The Pearl

The book, The Pearl, is about Kino, Juana, and their baby son Coyotito. This family of three lives in a village made of stick-huts, where songs portray the feelings of life. The village in which Kino's family lives in seems poor and primitive, and many people don't have money.
One day, as Coyotito was in his hanging bed, he got bit by a poisonous scorpion, Juana did her best to suck the fresh poison out of Coyotito's wound, but some poison still remained. Quickly, the word of Coyotito's injury spread throughout the town. Kino decided to take Coyotito to the upper-class doctor. Unfortunately, Kino did not have enough money to pay the doctor, and was rejected for treatment. Coyotito's scorpion wound caused great swelling, and Kino and Juana decided that they would find pearls to pay for the doctor to save Coyotito's life. Kino took out his canoe to find pearls to pay the doctor. He found a giant oyster that looked as if it might hold a big pearl. Kino held back his excitement, as it was thought that great desire lead to bad luck. Inside the big oyster was a huge pearl, bigger than any pearl Kino or Juana had ever seen. It was the "Pearl of the World". Kino decided that he would sell his huge pearl to become rich in order to marry Juana, get a riffle, and send Coyotito to a good school. The mean doctor heard of Kino's extraordinary pearl and decided to heal Coyotito since he knew that he would now get plenty of money in return. Coyotito was healed. The "Song of Family" echoed through Kino's ears. That night, Kino was attacked by someone who was after The Pearl. He was mildly injured. The next day Kino set out, procession behind him, to sell his Pearl of the World. The pearl buyers all said that his huge pearl was worth very little money, only 1500 pesos, at most. Kino did not accept their low offers for the pearl and decided that he would head elsewhere to get a better offer. That night, Kino was attacked again. Juana told Kino to throw the pearl back because it was bringing bad luck. Kino refused and went back to sleep. Later that night Juana tried to sneak out and destroy the pearl but Kino found her and kicked her, he did not want to lose the pearl. Kino was attacked again but this time he killed his attacker. Kino found that his canoe was destroyed and that his house was set on fire by the mysterious people who were after Kino and the pearl. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hid in Kino's brother's house the next day until they could escape during the night. The night they set out, the wind was blowing strong. It would cover their footprints well so that the trackers wouldn't find them. When morning broke, Kino and his family were hidden in the bushes, out of sight. They weren't safe for long, in the daytime, they were almost spotted by the trackers. They quickly fled for the mountains where it would be harder for the trackers to follow. They hid in a covered cave. Eventually the trackers came to the ricer by their hideout and Kino went to kill them. He crept up on them, knife at the ready. He jumped out and killed all three trackers, but not before they had killed his one and only child, his baby Coyotito.

Reflection

"You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"
I think that The Pearl is a tale of greed overtaking ones life. In the book Kino and his family started out happy. Poor, but happy. When Coyotito got bit by the scorpion, Kino and Juana would do anything to save his life, they loved him more than riches, more than pearls. When Kino found the Pearl of the World, he almost instantly became attached to it. He started to dream of what his life could be like with all the riches he could buy with the pearl. Greed overclouded his original intent. Coyotito was saved, but Kino had much bigger plans of what he would do with the pearl.
"We will be married in a church" In the pearl he saw how they were dressed -Juana in a shawl stiff with newness and a new skirt,...and she wore shoes...He himself was dressed in new white clothes, and he carried a new hat...Coyotito wore a blue sailor suit from the United States and a little yachting cap.
His mind began, then, to wander off to other things he might do with the pearl. He wanted a rifle and he wanted his son to go to a nice school where he would learn. He wanted to be blessed with all the amenities of the upper-class life.
The pearl became his "second son" in a sense; he protected it with his life, he did not let it get damaged, and he wouldn't give it up for anything less than the kings ransom. Kino got nearly killed multiple times, but he wouldn't give up his pearl. Coyotito took a backseat to his new priceless treasure, his pearl.
When the offers the pearl buyers gave was not up to the expectations of Kino, he decided that he would search far and wide in order to find an offer that would match the value that his huge pearl must be worth. Even when Kino and his family fled from the city, Kino would not give up his pearl, not for anything.
In the end, Coyotito was killed while Kino was busy protecting his precious pearl. He had lost his only son because his eyes were clouded with greed for money and riches. And even after all that trouble, Kino had realized what he had done and he threw the cursed pearl back to the ocean where it belonged. Greed had ruined his once-happy peasant life, while he was searching for riches and fortune, his vision clouded by greed.

