1.- The story begins with a little prologue where he writes, “If this
story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning
from it and reads his own life into it.” What do we learn about
the pearl’s symbolism from the reactions it evokes in the
townspeople and main characters?
2.- How does Steinbeck establish the atmosphere with his use of
language? Think of the descriptions that open chapter one.
3.- Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an
advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing
often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and it helps
the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events.
Discuss Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing in The Pearl.
4.- After diving into the water, Kino returns to the canoe with an
especially large shell. Kino is reluctant to open in. “In this Gulf of
uncertain light there were more illusions than realities.”
Discuss several roles of illusions or mirages in the novel. Why are
they significant? What is the bigger message we should take from
them?
5.- How does Steinbeck infuse the story a sociopolitical context?
6.- How does Steinbeck inform us about the peasant culture’s fears,
superstitions and ultimate fatalism brought on by the “Pearl of the
World”?
7.- Is the pearl itself really evil? Make an argument one way or the
other. Consider the symbolism of the pearl throughout the parable.
What does it represent?
BI BL IOTECA TEC LA SALA
The Pearl
John Steinbeck
October 17, 2019
Suggested Discussion Questions
