The Pearl (connection to Lord of the flies)

John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902. His father, John Steinbeck, Sr. was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. As a youth, he worked as a ranch hand and fruit picker.

Steinbeck attended Salinas High School, and after graduating in 1919 Steinbeck attended Stanford University intermittently from 1920 to 1925. Originally an English major, he pursued a program of independent study and his attendance was sporadic. During this time he worked periodically at various jobs and left Stanford permanently to pursue his writing career in New York. However, he was unsuccessful in getting any of his writing published and finally returned to California.

His first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929, but attracted little attention. His two subsequent novels, The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, were also poorly received. Steinbeck married his first wife, Carol Henning in 1930 and moved to the Pacific Grove. He published Tortilla Flat in 1935. This marked the turning point in Steinbeck's literary career. It received the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal for best novel by a California author. Stei

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The trackers think that they hear something when they hear Coyotito crying, but decide that it is merely a coyote pup.

In his novel The Pearl, Steinbeck uses light and dark imagery to contrast good and evil in a very effective manor. (complete definition of the pearl is shown on the 4th page). To create this symbol, Steinbeck personifies the town. The end of the book showed how the evil of the pearl and the greed of people can kill what you set out to save in the beginning. When Kino goes to get the canoe so that he can take the pearl to the capital he finds it ruined. This song is sung when there is a feeling of safety surrounding them, there is a song for every feeling or event. Kino finds that his canoe has been damaged and their house was torn up and the outside set afire. Kino also hears the Song of the Undersea. The Pearl devours any book ever written. His songs provide him comfort and give him warning.

Quote 5: "removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side; that there was almost a magical protection about them. This evil blinds Jack and Kino and causes them both to hurt and to kill.

Approximate Word count = 3586
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)

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