"You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"

The Pearl

The Pearl

Kino, a young Indian pearl gatherer and our main character in the book, always appreciated his life. He loved his wife, Juana, and his one and only son, Coyotito, and he couldn’t ask for anything more. One morning, as Kino and Juana were getting ready, they heard Coyotito scream, and they raced to his bed. Coyotito had been bitten by a scorpion. As Kino squashed the poisonous bug, Juana tried to suck as much venom as she could out of her baby’s wound. After she had cleansed the wound, she was still worried about Coyotito, so she instructed Kino to get the doctor. The doctor refused to come, but Juana wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so she started off towards the doctor’s office. When they got there, the doctor’s assistant lied that the doctor was not in, when in fact, the doctor was really there. The doctor didn’t want to treat Coyotito because his parents had no money, and the doctor was very prejudiced against their race. Kino and his wife were determined to get their baby better, so to earn more money, Kino set out on his canoe with Juana and Coyotito. They searched the ocean for oysters, hoping they could find a pearl because finding a pearl was considered good luck, and one could become very rich if one decided to sell it. Soon, Kino found an oyster that was somewhat bigger than the rest and had been overlooked. He picked it up and turned to his wife. His wife whispered to him to open it. Inside was a pearl as “big as a seagull’s eye.” It was the pearl of the world. With this pearl, Kino envisioned that:

1. he and his wife could be properly wed,
2. he could buy himself a rifle, and
3. his son, Coyotito, could get an education.

He looked at Juana, and she then looked at Coyotito, realizing the swelling scorpion bite was gone. “The pearl must have brought good fortune,” they thought.

The doctor soon heard that Kino had found the “pearl of the world” and thought if he could get his hands on it, he would become rich. He was tending to another patient at the time, but since he knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with his patient, he told her he’d see her soon, and out the door he went. He arrived at Kino’s home, where everyone had gathered, trying to catch a glimpse of the beautiful pearl. He told Kino that he had come to treat the baby. The doctor apologized for not being able to come sooner. The doctor lied to Kino and told him that he had been out and just returned and that was why he was unable to treat his son earlier. The doctor realized that Coyotito was indeed better, but he figured if he told Kino that the baby was better, he wouldn’t get paid, so instead, the doctor deviously gave Coyotito a medicine that would make him sick. An hour later, he returned with another medication that “cured” the illness. When Coyotito was better, the doctor politely asked Kino when and how he was going to pay the bill. Kino smoothly said that he was going to trade in the pearl, and when he did so, he’d let the doctor know. The doctor wasn’t going to accept this answer, so after a few more questions, he tricked Kino into telling him where the pearl was hidden. That night, Kino and his wife heard someone enter their home. Kino tried to attack, but the person fled. Juana sensed that the pearl they had found was evil and that they should get rid of it. Kino refused to get rid of it and told Juana that she was just imagining things.

