The Pearl Reading Guide (for 9^th graders)

50 test points

Due the first 1/2 day of school

Directions:  Answer each question fully and in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.  Make sure it is neat and clean. 

1. Explain in a paragraph the central plot of the novel. (5 points)
2. Kino at first saw the pearl as a means of gaining a kind of freedom.  What would you say he finally gains from his tragic experience? (5 points)
3. Identify the major character in the story and write one sentence describing that character. (5 points)
4. What is the central conflict or problem facing the main characters or characters? (5 points)
5. When Kino and Juana set out to sell the pearl in Chapter 4, the feel that it is “the morning of mornings of their lives, comparable only to the day when their baby was born.  This was to be the day from which all other days would take their arrangement.”  Given what happens later, what is ironic about the parent’s hopes?  In what unexpected way does this turn out to be the “morning of mornings”? (10 points)
6. A symbol is any object, action, person, or place that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for something broader than itself.  The pearl in this story seems to stand form more than just an actual pearl.  Steinbeck tells us that the pearl is an accident, a “coated grain of sand.”  What does the pearl symbolizes to various people at various times in the story. (10 points)
7. In your opinion, what is the theme of this story?  Answer in a paragraph with support and examples.  (5 points)
8. What does this novel suggest about human nature?  What Christian principles could be reinforced through reading this novel? (5 points)
   

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