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The Pearl Study Questions
Chapter 1
1. Why is there no need for Kino and Juana to talk? a. Kino is angry with Juana. b. Every morning is the same, so they know what to do and don’t need words. c. Juana left Kino a note.

2. What song replaces the Song of the Family? a. The Song of Morning b. The Song of the Scorpion c. The Song of Evil
3. Why does Juana repeat “ancient magic words” to guard against evil? a. A scorpion is walking toward Coyotito. b. The brush house is on fire. c. Juana is a witch.

4. How did the scorpion manage to sting the baby? a. Coyotito shook the rope the scorpion was on and it fell in his crib. b. Kino dropped the scorpion in the crib. 5. Why is the scorpion sting so dangerous for a baby? a) Scorpion bites cause swelling, fever and stomach cramps. b) Scorpion bites can make an adult very ill and kill a baby. c) Scorpion bites leave an ugly scar.

6. Why does Kino think the doctor will not come to them? a. The doctor is too far away. b. They don’t know where the doctor is. c. The doctor is too busy taking care of his rich patients.

7. Draw the procession described on page 8 and label the characters going to see the doctor.

8. What do the beggars infer about Kino and Juana? a. They see them running and think there is an emergency. b. They see their old clothes and decide they are ‘poverty people’. 9. Describe the doctor. (Page 10, Paragraph 3)

10. Describe Kino.

11. Describe Juana.

12. How has the doctor’s “race” mistreated Kino’s “race” and why? a. They treated Kino’s race like enemies because they were always fighting. b. They treated Kino’s race like heroes because they had saved many lives. c. They treated Kino’s race like animals, because they did not respect them.

13. What is the old language? a. The language of the Spanish conquerors. b. The language of the native indigene (Indian) people. c. The language of the French doctor.

14. What is the new language? a. The language of the Spanish conquerors. b. The language of the native indigene (Indian) people. c. The language of the French doctor.

15. Why does Kino take off his hat when he knocks on the doctor’s door? a. Kino takes his hat off to show respect for the doctor. b. Kino takes his hat off to show the doctor’s servant that he is humble. c. Kino takes his hat off because he hot.

16. Why does Kino hit the gate? a. He thinks the doctor can’t hear him knocking. b. He is angry that the doctor won’t help Coyotito. c. He thinks he can break open the gate.

Chapter 2

1. How are canoes preserved for generations? a. They were kept in a shed at night. b. They were coated with a secret plaster. c. They weren’t preserved; they made new ones each year.

2. Why is Kino’s canoe so valuable to him? a. A canoe was property and a source of food. b. The canoe was made by his father. c. It was beautiful.

3. What does Juana pray for? a. Juana prays the baby will get better. b. Juana prays for Kino to be safe while he is diving. c. Juana prays that Kino will find a pearl that can be used to buy the doctor’s cure.

4. Kino is a “pearler.” What does that mean? a. Pearlers buy and sell pearls to the ‘rich’ people in the town. b. Pearlers dive for oysters in the sea and hope they will find pearls. c. Pearlers are very good at knitting.

5. The bed of oysters has “raised the King of Spain to be a great power in Europe.” How did this happen? a. The king used the money from pearls to feed sick and starving people. b. The king used the pearls to gain favor from the nobles and the church. c. The pearls were magical and gave the king great power.

6. How are pearls formed? (see handout) a. Pearls are minerals from the earth like diamonds and sapphires. b. Pearls are grains of sand that irritate the oyster and are covered by smooth cement. c. Pearls are made with the secret plaster handed down by the indigene.

7. Why do Kino and Juana hear “the song of the Pearl that might be”? a. Oysters make a special sound when they have a pearl inside. b. Kino and Juana want to be rich. c. The song comes from their hope that a pearl will save the baby.

8. What does Kino’s “maybe” pearl look like? a. It is creamy white and the size of Kino’s fist. b. It is small and gray. c. It is the size of the moon.

9. Why does Kino howl at the end of the chapter? a. Kino wants to show off the pearl to his friends. b. Kino is relieved that the baby is better. c. Kino knows that his life is about to change.

Chapter 3
1. To what does Steinbeck compare the town? a. A town is a thing like a colonial animal. b. A town is a thing separate from all other towns. c. A town has a whole emotion. d. All of the above.