The next day, Kino, Juana, and their son, Coyotito, set out to sell the pearl. The entire town didn’t want to miss out on this spectacular event, so they followed along as well. When they reached the pearl seller’s place, the first pearl seller said that the pearl wasn’t worth much. The rest of the pearl sellers said the same thing. Kino was determined to sell it for a good price. He wanted so much for his family. Since the pearl sellers refused to pay him well, Kino, his family, and the town returned home. That night, Kino heard noises again, and he went to investigate. He was then attacked, and his wife rushed over with a brick, ready to help, but it was too late. The mysterious noise makers had fled. Juana was now really convinced that this pearl was an omen and that they should throw it back into the sea. Kino was obstinate, saying that the pearl was not evil. He planned to sell the pearl in the capital. In the middle of the night, Juana took the pearl and ran towards the shore. Just as she was about to throw the pearl, Kino grabbed her and slapped her across the face. Juana was knocked unconscious. Kino was soon attacked by mysterious figures, and the pearl was knocked from his hands. Kino was able to stab one of mysterious killers before also being knocked unconscious. Juana regained consciousness, saw the pearl, and took hold of it. She then found her husband, who lay unconscious. He soon got up, and she told him that he had killed a man. They had no alternative but to leave the town; however, upon checking the canoe, Kino found a terribly big hole in it. He returned to the hut and found the hut glowing, glowing with flames. Juana grabbed Coyotito, and they fled to Kino’s brother’s home. Kino’s brother helped to conceal them from everyone.

The next day, Kino and his family set out for Loreto. They traveled a great distance and then settled down to rest. During the night, Kino was awakened by noises. He realized that he and his family were being tracked. The trackers passed their hiding place, but Kino did not want to take any chances, so he moved his family into the mountains. The trackers soon set up camp near a spring, very close to where Kino was hiding his family. He decided that the only way to get rid of the trackers was to kill them, and the only way to do that was to attack them. He told Juana to stay hidden with Coyotito. When he arrived at the trackers’ camp site, one of the trackers heard a baby’s cry and directed and fired his gun towards where Juana and Coyotito were hiding. Kino then attacked and killed every single tracker. When he returned to Juana, he realized she was carrying a dead Coyotito.

Kino and Juana returned to their home, with Juana carrying Coyotito, and Kino, the pearl. They both walked toward the shore. Kino handed over the pearl to Juana, and she told him he should be the one to toss it back. He flung his arm back and threw the pearl as hard and as far as he could out into the ocean. The pearl then returned to its sandy home, covered in water plants, and there, rested undisturbed.



My Response:
Greed is poisonous, and it’s a shame that Kino learned this far too late in the story. All Kino was focused on was selling the pearl and spending the money on things for his family. Kino became so wrapped up in this greed that he didn’t even realize, even with frequent warnings from his wife, that the pearl was tearing his family apart. He didn’t listen, and he always thought he was doing the right thing. I would never suspect Kino to become obsessed with the pearl because, in the beginning, he was totally content with having what he had. He appreciated his life to the fullest, and he fully loved everything and everyone in his life. He couldn’t ask for anything more. He loved his wife, Juana, and his one and only son, Coyotito. All of a sudden, a pearl came into his life, and he was so determined to have all the luxuries after selling the pearl that he started to forget the ones that loved him. Greed overtook him, and the wealth that he could possess became his focal point. His family “music” faded to a pianissimo. He didn’t wake up to hear it, but instead, woke up to the noises of mysterious pearl thieves. I felt that even though Kino wanted nice things out of the pearl’s riches, he should not have become as “obsessive” as he had gotten. Wealth does not eliminate all problems, and it was his fault that his son, Coyotito, died. Kino frequently ignored his wife’s wise words to throw the pearl back into the ocean. If only he had listened to his wife earlier, he could have saved his son’s life.

This story was full of greedy characters. The doctor was one of them. He didn’t want to help Kino and his family in the beginning because they weren’t rich, but when Kino found the pearl, the doctor suddenly became their best friend. I am disappointed in the doctor because doctors should abide by certain standards, which include treating people of all classes equally. They should not choose which patients to tend to, solely based on financial status.

The pearl buyers were also very greedy. They didn’t want to pay such a huge sum of money for the pearl so didn’t accept the pearl and said “it wasn’t worth much.” The mysterious attackers were greedy, too, because they attacked innocent Kino just so they could get their hands on the pearl and use its fortunes for themselves. Kino and the people around him were so caught up in the riches the pearl could provide that all it brought was ill fortune. The greed and jealousy led to Kino paying the ultimate sacrifice: losing his one and only son.

