The Pearl: Building a Background

John Steinbeck

Getting to Know: JohnSteinbeck American Novelist Wrote Of Mice and Men Born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902 Was fascinated with marine life and spent a great deal of time at Monterey Bay, California Loved vacationing at the beach in Mexico Wrote mostly about common people down on their luck

The Baja Peninsula: Key Facts Located in Northwestern Mexico Peninsula-a piece of land that juts out into the water and is surrounded by water on three sides Separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) Climate: The north is tropical and the south is hot and dry The primary language spoken is Spanish English is commonly spoken as well

Indigenous Culture “Indigenous” is defined at m-w.com as “produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment. Therefore, to be part of an indigenous culture means to be native to a land or region, especially before intrusion of foreign culture.

Scorpions Have eight legs Two grasping claws Curved tail w/ venomous stinger at the end Found on every continent but Antarctica

More Scorpion Facts Scorpions live mostly in warm habitats Nocturnal Predatory creatures Ambush prey (insects, spiders, mice, snakes, etc.) with claws and immobilize them with their poisonous tail if needed Fast-acting venom used to hunt and defend

Effects of Scorpion Sting Swelling and pain at puncture wound Sweating, Vomiting, Shock, Death Treatment=antiserum from doctor

How are Pearls Formed? A grain of sand slips into the oyster This foreign object irritates the flesh of the oyster In its defense, the oyster releases a cement-like substance that covers this foreign object Result? A Pearl

OYSTER

Diagram of Oyster

Oyster with Pearl

OYSTERs ready to eat

Pearl Diving in Mexico Two types of oysters that form pearls are indigenous to Mexico Mexico was once the leading country in pearl diving Free-divers dove to depths over 100 feet on a single breath Pearls were initially found by bringing up tons of oysters in the hopes of finding a handful of pearls Very dangerous job: drowning and dangerous animals

Pearl Diver

Natural Pearls Pearls formed in the wild are extremely RARE and therefore EXPENSIVE. Many fisherman on the Baja Peninsula made a living fishing and diving for pearls.

Pre-Revolution Post-Revolution Mexico Mexico Ancient Mexico=Peace and Harmony Simple, tranquil way of life However, the Aztec Indians were treated as inferiors and were poor Wealth lived in hands of few Spaniards Despite previous oppression of the indigenous culture, a great civilization has been built and will continue to grow. Mexican people can fuse these two cultures, Indian and Spanish, together.