bed, Boo visits Jem one last time before asking Scout to walk him home. She lets Boo take her arm like a gentleman so the neighbors will think of him as one and not a monster. When Boo is safe in the comforts of his home, Scout returns to Jem’s room. Atticus reads to Scout until she falls asleep and then carries her to bed. He then returns to Jem’s bedside and waits for him to wake up.
My Response:
Scout and Jem learned valuable lessons about the triumph of good over evil and evil over good throughout the story.
A good example of the triumph of good over evil was when Bob Ewell sought revenge on Atticus by attacking Jem and Scout after the Halloween pageant. Bob broke Jem’s arm and left him unconscious, but soon enough, Bob paid the price, with his life. Boo Radley came to the rescue and freed everyone of Bob for good. The sheriff did not press charges against Boo to protect him, and Jem and Scout were returned home safely to Atticus. I thought Bob got just what he deserved. Previously, he had beaten his own daughter, bruising her right side of her face, and not only had he threatened to seek revenge on Atticus, but he had tried to physically “get rid” of Jem and Scout. All Atticus was trying to do was defend the innocent Tom Robinson.
An example of the triumph of evil over good was when Tom, who was black, was convicted of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, who was white. One day in particular, Mayella asked Tom to get a box down for her, and while doing so, Mayella spurred into action.
“She grabbed me round the legs, grabbed me round th’ legs, Mr. Finch. She scared me so bad I hopped down an’ turned the chair over--that was the only thing, only furniture, ‘sturbed in that room, Mr. Finch, when I left it. I swear ‘fore God.” “Mr. Finch, I got down offa that chair an’ turned around an’ she sorta jumped on me.” “She reached up an’ kissed me ‘side of th’ face. She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her pap do to her don’t count. She says, ‘kiss me back, nigger.’ I say Miss Mayella lemme outa here an’ tried to run but she got her back to the door an’ I’da had to push her. I didn’t wanta harm her, Mr. Finch, an’ I say lemme pass, but just when I say it Mr. Ewell yonder hollered through th’ window.”
Although Tom was indeed telling the truth, the jury found him guilty. Bob and Mayella had escaped unaffected but were the true evil doers. Mayella was the one after Tom, and her father, Bob, saw what had happened and beat her. Both of them had lied about the incident and gotten away with it.
Occurrences in the book have also taught me about the scourge of social inequality. The Tom Robinson trial was a prime example. Many people in the jury either:
1) Were racist against the “black” race
or
2) Assumed that Tom had committed the crime because he came from an African American history.
Atticus tried his very hardest to prove Tom innocent, but he knew that he’d never win this trial because the jury had their minds set…Tom was guilty. He was black and, thus, was socially inferior.
Another example was when Culpernia, the Finch family housekeeper, took Jem and Scout to her church. A woman named Lula declared:
“You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church ain’t it Miss Cal?”
This showed the lack of respect one race had for the other. Shouldn’t everyone be treated equally was the question asked by both Jem and Scout. I do believe so. Everyone should be treated equally, no matter what the “color” of their skin, what their background (history), or how they dress, think, express themselves, etc. African Americans are people, too, and the whites showed no sympathy towards them. They refused to accept or understand the African Americans and sometimes talked badly about them behind their backs.
“…the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too,” said Mr. Raymond.
Man was created equally, and yet some people still think they are superior to others. Differences are what make you, you. If we didn’t have diversity among ourselves, we’d all be the same. The world would be so boring. I think we should learn to accept each other no matter how different we may be. We are all one and must understand that we need to work together to stay together.
Atticus says, “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal.”
Indeed, men are created equal.
-lasie ann
The Pearl by:John Steinbeck
The story begins in the small village of "La Paz" or "The Peace" where Kino, the man of the house; Juana, the strong wife both emotionally and physically; and Coyotito, their baby live in their humble grass hut scarcely making enough money to survive. As morning breaks, Kino lies in his mat listening to the pounding of shore break while birds outside indulge on a pile of tuna scraps. Slowly but gently, Kino hears the song of the Family play in his head and a melody of peace and happiness overwhelms him. Soon the house is alive while Juana holds Coyotito close to her and cooks corn cakes for a morning sustenance. Kino on the other hand, was watching the sunrise and came and sat to eat his meal. As the glare of the sun broke through crevices in the grass hut, light shone on Coyotito's rope holding his box where he slept. A tiny and unnoticeable movement caught their eyes and as Juana and Kino froze, a scorpion dangled down the rope quickly towards Coyotito and the song of evil engulfed the peaceful serenity that came from his own song bringing music of the enemy, of any foe, a savage, secret dangerous song that uproars into his head while the song of his family cried to be released. Quietly but smoothly, like an owl, Kino was on the move towards the scorpion and he fought to hold his breath down while it tried to roar from his nostrils, Juana sang an ancient magic to guard against such an evil passed down through the generations of her people and under that a Hail Mary between clenthced teeth. Kino was just within reach of the scorpion when it noticed danger and its deadly tailed jerked up and tweaked while the venom oozed into a drop on its shining tip. Kino moved slowly and carfully when suddenly the laughing Coyotito shook the rope and down fell the scorpion. It slipped through his hands and struck right at its target and Coyotito screeched from pain. Kino grabbed the scorpion and annihilated it till all you could see was a blotch of wet dirt but Juana had the baby in her arms by now trying to such the poison from its sting. The whole village knew that an adult would get sick from such a bite but a baby like Coyotito would surely die without help. Kino a responsible father sent for a doctor but no doctor would come. Juana and Kino did not surrender they pursued their goal to get a doctor and decided to march into town and go to him. As Kino thought about it, he already knew what the Doctor would do, he was of a race that starved, beat down, and deprived his people of rights and freedoms for 400 years. The song of evil played loudly in him and he still marched on. At the gate to the doctor's house, Kino thought carefully and took the iron ring and pounded on the door. A few minutes later the door opened a few inches and he could see a man of his own race open the door. Kino spoke to him in the old language and told him what happened. The man closed the gate and came back to say he could offer no help, 8 small worthless pearls werent enough. Kino and Juana still did not give up, they got to their canoe and rowed out into the ocean above the oyster beds where the pearls lay. Kino grabbed his knife and basket and rock, and sank to the bottom collecting as many shells as