This story was really depressing to me because so many people wanted the pearl, and it reminded me of the world today. So many people don’t care who they step on to get what they want. They don’t care who they hurt or destroy in the process. This book’s message and the world today have crossed paths; they intertwine. I think that the author wanted to portray the real world in this book and wanted us to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He wanted to make us aware of man’s natural tendency towards greed and how greed can destroy lives.







“…fantastic posing greed…we should feed all our jewelry to the sea for diamonds do appear to be just like broken glass to me.”



-panic at the disco

-lasie ann

2 kill 1 mockingbird BY: CHANCE

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book about a girl named Jean Louise “Scout”. She lives with her older brother Jeremy and her dad Atticus in a town called Maycomb. One day they meet a boy named Dill who visits the neighborhood every summer. During that summer they would act out stories that were told about the man in the house next door Arthur . The summer the three tried to sneak onto the Radley property, and got shot at by Boo’s brother. Jem loses his pants on a fence. During winter Scout and Jem had been finding presents that have been left for them in a knothole of a tree. Scout and Jem believe that Boo was leaving them gifts, but Nathan fills up the hole with cement. One night a fire starts in a neighbor’s house and without being seen someone puts a blanket on Scout to keep her warm.She tells Atticus that she is Positive Boo did it all the ripped jeans and the gifts in the knothole. Atticus decides to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Friends at school and people on the street are discussed because Maycomb’s white people are racist. tom was accused of raping a white woman. Even people in the family, were acting dumb with Scout so she licked her cousin who was calling Atticus a “nigger-lover”. The Finch’s cook Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to the black church where they were appreciated by most for helping another black person. Atticus’s sister Alexandra came to stay with them. Alexandra wanted to teach Jem and Scout to behave and her to teach Scout how to act like a lady. Alexandra slowly drives Jem and Scout mad with her politeness . Dill who was supposed to live with his new step-father runs away and goes to the Finches house and hides under Scouts bed. Atticus says that Dill can stay for awhile.
Tom Robinson’s trial begins and he is put in the jail for the night where a group of men come to kill him. Atticus stayed there that night to protect Tom. Scout, Jem and Dill show up and Scout tells the men to leave. During the actual trial in court the kids sit up in the black balcony because Atticus said they couldn’t come. As the trial went on Mayella and Bob Ewell, the accusers lied constantly. Atticus gave good evidence that would prove that Bob had attacked his daughter instead of Tom. Even with the evidence, Tom was still accused because he was black. Tom later tried to escape from jail and was shot. Even with the Ewell victory Bob still has a grudge agenst Atticus and swears to get him back. On the way back from a play Scout and Jem were attacked in the dark by Bob. Bob broke Jem’s arm and knocked him out cold. Boo came to the rescue and stabbed Bob in the chest with a knife. Boo carried Jem back to the Finch house and faneshes into his own house after a talk with the sheriff.


reaction:
my reaction to this book is i dont like it. i belive that if tom robinson was white that his killing wouldnt of happened because it is ok to attack girls if your white.