2. The news of Kino's pearl spread quickly across town. What did each person think of when he heard it? a. They think about how they would use the money from the pearl. b. They think how lucky Kino and Juana are. c. They think that they should have found the pearl.

3. What would Kino do with his riches? a. He wants to move to the city. b. He wants to get married in the church, buy new clothes and get a rifle. c. He wants to give his money to the church.

4. Why does the doctor come? What does he do? a. He comes to check on the baby; he gives the baby good medicine. b. He comes to trick the family, he gives the baby a powder so he will get sick and need the doctor. c. He pretends to help so he can get information about where Kino has hidden the pearl.

5. What bad thing happened to make Juana want to throw away the pearl? a. Kino kills a burglar. b. The doctor says that Coyotito will have a withered leg. c. Someone tries to steal the pearl and Kino gets hurt protecting it.

Chapter 4
1. In the description of the pearl buyers, what do we find out about the market in Kino's village? a. There are many buyers in the village; the competition means that the pearl men can get the best price. b. The buyers used to compete with each other; but they realized that the pearl men sometimes got too much for their pearls and now they all work together in one office. c. There used to be competition but now there is really only one buyer and his agents agree ahead of time about how much to bid and what strategies to use to get the best price.

2. What happened when Kino went to sell his pearl? a. The dealer told him it was worthless and sent him away. b. The dealers tried to cheat Kino by telling him the pearl was too large. Kino sold the pearl for 1500 pesos. c. The dealers worked together to try and cheat Kino; so Kino took back the pearl and threatened to take it to the capital and sell it there.

3. Juan Tomas says to Kino, "You have defied not the pearl buyers, but the whole structure, the whole way of life. I am afraid for you." What does he mean? a. Juan Tomas believes that Kino is in danger. If the pearl has great value, as Kino believes, then others will try to take it from him. b. Kino’s people have always been cheated. Juan Tomas believes accepting this fact is one of the reasons why his people have been able to survive. c. Juan Tomas thinks that the pearl buyers will try to steal the pearl.

4. Again at the end of the chapter, Juana wants to throw away the pearl because it is evil. What evil thing happened? a. The baby becomes sick again. b. Kino says he is leaving in the morning to go to the capital. c. Kino is attacked outside the house by people who are looking for the pearl.

Chapter 5
1. Where did Juana go early in the morning? a. She went to the market to buy bread. b. She went to ask the neighbors for help. c. She went to throw the pearl into the sea.

2. What did Kino do when he figured out where she went? a. He chased her, beat her, and took back the pearl. b. He let her go and went back to sleep. c. He followed her to the beach and found a robber attacking her.

3. What happened to Kino up the beach through the brushline on the path? a. He stumbled in the dark and dropped the pearl. b. He is attacked by a robber and kills him. c. He is attacked by Juana.

4. What happened to their hut while they were away? a. Robbers came and searched it. b. A spark from the fire pit set the brush house on fire. c. Robbers came, searched the house, dug up the floor and, finally, set the house on fire.

5. Why did they leave the village? a. They were afraid that Kino would be arrested for killing a man. b. They wanted to sell the pearl in the capital. c. They were afraid the robbers would kill them. d. All of the above.

Chapter 6
1. What "songs" does Kino hear on the first part of their journey? a. The song of the pearl and the song of the family. b. The song of evil and the song of the pearl. c. The song of the family and the song of the undersea.

2. What made the music of the pearl become "sinister in his ears, . . . interwoven with the music of evil?" a. Kino heard the trackers coming up the road. b. Kino had a nightmare. c. Kino tried to see his dreams in the surface of the pear but only saw nightmares.
3. What happens to Coyotito? a. Coyotito learns to read. b. Juana smothers the baby to keep him quiet. c. Coyotito is shot by the trackers.

4. What happens to the trackers? a. The trackers catch Kino and take him back to the city. b. Kino kills the trackers. c. The trackers give up and go back to the city.

5. What happens to Kino and Juana? a. Kino and Juana are killed by the trackers. b. Kino and Juana a return to La Paz. c. Kino and Juana go to Loreto to sell the pearl.

6. What do they do with the pearl? a. They sell the pearl in Loreto b. They throw the pearl back in the sea. c. They crush the pearl between two rocks.

7. What does the return of Kino and Juana and their throwing away the pearl mean symbolically? a. Kino and Juana have lost all their hopes and dreams. b. Kino and Juana are throwing away the evil so they can find peace. c. Kino and Juana want to go back in time.