possible. Then, as soon as he was about to go to the surface, an oyster shell caught his eye through a patch of seaweed almost hidden. He floated to the top and cut open shells leaving the big one for last. Now this other shell looked different, it had no barnacles or sea moss growing on it and it was fairly big. He cut it with his knife ripping through its meat when the oyster gave up. As he opened it, a flash caught his eyes and he took out a huge pearl the size of a sea gull's egg. The song of the sea turned into the song of the pearl and played through his mind. He looked at Coyotito and noticed his swelling had gone down when Juana said "Kino look" and he could see Coyotito arch back and his body shaked rigidly. Now nearby divers paddled their canous towards Kino's and saw the great pearl. As soon as Kino and his family got to shore the whole town knew of the great pearl. It traveled from th village to the beggars into the church, shopkeepers and then into the doctors ear. After the doctor learned of this great pearl he came and gave Coyotito a pill and he got better. Later, the priest came and told Kino to remember to offer to God for such a blessing. But all Kino could think of was his son and family and he dreamt of teaching his son how to read and write, him getting a rifle, and Juana and Kino getting married and all the clothes and food they could have. The next day they traveled to town and went to go see the pearl buyers. they only offered him a small amount because they thought kino was too stubborn to know the true price of a pearl so large. Kino and Juana decided to travel to the capital to sell the pearl at a fair price without being cheated because of their race. That night as Kino was lying in hi mat, the song of evil could not get out of his head. It had played all day and didn't stop for one second. Even after finding the Pearl. In the middle of the night, someone had come inside his hut to steal the pearl. Kino flung out of his bed and fought with the dark figure taking out his knife a flinging it wildly at his mark. The thief left and Kino could feel the warmth of his blade and knew his knife had struck its mark. Although it was not over yet. Someone burnt his house down ans as the village thought they were dead, Kino fled to the capitol. Early, next morning, Kino embarks off to the capitol and finds his canoe destroyed. The song of evil plays in his head and they go the other way over the mountains. The wind blew hard and covered their tracks. They walked monotously and as Kino looked back he could see three dark figures and it looked like one man on horseback and two men by his side and he knew exactly what they were after and the song of evil played again in his head as he clutched his pearl. That night as the bounty hunters camped by their fire, kino snuck behind them and killed two with his knife. The third ran off injured and he grabbed the horseman's rifle and shot at the dark figure. The dark figure was not the bounty hunter. Kino and Juana walked down the trail back towards their village and when they got to the sea they buried Coyotito and flung the great pearl back into the sea.
My Reflection: I personally thought this book was well written and it was short and straight to the point. The point was that greed no matter how good it may seem can get you in places you don't want to be. In the book Kino starts off listening to the song of his family and slowly , the song of evil engulfs all happiness and brings sorrow and danger. I highly recommend this book to any reader willing for a book with adventure, excitement and a point to it. It also points out that bad things can happen to good people even though they don't deserve it. Greed also changed Kino himself. He risked his own familys health for the sake of the pearl and did not heed to his wifes warnings after beating her. This shows how greed can change a peaceful responsible man into a savage man willing to do anything for wealth.
My Reflection: I personally thought this book was well written and it was short and straight to the point. The point was that greed no matter how good it may seem can get you in places you don't want to be. In the book Kino starts off listening to the song of his family and slowly , the song of evil engulfs all happiness and brings sorrow and danger. I highly recommend this book to any reader willing for a book with adventure, excitement and a point to it. It also points out that bad things can happen to good people even though they don't deserve it. Greed also changed Kino himself. He risked his own familys health for the sake of the pearl and did not heed to his wifes warnings after beating her. This shows how greed can change a peaceful responsible man into a savage man willing to do anything for wealth.
The pearl-by bree martin
While reading Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" we see how greed can become a destructive force, how greed can destroy innocence, the triumph of good over evil, the triumph of evil over good, the failure of the american dream, and the oppression of native cultures. We see this through the main charecter "Kino", who was a mexican man, and a poor diver. He had a wife named "Juana" and an infant son named "Coyotito". The tension in the book is when Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. When Kino and Juana see a doctor they get turned down. For they had no money. All they had were 8 misshapen seed pearls, flattened and almost valueless. They went to look for a pearl which they could pay the doctor, and so they did, it was "Perfect as the moon". For Coyotite, was their only child and they weren't planning on loosing him. When they got home, the news that Kino found the "Pearl of the world" had spread all over town. When the doctor heard of this, he went to Kino's, and offered to keep it in his safe. Kino declined his offer, and kept it with him. For he trusted no one with it, he feared everyone. As we read on we see how the pearl affects the ppl around Kino. For 3 times kino was attacked at night by strangers who attempted to steal the pearl. And in all 3 attempts the strangers were harmed, and one was killed. For as Kino said to Juana "This is our one chance, our son must go to school. He must break out of the pot that holds us." Juana disagreed, she said the pearl was a sin, and was evil, she told Kino "This pearl is evil, let us destroy it before it destroys us, let us crush it between two stones. Let us-let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs. Kino it is evil, it is evil!.". Kino then told her, "No, I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We will have our chance. No one shall take our good fortune away from us, believe me, I am a man". Because of Kino's actions that led to the killing of a man, he told Juana that they had to flee from this all, he tells her they would go north. They would go in their canoe with Coyotite and flee. That morning Kino went to get the canoe ready, but to his dismay someone plunged a hole in it. For this raged him "For the killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal". On his way back to his house he heard the neighboors screaming, and saw his house burning down. Juana carrying Coyotite; ran to Kino, and together they fled. As they set off on foot, they later bumped into "The Trackers", and Kino ended up killing them. Although Coyotite ended up being killed in the process. At the ending of the book Kino and Juana return home, and end up throwing the pearl back into the Gulf. "And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disapeared".