The Pearl

The Pearl begins in the home of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their baby, Coyotito. They live in a brush house on the Gulf of Mexico. We learn about songs that Kino hears in everything like the Song of the Family. The morning peace is disrupted when their son is bitten by a scorpion. Juana sucks the poison out but sends for a doctor. Although the doctor is called, he doesn’t come because “the doctor never came to the cluster of brush houses.” When they go to ask for the doctors themselves, he refuses to see him because they have no money. In order to pay the doctor, Kino dives for pearls in hope to find and sell some. As he dives, he hears the Song of the Undersea. He picks a big oyster and when he opens it, he finds the Pearl of the World. “It was as large as a sea-gull’s egg.”
Kino tells people that he’s going to use the pearl to give Coyotito an education so he could help his people. The priest comes and speaks to the family about the pearl and afterwards the doctor comes and warns Kino what will happen to the baby. After seeing the doctor, the baby gets better. That night, Kino is hurt when he stops a thief from taking the pearl. Although Juana thinks the pearl is evil, Kino will not give it up.
The next day, Kino goes to sell the pearl. The pearl buyers try to trick him into selling the pearl for less than it’s worth, but he sees through the trickery. He decides to sell the pearl at the capital. After consulting his brother on his decision, he is attacked at night again. They still have the pearl, but Juana believes it will destroy them. In the morning, Kino catches Juana trying to throw the pearl out to sea and stops her. On the way back to the brush house, another man comes to steal the pearl, and Kino kills the man when protecting himself. Now the family must run before the people of the town come after him. They plan to take all their belongings and sail away. But their house and possessions are burning and the canoe has holes drilled into it. They hide in Kino’s brother’s home and then hike north to try to find a safe place the next day.
The family finds that there are men following them. They try to lose the trackers, but the men always seem to find them. One night, Kino decides the only way to get away is to kill the trackers. Juana and Coyotito hide in a cave while Kino crawls to the tracker’s campsite. Kino is right next to the men, when the baby cries out. Thinking it was a baby wolf, one of the trackers shot it to stop the crying. Kino tries to stop the gun from going off and kills all three men. But he is too late and Coyotito dies.
When Kino and Juana come back to the village of brush houses, they throw the pearl into the sea.
My Response:
Throughout The Pearl, there are many examples of Kino’s people, a native culture being, oppressed. When Coyotitio gets bitten by the scorpion and the doctor is called, he doesn’t come. The doctor says, “‘Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little Indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary.’” when Kino and Juana asked the butler to bring the doctor. Calling the natives animals showed the lack of respect the doctor and “the rich people who lived in the stone and plaster houses of the town” had for the native people. They, including Kino, were trapped because of their lack of knowledge. The people in the town were taking advantage of them. For example, when the priest came to Kino’s home, he told him things that he didn’t know were true or not. The priest said to Kino, “thou art named after a great man – and a great Father of the Church . . . It is in the books.” Kino couldn’t know if he was really telling him the truth. When the doctor came to see the baby, he told Kino and Juana about what could happen to the baby if Coyotito were not treated. “He did not know, and perhaps this doctor did. And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man’s possible knowledge. He was trapped as his people were always trapped, and would be until, as he had said, they could be sure that the things in the books were really in the books.” This is why the pearl is so important to Kino. The pearl was going to set his people free. The rich people who lived in the town could easily trick and control Kino and his village because they knew things that the natives didn’t. When he shows the village his pearl, Kino says, “ ‘My son . . . will make us free because he will know – he will know and through him we will know.”
When the pearl dealers tried to cheat by saying that the pearl was not worth anything because it was a fake, Kino is outraged. He knew that the pearl was worth a great deal and it was the way he was going to liberate he and his people. To try to cheat Kino out of selling the pearl for its value was like cheating Kino and his village out of their freedom. Although the native people knew their land, they didn’t know how to read, to write, to do math, or any of the things they needed to know in order to live in the town. Like the rest of his people, Kino lives in a brush house while the doctor has a servant and other luxuries because they knew more about the things “in the books”.
The Pearl shows us what happens to an oppressed native culture. They are taken advantage of and exploited. While discussing Kino’s pearl, one of the natives said, “. . . all of us have been cheated all of our lives.”

