Chapters 4-6
1.) According to the stout pearl buyer, why is there no market for Kino's pearl? What does Kino accuse the dealer of trying to do?
The stout pearl buyer tells Kino that his pearl is simply too big and nobody will want it, Kino accuses the dealer of trying to cheat him out of his money.
2.) How does Kino react to the buyer's offer of 1,500 pesos? How do Kino's neighbors react to his decision?
Kino believes that the pearl is worth far more than the pearl buyer says it is and he says he will go to the Capital to sell it. Kino's neighbors are shocked for the moment but later return to their brush houses.
3.) What happens to Kino's boat? To his house?
Kino's boat is sabotaged by an unknown vandal that had put a huge hole in the bottom, as for his house, it was set on fire.
4.) Reread the paragraph in which Kino describes the sermon that the priest gives every year. What does the priest mean when he says that "each one must remain faithful to his post and no go running about..."? How does this statement relate to social structure of Kino's society? What are some of the "posts" or fixed divisions in Kino's society? Why might the priest make this statement?
By saying this, the priest means that he believes people should stay where they are put originally. This statement relates to Kino's society because he is the lowest class of people and the Capital is the highest, everyone in the capital thinks the poor should stay where they belong. When Kino was walking to the Capital they described the houses going from brush houses to better looking ones, until they got to the Capital which is like a city. The priest could be making this statement as a warning for Kino not to stray from where he came from.
5.) Why did the plan of Kino's ancestors to use an agent to sell their pearls fail? What characteristic of the stout pearl buyer is revealed by the way he plays with the coin? What happens to the coin when Kino shows him the pearl? What does this reaction suggest?
Kino's ancestors plan was a fail because they did not know the prices for the pearl in other places and they were cheated all the time. The stout pearl buyer has the characteristic of secrecy because of how well he was able to hide his true emotions.
6.) Why do Kino and Juana return to La Paz instead of proceeding to the capital? Why does Kino throw the pearl into the sea? Why is it significant that Kino and Juana return to La Paz walking side by side? Is their return a defeat, a triumph or both?
Kino and Juana return to La Paz because they discovered trackers following them and had to turn back. Kino throws the pearl into the sea because it had evidently destroyed the cause of their journey and the most important part of their life, Coyotito. It is significant that they return side by side because the entire time Kino was the leader and now that he had been the cause of his sons death his confidence may have been taken right out of him. Their return is a defeat because the whole point of them going on the journey was to heal Coyotito and now that he is gone, they did the whole thing for nothing.
7.) What forces are to blame for the misfortune that befalls Kino and Juana?
There are no forces to blame, it is only selfishness because if Kino had just taken the 1,500 pesos they could have probably healed Coyotito and just gone home instead of having to travel to the Capital in the first place.
8.) In your opinions, could Kino and Juana have found happiness through the pearl?
If they had been wise and kept their pearl as a secret then word would not have spread, the pearl buyers would not have time to plan, and they would have gotten their desired price.
9.) Do you think Kino is in any way responsible for Coyotito's death?
Kino is partly responsible for Coyotito's death because he was paranoid about attacking the tracker and then the tracker saw him, ruining his plan, resulting in a fight. Juana is also half responsible because she was told to wait in the cave, but she peeked her head out with Coyotito sleeping on her back.
VOCABULARY:
Chapter 4:
Countenanced - someone's facial expression
Stalwart - reliable
Legerdemain - preforming well with your hands
Spurned - to reject something
Lethargy - moments of weakness
Chapter 5:
Skirled - wailing
Exhilaration - exitement
Keening - grief for death
Leprosy - skin affecting disease
Chapter 6:
Sinister - evil
Guttural - harsh sound
Monolithic - something formed with one stone/rock
Irresolution - uncertainty
Escarpment - steep slope
Petulant - bad tempered
Intercession - inverting on behalf of another
Germane - something related to a subject under consideration
The stout pearl buyer tells Kino that his pearl is simply too big and nobody will want it, Kino accuses the dealer of trying to cheat him out of his money.
2.) How does Kino react to the buyer's offer of 1,500 pesos? How do Kino's neighbors react to his decision?
Kino believes that the pearl is worth far more than the pearl buyer says it is and he says he will go to the Capital to sell it. Kino's neighbors are shocked for the moment but later return to their brush houses.
3.) What happens to Kino's boat? To his house?
Kino's boat is sabotaged by an unknown vandal that had put a huge hole in the bottom, as for his house, it was set on fire.
4.) Reread the paragraph in which Kino describes the sermon that the priest gives every year. What does the priest mean when he says that "each one must remain faithful to his post and no go running about..."? How does this statement relate to social structure of Kino's society? What are some of the "posts" or fixed divisions in Kino's society? Why might the priest make this statement?
By saying this, the priest means that he believes people should stay where they are put originally. This statement relates to Kino's society because he is the lowest class of people and the Capital is the highest, everyone in the capital thinks the poor should stay where they belong. When Kino was walking to the Capital they described the houses going from brush houses to better looking ones, until they got to the Capital which is like a city. The priest could be making this statement as a warning for Kino not to stray from where he came from.
5.) Why did the plan of Kino's ancestors to use an agent to sell their pearls fail? What characteristic of the stout pearl buyer is revealed by the way he plays with the coin? What happens to the coin when Kino shows him the pearl? What does this reaction suggest?
Kino's ancestors plan was a fail because they did not know the prices for the pearl in other places and they were cheated all the time. The stout pearl buyer has the characteristic of secrecy because of how well he was able to hide his true emotions.
6.) Why do Kino and Juana return to La Paz instead of proceeding to the capital? Why does Kino throw the pearl into the sea? Why is it significant that Kino and Juana return to La Paz walking side by side? Is their return a defeat, a triumph or both?
Kino and Juana return to La Paz because they discovered trackers following them and had to turn back. Kino throws the pearl into the sea because it had evidently destroyed the cause of their journey and the most important part of their life, Coyotito. It is significant that they return side by side because the entire time Kino was the leader and now that he had been the cause of his sons death his confidence may have been taken right out of him. Their return is a defeat because the whole point of them going on the journey was to heal Coyotito and now that he is gone, they did the whole thing for nothing.
7.) What forces are to blame for the misfortune that befalls Kino and Juana?
There are no forces to blame, it is only selfishness because if Kino had just taken the 1,500 pesos they could have probably healed Coyotito and just gone home instead of having to travel to the Capital in the first place.
8.) In your opinions, could Kino and Juana have found happiness through the pearl?
If they had been wise and kept their pearl as a secret then word would not have spread, the pearl buyers would not have time to plan, and they would have gotten their desired price.
9.) Do you think Kino is in any way responsible for Coyotito's death?
Kino is partly responsible for Coyotito's death because he was paranoid about attacking the tracker and then the tracker saw him, ruining his plan, resulting in a fight. Juana is also half responsible because she was told to wait in the cave, but she peeked her head out with Coyotito sleeping on her back.
VOCABULARY:
Chapter 4:
Countenanced - someone's facial expression
Stalwart - reliable
Legerdemain - preforming well with your hands
Spurned - to reject something
Lethargy - moments of weakness
Chapter 5:
Skirled - wailing
Exhilaration - exitement
Keening - grief for death
Leprosy - skin affecting disease
Chapter 6:
Sinister - evil
Guttural - harsh sound
Monolithic - something formed with one stone/rock
Irresolution - uncertainty
Escarpment - steep slope
Petulant - bad tempered
Intercession - inverting on behalf of another
Germane - something related to a subject under consideration