525 words
Reflection:
Reaction#1:
Evil over good:
The "evil" in Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" is obviously, greed. For greed may change you as a person. For greed changed Kino as a person. It changed him from a content, happy, loving father, into a savage criminal, that demonstrates the way greed may/can change/destroy a persons innocence. Ever since Kino found the pearl his dreams, and songs changed. By this I mean before he had the pearl his songs were happy songs, such as "The song of the family", but when Kino finds the pearl, it changes his song to "The song of evil". Kino's greed leads him to being very, extra protective over the pearl. It leads him to killing a man that was after it, behaving violently towards "Juana" his wife, and don't forget, the cause of the death of "Coyotite", his infant son. This and other actions done by Kino, detached him from his cultural traditions in his society. He basically turned into an animal, for he had only one thing in mind; the protection of the pearl, and partly thr protection of his family. Therefore the pearl was the cause of all of the greed in the book. I believe the pearl turned into a symbol of human destrustion. For when Coyotito died Kino's voluntary abandoning of the pearl suggest that the destructive forces of the world were too powerful to overcome, even for them. What represents the "Good" in Steinbeck's novel, is the songs of true love, heart, encouragment, and kindness that Juana bestowed over Kino, Coyotite, their home, and herself. All throughout the book we read about how Juana sang and prayed for protection and miracles to happen. She prayed for Coyotite to get better, for Kino to find a pearl which they would use to pay the doctor or Coyotite's sting, and much more. Juana represents a true, good mother, and a true good wife. It seems that she would obey and follow her husband where ever he would go, even though she disobeyed him, when she tried to throw out the pearl. For she only tried to do so because she cared about her family, and didn't want the pearl to ruin her families lives. She thought the pearl was a sin, and that they needed to destroy it before it destroyed them. For me I think she was a loyal, faithful mother and wife.
Reaction#2:
To me this book was a sad book. For in the end Coyotite dies. This saddens me because the main reason Kino and Juana wanted a pearl was to hire a doctor who could help Coyotie. Kino said it was his dream for his son to be educated and go to school,a dn the pearl would help do that. But in the end when Coyotite dies, that dream was crushed. All of this nonsense happened because of the actions and mistakes of the main charecter "Kino". For if he listened to his wife, and threw the pearl back into the ocean earlier then he did, then Coyotite would've still been alive.
580 words
525 words
Reflection:
Reaction#1:
Evil over good:
The "evil" in Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" is obviously, greed. For greed may change you as a person. For greed changed Kino as a person. It changed him from a content, happy, loving father, into a savage criminal, that demonstrates the way greed may/can change/destroy a persons innocence. Ever since Kino found the pearl his dreams, and songs changed. By this I mean before he had the pearl his songs were happy songs, such as "The song of the family", but when Kino finds the pearl, it changes his song to "The song of evil". Kino's greed leads him to being very, extra protective over the pearl. It leads him to killing a man that was after it, behaving violently towards "Juana" his wife, and don't forget, the cause of the death of "Coyotite", his infant son. This and other actions done by Kino, detached him from his cultural traditions in his society. He basically turned into an animal, for he had only one thing in mind; the protection of the pearl, and partly thr protection of his family. Therefore the pearl was the cause of all of the greed in the book. I believe the pearl turned into a symbol of human destrustion. For when Coyotito died Kino's voluntary abandoning of the pearl suggest that the destructive forces of the world were too powerful to overcome, even for them. What represents the "Good" in Steinbeck's novel, is the songs of true love, heart, encouragment, and kindness that Juana bestowed over Kino, Coyotite, their home, and herself. All throughout the book we read about how Juana sang and prayed for protection and miracles to happen. She prayed for Coyotite to get better, for Kino to find a pearl which they would use to pay the doctor or Coyotite's sting, and much more. Juana represents a true, good mother, and a true good wife. It seems that she would obey and follow her husband where ever he would go, even though she disobeyed him, when she tried to throw out the pearl. For she only tried to do so because she cared about her family, and didn't want the pearl to ruin her families lives. She thought the pearl was a sin, and that they needed to destroy it before it destroyed them. For me I think she was a loyal, faithful mother and wife.
Reaction#2:
To me this book was a sad book. For in the end Coyotite dies. This saddens me because the main reason Kino and Juana wanted a pearl was to hire a doctor who could help Coyotie. Kino said it was his dream for his son to be educated and go to school,a dn the pearl would help do that. But in the end when Coyotite dies, that dream was crushed. All of this nonsense happened because of the actions and mistakes of the main charecter "Kino". For if he listened to his wife, and threw the pearl back into the ocean earlier then he did, then Coyotite would've still been alive.
580 words
the pearl summary+reaction--dylan snyder
In the book The Pearl, it starts off by introducing a family living by the sea. The family consists of, Kino, he is a diver whose skills have been pasted down from generation to generation, his wife Juana, and his son Coyotito who gets stung by a scorpion and becomes very ill. At this point, the dilemma unfolds. Kino and his family goes out the next day to go canoeing and diving, ironically he finds a pearl that is strangely large and he can sell for a great amount of money, at least that’s what he thinks. He plans to pay for a church wedding, and an education for his son as he said "This is our chance".
This part of the story is where things get a little twisted. That morning the doctor was supposed to come over and take a look at Coyotito's scorpion sting, instead he did not come. Then when Kino finds the pearl the doctor is at his service very quickly and makes a potion that is supposed to help him with his spasms. Then he asks about his payment right away. He says that he will right away sell the pearl. The local priest comes over and tries to be nice to him and to remind him his place in the church.
Another event that happened to Kino was that one night he decided to bury the pearl underneath the fire pit in the house, and surprisingly a thieve comes in and there is a fight that ends up in Kino chasing him away. At this point Juana feels that the pearl is evil and bad luck and they should get rid of it.
The following morning another conflict occurs. Kino and Juana decide to take the pearl into town to sell it to get rid of the bad luck that has come with it. All of the dealers knew that Kino was coming and all offer low on the pearl. Kino then decides to take that pearl home and then return the next day to sell it at the capital. Juana again says that the pearl was bad luck and evil and should get rid of it fast. Kino says that he is a man and she needs to be quiet.