to kill a mocking bird by ilind farris

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a book about athis girl named Jean but she is called “Scout”. She lives with her older brother, Jem and her dad Atticus in the town of maycomb. and then one daywhen they meet a boy named Dill who liked visit the neighborhood every summer.but in that summer they would act out stories that they were told by a man in the house next door Boo. That summer those 3 tried to sneak onto the radley property but they got shot at by Nath Boo’s brother. Jem lost his pants on a fence and when he returns the holes were all mended up it, isnt that wierd?. During winter Scout and Jem had been colecting “gifts” that have been left for them in a knothole of a tree. Scout and Jem thought that Boo was leaving them gifts but Nathan plugs up the hole with cement. One night a fire starts in a neighbor’s house and without being seen as scout is standing outside someone put a blanket on Scout to keep her warm.she was positive that Boo did it, she tells Atticus about the ripped jeans and the gifts in the knothole. Later Atticus hes a lawyer decides to defend a black man named Tom. Friends at school and people on the street are discussed because in there town the white people are racist. tom was accused of raping a white woman. Even people in the family were teasing Scout so she beat up her cousin who was calling her dad a nigger-love. The Finch’s black cook Cal takes Jem and Scout to a black church, where they were appreciated for helping another black person. Atticus’s sister Alexandra came to stay with them, to teach Jem and Scout to behave and for her to teach Scout how to act more lady like. Alexandra slowly drives Jem and Scout crazy with her properness that they dont understand. Dill, who was supposed to live with his new step dad runs away and goes to the Finches house and hides under Scouts bed. Atticus was nice enough to agree to let Dill stay for awhile. toms trial began and he is put in the jail for the night and thats where a group of men went to kill him. Atticus stayed there that night to protect him. Scout,Jem and Dill show up and Scout persuades the men to leave.but during the actual trial in court the kids had to sit up in the black balconyway out of sight because Atticus said they couldnt come. As the trial went on the guy that actualy did do it stated lieing alot so he wouldnt get in trouble.but Atticus gave good evidence that would prove that the guy (bob) had attacked his daughter instead of tom. Even with the evidence Tom was still in trouble because he was black.after being in jail tom tried to escape from jail and was shot. Even with the bobs victory, Bob still has a grudge agenst Atticus and swore to get him back. On the way back from a play Scout and Jem were attacked in the dark by Bob. Bob broken Jem’s arm and knocked him out. butBoo came to the rescue and stopped Bob by stabbing him in the chest. Boo took Jem back to there house and disappears into his own house after a talk with the cops.
REFLECTION:In this book about the triumph of evil over good would be when Tom was accused of the rape on the little girl when it was her father beating her instead. Tom was accused and sentenced because he was a black person and black people always loose in a court case agenst a white man. Another triumph of evil over good was when a boy at Scout’s school was teasing her because her dad was defending a black person. Scout had to turn around and walk away from a fight with him. Also, in the book it said that Scouts teacher told her to stop listening to her brother and father’s way of teaching because they were wrong. The last example of a triumph of evil over good was when Dill had to run away from his new step-dad. In the book it said that Dill ran away because he was kept in the cellar by his step-dad. He was starved to death until a nearby farmer had heard him yelling for help. The farmer had to slip peas in through a vent to feed Dill. Then in the end Dill still had to go back to his evil step-dad.Some examples of the triumph of good over evil was when Boo Radley had stabbed Bob Ewell in the chest when he was attacking the kids. Another example of the triumph of good over evil was when Scout had backed up her father by hitting her cousin in the face. She was protecting her family. The last example of a triumph of good over evil was when Scout persuaded the group of men wanting to kill Tom Robinson to go away. Scout had recognized a Cunningham in the group and had asked a series of polite but effective questions like: “How’s your entailment gettin’ along?” or “Don’t you remember me Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?” These questions had probably made Mr. Cunningham feel like there was nothing wrong with the innocent kids asking him innocent questions.The scourge of the social equality was the racial differences between the black people and the white people. In the book, black people were servants and slaves to the white people. The black people and the white people had very different privileges too. The white people got to sit in closer seats to a court trial while the black people had to sit in a far away balcony. The black people also had to go to church in an old building, without any pianos, organs, hymnbooks or church programs. On each of the seats was a small cardboard fan because it was hot and damp inside. there was also social inequality for mixed races. The people of a mixed race did not fit in with the whites or the blacks so they had to make another group by themselves. The social inequality was so bad in Maycomb, black people would lose a court case just because they were black. Even if there was excellent proof that the white person was guilty, the black person would still lose.


