The Pearl Journal #1

     At the beginning of The Pearl, when Kino first woke up, I thought that he was very odd. For one thing, he saw his wife's eyes wide open and didn't say anything to her, which isn't really normal. Instead, he says he's never really seen them closed, and they just get up separately, which I think is weird. They don't really have any dialogue at all. For another thing, he stares at ants, trying to observe them and figure out what they are doing, which is also a little odd. Also, he beats the scorpion to the ground, which really didn't accomplish anything. If I was him, I would have sucked the venom from him immediately instead of taking out my anger first.

     I do think that Kino is happy in his own territory, even though he doesn't know a lot about the world  in general. He knows the familiar beat of the drum and is very familiar with his routine (and the routine of those around him), but he marvels at small things like ants. Steinbeck also points out that for the natives, there is no way of knowing if what you are seeing is really existing or not. I begin to notice that the sentences are very simple and rudimentary, and the dialogue is simple and to the point. It kind of seems like the language was written by a middle school student for a while. I think the reason for this is that Kino is a simple guy who lives in a simple village, and this theme is kind of represented by the simple language.

     I think they are pretty confused about what religion they are and what they believe. When a scorpion appears, his wife chants some ancient prayers. When he goes out to the sea to look for a pearl, she calls out to a monotheistic god, polytheistic god, basically whoever will listen. I think they are trying to stay with their native beliefs but are embracing some new ones desperately. However, when they find out the worth of the pearl, it is like they are not really natives, but are very cultured. He now wishes for his son to be educated, for them to be married in a church, and for him to get some fancy new weapons. It seems like the wealth has gone to his head and he has forgotten his roots. Maybe the pearl will make him become evil. This story seems to be setting up the moral that greed is the root of evil and begets destruction.