The next conflict that the pearl brought them was when Kino is attack by vandals. The turnout leaves Kino killing one of them over the pearl. He soon sees his canoe destroyed and his house on fire. he soon has to hide out at his brother Juan Thomas’s house.
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito all set off to the captial. Kino then notices that he is being traced, so they run up the mountain side, hoping to evade the trackers. He creates a false trail to throw them off course. they then make a camp at a waterhole. Later that night, the trackers make a camp nearby. Kino decides its a good time to attack. While he was walking over to attack them. Coyotito lets out a scream and then one of the trackers quickly shoots his rifle in that direction. Kino soon finished up killing the trackers. once he goes back to his camp, he relizes that the rifle shot killed Coyotito.
They decide to make a decent back home. When they get there. He takes his last good look at the pearl, then throws it will all his might back into the ocean under the sunset.
REACTION:
I feel the very first conflict in the story is the first major sign of greed. The doctor thought that they were just poor natives that couldnt pay the doctor bill. But, once the doctor learns that they have the pearl. He is there is a flash. The only question he asks is about his pay. He doesnt care that coyotito is hurt. He just wants his money as fast as he can get it.
The second sign of greed is when the priest comes over to remind him that he is a part of the church. And reminds him to pay his offering to the church. I can't believe that the priest would even do that and be that greedy. Even he only cares about his money.
Another example of greed in the book is all the thieves that try to steal the pearl. They want the money for themselves, even though they didn't earn it, they don't care that Kino will be very upset and dissapointed when he loses the pearl. They don't care abut anybody but thereselves, just like the doctor and the priest. very self-centered. As long as they get what they want it's alright for them.
I also think that the pearl buyers were greedy. I know thats how business works, buy low, sell high. But when they saw him with the pearl, they all put on their poker face and bidded as low as possible. But, if Kino knew how to reason with them, he would have of. But he didn't. The buyers did know how to though. Salesman that can trick you, will. If you don't know how to trick them back, you will be tricked. It's as easy as that. So to sell a valuable like that, you really have to know what you are doing. But it is good that he didn't take one of those offers. But i the long-run, it's bad because he didn't end up selliing the pearl anyway. He flew it into the ocean.
Another good example of greed is the vandals that destroyed Kino's stuff. The people that did that were defiantly friends of the guy that Kino killed. So they wanted to get back at him for doing what he had to do. He gave the thieve what he deserved, and then gets punished for it. But, i don't really get it. If they were mad at him for killing their friend, why didn't they just kill him? they knew that burning down his house and destroying his boat would just chase him out of town. because later they tried to kill him. That just made it harder to find him and kill him.
PERSONAL VIEW:
I thought that the book was just okay. It was kinda boring. there wasn't much action until the part where they set off for the capital. Before that part, once they said they were going to journey to the capital. i knew that some adventure was going to happen. And yes, some did. Coyotito died and Kino killed three people at once, when they had guns.
I believe that the pearl did have something to do with all the bad luck. I know that that wouldnt really happen in real life. But in the book, I think that the author was trying to tell us it was.
This part of the story is where things get a little twisted. That morning the doctor was supposed to come over and take a look at Coyotito's scorpion sting, instead he did not come. Then when Kino finds the pearl the doctor is at his service very quickly and makes a potion that is supposed to help him with his spasms. Then he asks about his payment right away. He says that he will right away sell the pearl. The local priest comes over and tries to be nice to him and to remind him his place in the church.
Another event that happened to Kino was that one night he decided to bury the pearl underneath the fire pit in the house, and surprisingly a thieve comes in and there is a fight that ends up in Kino chasing him away. At this point Juana feels that the pearl is evil and bad luck and they should get rid of it.
The following morning another conflict occurs. Kino and Juana decide to take the pearl into town to sell it to get rid of the bad luck that has come with it. All of the dealers knew that Kino was coming and all offer low on the pearl. Kino then decides to take that pearl home and then return the next day to sell it at the capital. Juana again says that the pearl was bad luck and evil and should get rid of it fast. Kino says that he is a man and she needs to be quiet.
The next conflict that the pearl brought them was when Kino is attack by vandals. The turnout leaves Kino killing one of them over the pearl. He soon sees his canoe destroyed and his house on fire. he soon has to hide out at his brother Juan Thomas’s house.
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito all set off to the captial. Kino then notices that he is being traced, so they run up the mountain side, hoping to evade the trackers. He creates a false trail to throw them off course. they then make a camp at a waterhole. Later that night, the trackers make a camp nearby. Kino decides its a good time to attack. While he was walking over to attack them. Coyotito lets out a scream and then one of the trackers quickly shoots his rifle in that direction. Kino soon finished up killing the trackers. once he goes back to his camp, he relizes that the rifle shot killed Coyotito.
They decide to make a decent back home. When they get there. He takes his last good look at the pearl, then throws it will all his might back into the ocean under the sunset.
REACTION:
I feel the very first conflict in the story is the first major sign of greed. The doctor thought that they were just poor natives that couldnt pay the doctor bill. But, once the doctor learns that they have the pearl. He is there is a flash. The only question he asks is about his pay. He doesnt care that coyotito is hurt. He just wants his money as fast as he can get it.
The second sign of greed is when the priest comes over to remind him that he is a part of the church. And reminds him to pay his offering to the church. I can't believe that the priest would even do that and be that greedy. Even he only cares about his money.
Another example of greed in the book is all the thieves that try to steal the pearl. They want the money for themselves, even though they didn't earn it, they don't care that Kino will be very upset and dissapointed when he loses the pearl. They don't care abut anybody but thereselves, just like the doctor and the priest. very self-centered. As long as they get what they want it's alright for them.
I also think that the pearl buyers were greedy. I know thats how business works, buy low, sell high. But when they saw him with the pearl, they all put on their poker face and bidded as low as possible. But, if Kino knew how to reason with them, he would have of. But he didn't. The buyers did know how to though. Salesman that can trick you, will. If you don't know how to trick them back, you will be tricked. It's as easy as that. So to sell a valuable like that, you really have to know what you are doing. But it is good that he didn't take one of those offers. But i the long-run, it's bad because he didn't end up selliing the pearl anyway. He flew it into the ocean.
