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The Pearl Foreshadowing Analysis

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Foreshadowing was a major point in The Pearl. John Steinbeck wrote his book in a way of warning you that something is going to happen later in the book, but it is almost too subtle to figure out that he is foreshadowing. There are many ways John Steinbeck foreshadowed in this book for example: his son’s name, finding the pearl, and Juana being suspicious about the pearl. Kino’s name is Coyotito. If you were to look up what Coyotito means you would find that it translates to Little Coyote. Ironically enough the tracker who shoots Coyotito because he believed that Coyotito was a baby coyote crying, although he was actually just crying in the cave he and his mother were hiding in while Kino was trying to get the group of trackers away. When …show more content…

When Kino heard about the pearl, it was called “the pearl that might be” meaning that the pearl could exist, but it is not one hundred percent positive that it actually existed. Kino knew that if he found that pearl that he could pay for his son to be healed. Stories from the natives proved it was a folktale, or just a legend. Juana even prayed for him to find the pearl. The next time that Kino went to search for pearls he found “the pearl that might be” in a large clam shell. Steinbeck used foreshadowing to show how Juana after praying that her husband would find the pearl took back her prayers because she did not trust the pearl and what it would …show more content…

Juana believed that the pearl had evil spirit to it and that it had bad luck. Once all of the villagers knew that Kino found the pearl they became obsessed with trying to get it. Juana feared that the pearl will ruin their son and her family, but Kino pushes her fear aside not caring since he was going to be rich. Throughout the story Kino’s greed became too much for Juana after her family had been attacked and Kino beaten so badly that he was knocked unconscious. Juana tried to take the problem into her own hands and get rid of the pearl, but Kino was so set on being rich he wouldn’t let her and hit Juana until she was knocked unconscious. People thirsty for the pearl had burned Juana and Kino’s hut leaving them with nothing, but the pearl, Coyotito and themselves. Kino had a brother, Juan Tomás, that allowed them to hide out in his hut, until they were ready to leave and go live somewhere they could be safe. On the way to their safe place, trackers who are looking for the pearl and Kino are following them. Kino decides that he needs to divert the trackers away from his wife and son so he takes off running another direction away from his family. While Juana and a crying Coyotito are hiding in a cave, one of the trackers hear his cries believing that he is a baby coyote. The tracker shoots at the cave,

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Additionally, the author Willam Senator also uses foreshadowing in his story to make it better. An example from the text, “Of course he was always uncomfortable in elevators, afraid that they would fall, but this on was especially unpleasant. Perhap this was because of the poor lighting and the dirty walls. Perhaps it was because of the door, which never stayed open long enough, and slammed shut with a loud clangin noise. Perhaps it was the way the elevator shuddered each time it left a floor, as if it was exhausted.

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This single act was the cause of the family’s downfall and destruction. The grandmother brought along Pitty Sing on the vacation due to her fear of it asphyxiating himself by brushing against a gas burner (pg.243). The grandmother’s concealment of the cat was the cause of the car accident that ultimately cost everyone in the vehicle lives except Pitty Sing’s. during the conclusion of the story O’Conner points out an almost seemingly smug Pitty Sing is brushing against The Misfit’s legs. In hindsight, the grandmother ultimately succeeded in preserving the cat’s life at the expense of her and her family.

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Pearl, throughout the book, shows everyone in a new light. Through the eyes of a child, filled with understanding. Wanting to learn more about the people around her, lets us also get to read more of them in depth. Making Pearl essential to the book, from her birth giving the main plot of the story, to her being treated by the millionairess elders of the town, and finally being awaken into the new world, through so many deaths.

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The reason that Kino and Juana went searching for something of value was because Coyotito needed to be healed by the doctor. Once they found the “wonderful” pearl there was no longer a use for it. Juana’s seaweed cure had worked and now there was no need for the pearl. Kino only wanted to use it for things that weren’t necessary such as a wedding with Juana, with whom he was already married, and a rifle which he didn’t

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Juana repeated an ancient magic to guard against such evil. This statement clearly states Juanas faith for her religion and her love for her son Coyotito. Throughout the book Juana is continually showing courage, loyalty, and love to her husband, son and neighbors, she demonstrates these things not through her words but her actions. Even when her baby comes close to death, even when she suffers from being beat and is forced to run away with a child in tow and suffers from scrapes and bruises, she remains in high spirits. She also manages to be clever and witty as she comes up with smart solutions for difficult circumstances.

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The author says, “But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight. ”(98-99) Pearl is evil to other kids, she tortures animals, she is a symbol of

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“Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’s pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and the only person that stood in the way and that was Kino, so that he became curiously every man’s enemy.” (page 23). This quote states that everyone envies Kino and wants the pearl’s wealth for himself or herself. Later in the book, one of these people will try to take the pearl. This will cause Kino to try to protect the pearl at all costs.

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Kino wanted to sell the pearl so his son Coyotito could have a good life and education, he could own a gun, so he and Juana could have a real wedding, but soon after Kino’s love for his begins to change. ¨He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side¨ (Steinbeck 59). After

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Kino is now doing what he needs to do to save the pearl. Juana was about to throw the pearl back into the ocean but Kino didn't not want that to happen so he brutally attacked her in hopes of stopping her from throwing it in the

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In the beginning of the book, it shows the way Juana and Kino were connected and how they already knew what the other was thinking, so for Kino to hurt Juana is a huge table turner in the book. It shows that the pearl seemed to envelop his whole life, his past and present. The pearl ran through his veins and his head, it caused him to forget Kino’s memories with Juana and Coyotito. As he lost his memories, he seemed to slowly lose his family,

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I believe that many factors have contributed to Kino’s thoughtless behavior and his desire for wealth. First, the pearl has indeed had a negative effect on Kino. Kino slowly changes from the content husband that we see him in the first chapter to the paranoid man who harms his wife (a woman he once admired greatly) and makes impulsive decisions for the benefit of wealth. Second, Kino is keeping the pearl for the pearl has some ties with his dignity as the other critics have concluded. Before the pearl, Kino only had his canoe as a way to support those he loves, but within the pearl he sees new opportunities and luxuries, and, as head of the household, he must try to better his wife’s and son’s life.

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Although the past cannot be changed, the future is in your power. But what if power is the reason the future cannot be changed? The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is a timeless story that is filled with metaphors for how avarice takes over humans. Although there is no easy way to get rid of it, Kino goes through many challenges to free himself from the troubles that come with possessing the power the pearl held. Kino went from a loving human to a dehumanized figure because he saw great wealth in the pearl, attacked in order to maintain the power it held and lost the ability to have emotions.

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First when Juana tries to sneak out to throw away the pearl because she feels it brings evil wherever it goes. Kino finds out and “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side. ”pg. 76 Kino at the time however felt no remorse for his actions and this is when you can really see the pearl takes its dark effect. In these final chapters you can also see how the pearl has molded Kino into a changed man who is obsessed with the pearl "This pearl has become my soul," said Kino.

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Foreshadowing helped explain the greediness of the doctor, characterization for Kino, and symbolism for the pearl

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In one of the first nights after Kino obtains the pearl, Kino is attacked by intruders who were presumably looking to steal the pearl. During the attack, Kino shows how protective he is of the pearl when he cuts and injures one of the attackers. This event agains shows how Kino want to keep and utilise his precious

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