----ilind farris

The Pearl

by Sean Russell

The pearl fisherman had lived a spiritual life for what seemed like as long as she could rember. The family was at the beach and the baby Coyotito was in a box hanging from a rope and someone saw a scorpion on the rope and then Kino shook the rope and the scorpion fell on the baby Coyotito and stung him. They go get help from the docter but the docter would not help them because they did not have anof money to pay the docter so Kino started to suck the blood out of the baby. That night Kino praed that they would have enof money to pay for the metision for the baby Coyotito. When Kino set his eyes on what he called The Pearl of the World.
Kino had the pearl jently hit the door and than he got out of bed and grabed it and than he was a little richer

In the village La Paz there was a docter that would only work on ritch people so he could get more money. The pesents went to the docter with a poisoned kid and the docter would not help the poor boy but the docter heard that Kino had a purl the docter want to Kino’s baby and helped them now that they had money to pay the docter. So the docter got his money and left. But the priest needed money for the church. But the pesents did not have anof money to give the priest. So the priest became made and greety and did not teach the pesents the teachings of god because the pesents did not have enof money.

“In The Pearl, Steinbeck expresses the fact that man’s materialization for wealth and property leads to the self-destruction of man, both mentally and physically. The Priest of La Paz, the Doctor, Juana and Kino where all overwhelmed by greed. The Bible stories will always live on as an admonition to those who crave the warmth and comfort of money. Beckoning to those who struggle to achieve wealth, and hoping they will respond, and possibly not put wealth on the top shelf of life.” My apion on the book the Peal was good. I thought that the book was most exciting in the bigining with the baby and the pearl. Then the guy becomes upsesed with the pearl. There is a lit of greedy people in the book The affects of greed is it can drive you crazy. It can make you do things you dont want to do for something you do want. So money can make you greety even when you don’t know it.

To Kill a Mockingbird By: Ryann Linthicum

To Kill a Mockingbird

By: Ryann Linthicum

The story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in early times when race was still a big deal to people. In the little town there were small neighborhoods and everybody knew everybody, if was a good relationship or bad. A small family lived on the main residential street in the town. This family consisted of Atticus Finch, Jeremy Finch (Jem), Jean Louise Finch (Scout), and Calpurnia (their cook). Their mother had died awhile back, and Atticus never remarried. Scout starts to go back in time to explain the history that lead up to when Jem had his arm broken, by Mr. Bob Ewell. She begins the story when she was almost the age six, and Jeremy was just about the age ten.

 

The story begins in the summer time, the year Charles Baker Harris (Dill) came to visit, he didn’t live there but as the story went on he went to visit every summer and he stayed with Miss Rachel Haverford. The first summer that they all had together they were young and got in a lot of trouble trying to see Authur Radley (Boo). After the summer passed quickly, Dill went back to the to the to the town of Meridian, and it was time for the children to start to get ready for school. This was Scout’s first time going to school, and she was very eager until she came to find that her teacher didn’t treat children they way she had expected and that she said that Atticus taught her wrong. A lot of problems persisted and Scout was sure that she no longer wanted to go to school. Scout continues to go to school, with dismay. One day while she is walking home from school, she sees something in a tiny knothole in the tree trunk of one of the oak trees in the Radley’s yard. She took the gum and Jem and her continued to find treasures in the knothole.

 

The next summer Dill came back to visit, and Jem and Dill started to grow much closer, and Scout started to feel left out. So she began to spend more time with their neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson. Soon, the summer passed and it was Dill’s last day in town so they decided to sneak over to Aurthur Radley’s. They are around the house when they see a shadow and hear a shotgun. They freak out and run, escaping under the fence and come back to the front of their street finding a crowd of people in front of the Radley’s place.