Another good example of greed is the vandals that destroyed Kino's stuff. The people that did that were defiantly friends of the guy that Kino killed. So they wanted to get back at him for doing what he had to do. He gave the thieve what he deserved, and then gets punished for it. But, i don't really get it. If they were mad at him for killing their friend, why didn't they just kill him? they knew that burning down his house and destroying his boat would just chase him out of town. because later they tried to kill him. That just made it harder to find him and kill him.
PERSONAL VIEW:
I thought that the book was just okay. It was kinda boring. there wasn't much action until the part where they set off for the capital. Before that part, once they said they were going to journey to the capital. i knew that some adventure was going to happen. And yes, some did. Coyotito died and Kino killed three people at once, when they had guns.
I believe that the pearl did have something to do with all the bad luck. I know that that wouldnt really happen in real life. But in the book, I think that the author was trying to tell us it was.
Racial Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird, By Lauren Claypoole
Summary:
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee and published in 1960, is a novel about three years of the life of a young tomboy named Jean Louise, or "Scout", Finch. This six-year-old lived in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s with her older brother, Jem; black maid, Calpurnia; and father, Atticus. Our story began when Scout and Jem befriended a neighbor boy, Dill, who was visiting Maycomb for the summer. As their camaraderie grew, so did their interest in the Finch's reclusive neighbor, Arthur "Boo" Radley. They spent the summer trying to send messages to him and sneak into his home.
After Dill left Maycomb with the promise of returning next summer, Scout started first grade. School wasn't very enjoyable for her when she was reprimanded for knowing how to read. Sometimes when Scout and Jem walked home from school, they found gifts in the hole of a tree on the Radley's property. This gifts included things such as twine, a clock, and carvings of them, which were mysterious gifts from Boo. Also during this time, Scout was often cruelly teased for her lawyer father being a "nigger-lover, " because he was assigned to defend an innocent black man who had been accused of raping a white woman. While her father, Atticus, tried to the best of his abilities to prove that the man, Tom Robinson, was innocent, he was taunted with nicknames and almost attacked by an angry mob. However, this mob was diverted when Scout, Jem, and Dill showed up and compelled the mob to realize what they were doing.
Tom Robinson's trial soon came, and since Atticus did not want them present, Scout, Jem, and Dill secretly sat in the colored balcony of the courtroom to view it. In this criminal case, the local town trash, Bob Ewell, and his lonesome daughter, Mayella, accused Tom of raping and beating Mayella. By challenging the Ewells at the stand, Atticus proved that they were lying. The truth came out that Mayella was trying to kiss Tom, and her father caught her in the act and beat her for it. However, despite this evidence, Tom was convicted by the all-white jury and sent to jail. Soon after he was incarcerated, Tom tried to escape over a wall and was shot. Meanwhile, Bob Ewell, even though he won his case, was livid at Atticus and swore vengeance.
A few months later, on a late Halloween night when Jem and Scout were walking home from a pageant, they were attacked by Bob Ewell. Jem's arm was broken, but during the fight a stranger came to the aid of Jem and Scout. Once Scout arrived home, the sheriff arrived. He looked over the fight scene and concluded that Bob Ewell fell on his knife during the fight and died. Arthur "Boo" Radley carried Jem home, as he was the one who helped the children during the fight. Boo was then walked home by Scout, who on the way saw his kindness towards them through the past three years. That was the last time Arthur Radley was ever seen.
521 words
Reflection:
In this novel, Harper Lee involves many deep issues in the life of the young girl, Scout. Social, or racial, inequality is the primary issue that creates conflict in a small, southern town in Alabama. In the innocence of her youth, Scout was unaware of the severe racism if the deep South. Racism in this story is termed "Maycomb's usual disease," by Atticus (page 88.) The people in Maycomb seem to be divided based upon this social standing, which mainly depends on their race. Two occurrences of racial inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson's case against the Ewells and Jem and Scout's visit to Calpurnia's church.
The main time when racial inequality was an issue in Harper Lee's novel was during the time that Scout's father was defending Tom Robinson's case in Maycombs court. Atticus was assigned to the case, but when asked by a family member why he was really doing it, he responded, ". . . do you think I could face my children otherwise?" (page 88.) However, by several comments that Atticus and other townspeople made in the story, we can guess that Maycomb already knew that Tom would be found guilty, whether he was or not. It was his word against two white people's word. Even though beforehand Atticus and the Finch family were harassed by white townspeople, Atticus did the best he could to prove that Tom was innocent. However, no matter what he could do, Atticus could still not change the racism in people's minds. On page 241 it explains, "Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." The people in the jury could not find a black man innocent if it meant they would have to admit that a white man as lying. In this example, Harper Lee illustrates how unjust racism can be when it kills an innocent black man.
Another time in the novel when race became an issue in Scout's life was when Calpurnia took Jem and Scout to her church. As Calpurnia was African-American, so was those in her church. Jen and Scout were very graciously welcomed by everyone in the congregation, except for one woman named Lula. When she saw Jem and Scout, she challenged Calpurnia, saying, "I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun' to nigger church. . . you ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here-they got their church, we got our'n," (page 119.) Calpurnia argued by stating that God is the same for both races, and Lula left the church. In this case, the racism that black people received in a white society caused Lula to feel resentment and racism toward the white race, even innocent children. She stated the barrier even between the churches of both races. Since this was the first time Jem and Scout were faced with racism, they were scared and intimidated.
While Atticus, Jem, and Scout Finch were not racist at all, there were many examples of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that were. Based upon this plot happening about 70 years ago during the Great Depression, one can assume that racial inequality between white and black people was normal in the Southern American society. However, as we see in Lula's case at the church, this inequality also caused some racism towards white people. As Atticus and Miss Maudie both told Scout on page 90, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird," because mockingbirds do not harm anyone. I believe that Harper Lee used the analogy of killing a mockingbird in this novel, because racial inequality based upon racism is a form of sin that can hurt people and lead to death.
637 words
Kino: Good Father and Husband, or Bad?
Angelica Pearson
April 12, 2008
Kino: Good Father and Husband, or Bad?
Kino is the main character of The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino is a good father and husband because he is always there for his family when there is trouble. Kino stays very close to his baby and wife all the time and is very watchful of evil. If something ever happened to Juana and Coyotito he would search high and low for both. Kino shows his bravery through out the story, not for greed, but for the betterment and protection of his family.
Kino is a man who doesn’t have a lot of possessions. He has a child, a brush house with a dirt floor, a canoe, a knife, and a wife. Kino lives in a town where native people live in poverty and European people have great rock and plaster houses.
Kino showed he was a good father from the beginning of the story when a scorpion stung Kino’s son. Kino was so angry that in less then a minute all that was left of the scorpion was a piece of its shell and a wet spot in the dirt. He was so desperate to be sure that his son was okay that he wanted medical help, but a doctor costs money. Kino went to search for a pearl to pay for the doctor. Only then would the doctor come to a native’s house. The doctor told Kino that his son would be fine.
The pearl that Kino found was the size of a seagull egg and all the natives thought it was worth a lot of money. Kino realizes he can do much for his family with the money from the pearl. Kino is a good father and husband because he plans to educate his son, buy a gun for protection, and marry his wife in a church. All things he thinks he needs to better his family. Kino negotiates very hard with the cheating pearl buyers, and even decides to take a dangerous trip to the capital in order to save his plan to improve his family.
Kino wants to improve his family with that pearl but people are trying to steal it. With only a knife and his hunting skills, he and his family aren’t protected so well against thieves with guns. Kino and his family were attacked three separate times, but his keen senses and strong desire to keep his family safe, helped Kino to defeat the attackers. Kino is a good protector and father.
Kino is a good husband because he is very observant of Juana’s actions and reactions. He is very thoughtful; most of the time he thinks first before he speaks or acts. They don’t talk much but they understand each other. In the book Juana talks the most and Kino chooses his words carefully.
Kino throughout the novel shows his love for his family through bravery and protection from bad guys. Kino proves he is a good husband when he does what Juana wanted to do in the first place, and throw the pearl back into the gulf. When Kino finally gets rid of the pearl, there is no more bad luck, and his family is safe. Kino understands that maybe not having the pearl is better than the dream of what the pearl might bring.
This book was boring the second time because it is like a rerun of a show. The baby gets stung by the scorpion, the doctor doesn’t help, Kino finds the pearl, tries to sell, he travels to the capital, those goons the pearl buyers hired find, the baby dies, and lastly, he throws that stupid pearl back into the gulf. That was painful to read it again if it was a movie I’d watch it again. Watching the same movie again is way better then reading the book the movie was based on again. I never read the same book twice but I watch the same movie many times because it is better then picturing it when reading a book. I am never reading that book again because I hate sad endings. I like happy endings when the good guy(s) wins and the bad guy(s) are nowhere to be found. The book did teach a very good lesson, greed brings the evil out in men, so if you find the pearl of the world, give it to a museum so no one can ever touch its beauty ever again in this or any century. Greed is one of the evils in this world so be careful with your valuables or you will probably lose them to someone blinded by greed.
April 12, 2008
Kino: Good Father and Husband, or Bad?
Kino is the main character of The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino is a good father and husband because he is always there for his family when there is trouble. Kino stays very close to his baby and wife all the time and is very watchful of evil. If something ever happened to Juana and Coyotito he would search high and low for both. Kino shows his bravery through out the story, not for greed, but for the betterment and protection of his family.
Kino is a man who doesn’t have a lot of possessions. He has a child, a brush house with a dirt floor, a canoe, a knife, and a wife. Kino lives in a town where native people live in poverty and European people have great rock and plaster houses.
Kino showed he was a good father from the beginning of the story when a scorpion stung Kino’s son. Kino was so angry that in less then a minute all that was left of the scorpion was a piece of its shell and a wet spot in the dirt. He was so desperate to be sure that his son was okay that he wanted medical help, but a doctor costs money. Kino went to search for a pearl to pay for the doctor. Only then would the doctor come to a native’s house. The doctor told Kino that his son would be fine.
The pearl that Kino found was the size of a seagull egg and all the natives thought it was worth a lot of money. Kino realizes he can do much for his family with the money from the pearl. Kino is a good father and husband because he plans to educate his son, buy a gun for protection, and marry his wife in a church. All things he thinks he needs to better his family. Kino negotiates very hard with the cheating pearl buyers, and even decides to take a dangerous trip to the capital in order to save his plan to improve his family.
Kino wants to improve his family with that pearl but people are trying to steal it. With only a knife and his hunting skills, he and his family aren’t protected so well against thieves with guns. Kino and his family were attacked three separate times, but his keen senses and strong desire to keep his family safe, helped Kino to defeat the attackers. Kino is a good protector and father.
Kino is a good husband because he is very observant of Juana’s actions and reactions. He is very thoughtful; most of the time he thinks first before he speaks or acts. They don’t talk much but they understand each other. In the book Juana talks the most and Kino chooses his words carefully.
Kino throughout the novel shows his love for his family through bravery and protection from bad guys. Kino proves he is a good husband when he does what Juana wanted to do in the first place, and throw the pearl back into the gulf. When Kino finally gets rid of the pearl, there is no more bad luck, and his family is safe. Kino understands that maybe not having the pearl is better than the dream of what the pearl might bring.
This book was boring the second time because it is like a rerun of a show. The baby gets stung by the scorpion, the doctor doesn’t help, Kino finds the pearl, tries to sell, he travels to the capital, those goons the pearl buyers hired find, the baby dies, and lastly, he throws that stupid pearl back into the gulf. That was painful to read it again if it was a movie I’d watch it again. Watching the same movie again is way better then reading the book the movie was based on again. I never read the same book twice but I watch the same movie many times because it is better then picturing it when reading a book. I am never reading that book again because I hate sad endings. I like happy endings when the good guy(s) wins and the bad guy(s) are nowhere to be found. The book did teach a very good lesson, greed brings the evil out in men, so if you find the pearl of the world, give it to a museum so no one can ever touch its beauty ever again in this or any century. Greed is one of the evils in this world so be careful with your valuables or you will probably lose them to someone blinded by greed.