 

Jem and Scout began school, and started to find treasures again. They thought it was Boo who was leaving the treasures, so they tried to leave him a note thanking him, but came to find that the hole was closed with cement. Soon winter began and it was the first real winter they had had in a long time. One night, Miss Maudie’s house catches fire, and the people on the street helped to save her furniture. Then at school, Scout gets into a fight with a boy named Cecil Jacobs because he said that Atticus stood up for African-Americans. This is when racial problems began in the book. More people began to say things about Atticus Finch --even some of their family-- because he was in Trial against Bob Ewell, who accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella, and Atticus was fighting for Tom. Soon, Aunt Alexandra comes to live with the family to try and help out with some of the problems that continued, and especially because the trial was very soon.

 

As days quickly passed, it was the day of the trial, the trial that brought everybody to come see. Dill, Jem, and Scout scurried down to the courthouse, hiding in the groups of people. By the time they got there all of the seats were taken, so they sat up in the African-American Balcony, with the reverend. After a long day, Tom still lost because of his race. Even though Bob Ewell won he still was mad at Atticus and threatened to get him back. Meanwhile Tom tried to escape from jail, and got shot. He was dead.

 

As problems continued to get worse, things got complicate. Scout had a play though and hoped that all of her family would go but because of the complications, Jem was the only one that could. On the way back from the play Jem heard some noises, only thinking that it was Cecil. They continued on, but Bob Ewell soon attacked them. He tried to kill the children, but only achieved on breaking Jem’s arm, then knocking him out unconsciously. Boo saved them, by stabbing Bob Ewell and bringing the children back to their house.

 

My Reaction: I enjoyed this book very much. Even though it was fiction, it taught me some more about the history of the major racial problems. An example of the triumph of evil over good is when Tom Robinson was accused for raping Mayella, even though he did not do it. Mayella liked Tom, and tried to get closer to him but Tom knew it was wrong. Trying to leave, Bob Ewell came to the house seeing Tom with Mayella. When he saw them together, Tom suddenly left, then Bob beat Mayella, then accused Tom of trying to rape her, and took it to court, even though Mayella was the one who caused everything.  Because of Tom’s color he was almost immediately proven guilty, but because Atticus was his Lawyer, they were able to take it to court for a second opinion. Atticus, knowing that they were not going to win because Tom was African-American, he still tried as hard as he could to make it so the jury would prove Tom innocent.  An example of the triumph of good over evil was how Atticus Finch did not care what color Tom was he knew that he was innocent, and fought for Tom Robinson’s rights. Atticus and his children were just about the only ones who did not care about the color of people, they believed that it was what was in the inside that counts. Atticus showed that he felt this way, when he gave his final speech for Tom’s trial. The biggest point that Atticus made about the trial was that “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men were created equal.” He talked a lot on this point and made sure that everybody understood that just because of Tom’s color does not make him a bad person. The children understood this very much and when they heard other people talk about their father, it made them very angry and for Scout it caused her to get into fights. She was behind her father one hundred percent. An example of the scourge of social inequality is how the white people treated the African-American people. They treated the African-American people so badly. An example in the book is how Mr. Bob Ewell was so mad at what Mayella did with Tom, know the power that he could have, automatically told everybody that Tom had raped her. He knew that because of his skin color he would be proven guilty, for the case he had created. When Atticus was able to actually prove that Tom was innocent, he was still proven guilty because of the color of his skin. Mr. Ewell was starting to get a litte worried because he thought he might actually lose because of the spot that Atticus had put him in. A little while later, after the jury talked the circumstances over, Tom was still proven guilty because of his color. I believe that another example of the scourge of social inequality is how the mixed colored people, really did not have a place in the world. The white people did not want them because they had some color in them and the African-American people did not want them because they had some white in them. They were lost in the world and I think that this was a horrible thing. This book explained a lot about how African-American people had so little rights compared to the white people and some of the circumstances that happened, we automatically concluded by who the problems were about, such and the Ewell verse Tom trial. This was a good book that explained everything a little more to me.