G-R-E-E-D
The Pearl
Lauren Hanano
Summary:
The main character of this novel, The Pearl, was a young, hardworking man named Kino who worked as a pearl diver. Juana, was Kino's faithful wife and Coyotito was their only son, who was still an infant. One morning while resting in a hammock, Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, and to insure he will survive, Kino and his wife rush their son to the doctors. Once they got to the gates of the doctor's house, they were told that "The doctor has gone out." as a lie to get rid of them; for the doctor was racist and the indian family had no money. Later that day, Kino goes out diving in his canoe as his wife cares for the baby and prays that he will find a great pearl so that they will be able to afford treatment for Coyotito. When Kino comes back up to the canoe and opens up his oysters, he finds one that is the size of a sea-gull's egg, it was perfect! It is a mystery how fast the news travels through the town but next thing you know, everyone is talking about how "Kino had found the Pearl of the world" and imagine what they would do if they had it for themselves. it, he feared everyone. Later that evening, the doctor hears about the family's sudden wealth and desides to give the them a visit and Coyotito drugs to cure the scorpion bite. Kino first burries the Pearl in a corner but then later moves it to another hidding place for safe keepings. Later that night while Kino was asleep, someone broke into their hut and was digging a hole where Kino orginally hid the Pearl, before he moved it; there wre about other three incounters like this where 'the trackers' try to steal the pearl away. In the mean time Kino, with the help of his brother, Juan Thomas, go out to town in search for a dealer who would be interested in purchasing his pearl but as Juanm warns, "We do know we are cheated from birth to the overcharge on our coffins..." In the middle of the night, Juana stold and Pearl and attempted to throw it back into the ocean where it belongs but Kino caught her in the act and beated her violently. He then returned to his house but to find a group of men waiting for him. As Kino tried to defend himself and the Pearl from the vicious, greedy mob, he accidently kills one of them. Juana insists that they leave immedatly because he will be labled as a murder. So Kino rushes to prepare the canoe while his wife goes back home to gather up belongings and Coyotito; but as shes in the house, she notices that someone has dugg up all of the flooring and sets the house on fire. Someone has also destroyed their canoe so the family decides to hide out at Kino's brother, Juan's house for the day until they set out for the capital. That night, they realized that they are being followed so hurry to the mountains in hope of loosing the trackers and hide out in a cave. Haveing the perfect oppertunity that night to sneak up o the trackers and kills them, Kino is just about to strike untill his son gives out a cry and alerts the trackers who then shoots at the cave where his wife and son were located. As the shot was fired, Kino instantly sprung into action and killed all viciously killed all three of them. Unfortionatly, he later learns that Coyotito was shot and killed by the trackers. While at the shore on there way back to town, Kino grabs the pearl and throws it back into the ocean with all his might, like Juana had said to do earlier.
Reflection:
I think that this novel, The Pearl is about "greed as a destructive force." Kino's original intentions were to just find a pearl good enough to pay back the doctor for healing Coyotito and his scorpion bite, that was all that really mattered at the time. Then came along 'the Pearl of the world' and all of that changed... Everyone in town wanted the Pearl forthemselves and became greedy as Kino turned into a vicious, murder, who beat his wife. He took advantage of his sudden wealth and beauty and all of his plans changed for the pearl, he was then talking about getting married, etc. The pearl just brought out the worse in everyone. Its kind of like good vs evil, like that other book we read, To Kill a Mockingbird. The pearl was evil, cursed and eventually led to the unwanted death of the still yet infant, Coyotito. Juana knew what the outcome of this was already going to be and she was just doing what was right by trying to get rid of the pearl. I myself think that this was a short but interesting book with a very strong message about greed. I actually wouldn't mind reading other novels similar to this one...
Lauren Hanano
Summary:
The main character of this novel, The Pearl, was a young, hardworking man named Kino who worked as a pearl diver. Juana, was Kino's faithful wife and Coyotito was their only son, who was still an infant. One morning while resting in a hammock, Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, and to insure he will survive, Kino and his wife rush their son to the doctors. Once they got to the gates of the doctor's house, they were told that "The doctor has gone out." as a lie to get rid of them; for the doctor was racist and the indian family had no money. Later that day, Kino goes out diving in his canoe as his wife cares for the baby and prays that he will find a great pearl so that they will be able to afford treatment for Coyotito. When Kino comes back up to the canoe and opens up his oysters, he finds one that is the size of a sea-gull's egg, it was perfect! It is a mystery how fast the news travels through the town but next thing you know, everyone is talking about how "Kino had found the Pearl of the world" and imagine what they would do if they had it for themselves. it, he feared everyone. Later that evening, the doctor hears about the family's sudden wealth and desides to give the them a visit and Coyotito drugs to cure the scorpion bite. Kino first burries the Pearl in a corner but then later moves it to another hidding place for safe keepings. Later that night while Kino was asleep, someone broke into their hut and was digging a hole where Kino orginally hid the Pearl, before he moved it; there wre about other three incounters like this where 'the trackers' try to steal the pearl away. In the mean time Kino, with the help of his brother, Juan Thomas, go out to town in search for a dealer who would be interested in purchasing his pearl but as Juanm warns, "We do know we are cheated from birth to the overcharge on our coffins..." In the middle of the night, Juana stold and Pearl and attempted to throw it back into the ocean where it belongs but Kino caught her in the act and beated her violently. He then returned to his house but to find a group of men waiting for him. As Kino tried to defend himself and the Pearl from the vicious, greedy mob, he accidently kills one of them. Juana insists that they leave immedatly because he will be labled as a murder. So Kino rushes to prepare the canoe while his wife goes back home to gather up belongings and Coyotito; but as shes in the house, she notices that someone has dugg up all of the flooring and sets the house on fire. Someone has also destroyed their canoe so the family decides to hide out at Kino's brother, Juan's house for the day until they set out for the capital. That night, they realized that they are being followed so hurry to the mountains in hope of loosing the trackers and hide out in a cave. Haveing the perfect oppertunity that night to sneak up o the trackers and kills them, Kino is just about to strike untill his son gives out a cry and alerts the trackers who then shoots at the cave where his wife and son were located. As the shot was fired, Kino instantly sprung into action and killed all viciously killed all three of them. Unfortionatly, he later learns that Coyotito was shot and killed by the trackers. While at the shore on there way back to town, Kino grabs the pearl and throws it back into the ocean with all his might, like Juana had said to do earlier.
Reflection:
I think that this novel, The Pearl is about "greed as a destructive force." Kino's original intentions were to just find a pearl good enough to pay back the doctor for healing Coyotito and his scorpion bite, that was all that really mattered at the time. Then came along 'the Pearl of the world' and all of that changed... Everyone in town wanted the Pearl forthemselves and became greedy as Kino turned into a vicious, murder, who beat his wife. He took advantage of his sudden wealth and beauty and all of his plans changed for the pearl, he was then talking about getting married, etc. The pearl just brought out the worse in everyone. Its kind of like good vs evil, like that other book we read, To Kill a Mockingbird. The pearl was evil, cursed and eventually led to the unwanted death of the still yet infant, Coyotito. Juana knew what the outcome of this was already going to be and she was just doing what was right by trying to get rid of the pearl. I myself think that this was a short but interesting book with a very strong message about greed. I actually wouldn't mind reading other novels similar to this one...
The Pearl:.by John Steinbeck
The pearl starts out in the small village of La Paz where the family of, Kino, his wife Juana, and there son Coyotito.this family was a family of poor natives who's only way of raising money was for Kino to dive for pearls. In the beginning of the book kino and his family were content although they didnt always have enought money this made Kino sad. He only wanted the best for his family.But that made it hard at times.
The story began with coyotito getting bit by a scorpion this usualy kills babies this age but juana did all she could to help save him but in the meantime Kino tryed to get the doctor, but the neighbors said "he would not come, the doctor would never come out to this town"(pg. 7) the doctor was a racist that obbsesed with money. When Kino heared this he decided that they would go and see the doctor. When they got to the him he wouldn’t see at the baby because they had no way to pay him. This is when it all began, this is when he got the one-in-a-million pearl the pearl of the world.
Kino was amazed by this pearl he had found his familys happiness but,he already had all the happieness he would ever need (isnt that touching).when word got out that kino had found the pearl he was being taken advatange of and more. When the pearl started to bring him havoc kino wanted to sell it. Kino got an idea of what the pearl would be worth but when the buyers of the pearl decided to see if they could get it for a low price kino became greedy and decided to take it to the capital.
When he was planning to go to the capital it became very hard to fight off people. evil was all around him, but one night when juana was sick and tired of the pearls trouble she tried to get rid of the pearl by throwing back into the ocean but kino found her just in time to stop her he was pissed off when he found he. he hit her in the face and ithe hit threw Juana onto the ground, while Kino took off with the pearl. but after that somebody tried to steal the pearl from Kino when he was walking home but he fought back and killed him. This made him decided to run and leave town immediately with Juan making up an excuses for where they went. People still followed them so one night Kino went off to try to kill the trackers. while killing them coyotito was shot in the head and killed. While he came back home kino and his brother were miserable so they decided to throw the devil pearl back where it came from.
REFLECTION
I thought that this book was good and quite action packed i enjoyed it very much. one triumph of evil over good was when kino hit juanna in the face over the pearl when all she was trying to do was to help her family and rid it of evil that the giant pearl was bringing them. another was when kino shot and killed coyotito when he thought he was another one of his trackers and this brought utter missery to kino his family and his brother juan thomas. another was when the doctor wouldnt see the baby because he had to much work to do and because of this coyotito almost died of the scorpion sting, although he eventualy died of being shot in the head by his father beacause he thought he was a tracker. but at n overall stand point i liked this book and i personaly think it would make a great movie.
The story began with coyotito getting bit by a scorpion this usualy kills babies this age but juana did all she could to help save him but in the meantime Kino tryed to get the doctor, but the neighbors said "he would not come, the doctor would never come out to this town"(pg. 7) the doctor was a racist that obbsesed with money. When Kino heared this he decided that they would go and see the doctor. When they got to the him he wouldn’t see at the baby because they had no way to pay him. This is when it all began, this is when he got the one-in-a-million pearl the pearl of the world.
Kino was amazed by this pearl he had found his familys happiness but,he already had all the happieness he would ever need (isnt that touching).when word got out that kino had found the pearl he was being taken advatange of and more. When the pearl started to bring him havoc kino wanted to sell it. Kino got an idea of what the pearl would be worth but when the buyers of the pearl decided to see if they could get it for a low price kino became greedy and decided to take it to the capital.
When he was planning to go to the capital it became very hard to fight off people. evil was all around him, but one night when juana was sick and tired of the pearls trouble she tried to get rid of the pearl by throwing back into the ocean but kino found her just in time to stop her he was pissed off when he found he. he hit her in the face and ithe hit threw Juana onto the ground, while Kino took off with the pearl. but after that somebody tried to steal the pearl from Kino when he was walking home but he fought back and killed him. This made him decided to run and leave town immediately with Juan making up an excuses for where they went. People still followed them so one night Kino went off to try to kill the trackers. while killing them coyotito was shot in the head and killed. While he came back home kino and his brother were miserable so they decided to throw the devil pearl back where it came from.
REFLECTION
I thought that this book was good and quite action packed i enjoyed it very much. one triumph of evil over good was when kino hit juanna in the face over the pearl when all she was trying to do was to help her family and rid it of evil that the giant pearl was bringing them. another was when kino shot and killed coyotito when he thought he was another one of his trackers and this brought utter missery to kino his family and his brother juan thomas. another was when the doctor wouldnt see the baby because he had to much work to do and because of this coyotito almost died of the scorpion sting, although he eventualy died of being shot in the head by his father beacause he thought he was a tracker. but at n overall stand point i liked this book and i personaly think it would make a great movie.
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