The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Chapter 1 “The roasters had been crowing fro some time, and the early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see whether anything to eat had been overlooked” (1).

Ceaseless Constant and unending

“Near the brush fence two roosters bowed and feinted at each other with squared wings and neck feathers ruffled out” (4)

Feinted make a deceptive or distracting movement, typically during a fight

“The world was awake now, and Kino arose and went into his brush house” (4).

Brush House Indian brush houses were made of earthen walls and thatched roofs. Some had roofs that came almost to the ground and gave the appearance of being a thatched house or a house made of brush. back soon.

And he drank a little pulque and that was breakfast.

Pulque An alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant

“The little hole was slightly enlarged and its edges whitened from the sucking, but the red swelling extended farther around it in a hard lymphatic mound” (6).

Lymphatic Pale, flabby, or sluggish

“The came to the place where the brush houses stopped and the city of stone and plaster began, the city of harsh outer walls and inner cool gardens where a little water played ad the bougainvillaea crusted the walls with purple and brick-red and white” (8).

Bougainvillaea  A genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees with flower-like spring leaves near its flowers

“They knew his ignorance, his cruelty, his avarice, his appetites, his sins” (9).

Avarice Extreme greed for wealth or material gain

“Slowly he put his suppliant hat on his head” (12).

Suppliant Making or expressing a plea, especially to someone in power or authority

Chapter 2 “The town lay on a broad estuary, its old yellow plastered buildings hugging the beach” (13).

Estuary A body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the seawater

“They were high and graceful canoes with curving bow ad stern and a braced section midships where a mast could be stepped to carry a small lateen sail” (13).

Lateen A triangular sail on a long yard at an angle of 45° to the mass

Spotted botete, the poison fish, lay on the bottom in the eel-grass beds, and the bright-colored swimming crabs scampered over them” (13).

Botete Puffer Fish

“It is the bulwark against starvation”(14).

Bulwark A defensive wall

“She gathered some brown seaweed and made a slat damp poultice of it, and this she applied to the baby’s swollen shoulder, which was as good a remedy as any and probably better than the doctor could have done” (15).

Poultice A soft, moist mass of material, typically of plant material or flour, applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth

Chapter 3 “A town is a thing like a colonial animal” (21).

Colonial Of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colonies

“And when it was made plain who Kino was, the doctor grew stern and judicious at the same time” (22).

Judicious Having, showing, or done with good judgment or sense

“The essence of the pearl mixed with essence of men and curious dark residue was precipitated” (23).

Precipitated Cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely

“The news stirred up something infinitely black and evil in the town; the black distillate was like the scorpion, or like hunger in the smell of food, or like loneliness when love is withheld” (23).

Distillate A liquid product condensed from vapor during distillation

“All of these things Kino saw in the lucent pearl” (24).

Lucent Glowing with or giving off light.

“Then to the lovely gray surface of the pearl little things Kino wanted: a harpoon to take the place of one lost a year ago, a new harpoon of iron with a ring in the end of the shaft; and – his mind could hardly make the leap – a rifle – but why not, since he was so rich” (25).

Harpoon  Is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales.

“And Kino saw Kino in the pearl, Kino holding a Winchester carbine” (25).

Carbine A long arm firearm but with a shorter barrel than a rifle or musket.

“But Kino’s face shone with prophecy” (26).

Prophecy A prediction

“Kino stood in the door, filling it, and hatred rage and flamed in back of his eyes, and fear too, for the hundreds of years of subjugation were cut deep in him” (30).

Subjugation Enslavement:

“Then he worked very deftly” (31).

Deftly Skillful or clever

Chapter 4 “Word of it crept in among the nuns; the beggars in front of the church spoke of it, for they would be there to take the tithe of the first fruits of the luck” (42).

Tithe One tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy

“And some are in the ramparts and some far deep in the darkness of the walls” (46).

Ramparts a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, having a broad top with a walkway and typically a stone parapet

“His face was fatherly and benign, and his eyes twinkled with friendship”(47).

Benign Having a kindly disposition; gracious:

“His door stood open to the morning, and he hummed under his breath while his right hand practiced legerdemain” (48).

Legerdemain Sleight of hand

“I can give you, a thousand pesos” (50).

The basic monetary unit of Mexico, several other Latin American countries

“Go to their offices and show your pearl– or better let them com here, so that you can see there is no collusion” (50).

Collusion Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others

“He felt the evil coagulating about him, and he was helpless to protect himself” (51).

Coagulating (of a fluid, especially blood) change to a solid or semisolid state

“A lethargy had settles on him, and a little gray hopelessness” (55).

A lack of energy and enthusiasm

Chapter 5 “And a searing rage came to him and gave him strength” (62).

Searing Extremely hot or intense

“Now the darkness was closing in on his family; now the evil music filled the night, hung over the mangroves, skirled in the wave beat” (62).

Mangrove A tree or shrub that grows in chiefly tropical coastal swamps that are flooded at high tide

“She, being the nearest woman relative, raised a formal lament for the dead of the family” (64).

Lamont A male given name

“I know I am like a leprosy” (65).

Leprosy A contagious disease that affects the skin, membranes, and nerves, causing discoloration and lumps on the skin

Chapter 6 “The wind cried and whisked in the brush, and the family went on monotonously, hour after hour” (69).

Monotonously Lacking in variety; tediously unvarying

“They were not near the Gulf now, and the air was dry and hot so that the brush cricked with heat and a good resinous smell came from it” (70).

Resinous Full of or containing resin

“Frantically he gathered the gourds and the little bags that were their property” (75).

Gourds  A plant

“Freshets had made a small sandy beach through which the pool flowed, and bright green watercress grew in the damp sand” (80).

Freshets The flood of a river from heavy rain or melted snow

“And the baby was weary and petulant, and he cried softly until Juana gave him her breast”(80).

Petulant Childishly sulky or bad-tempered

“And then she saw how he hooked his amulet neck-string about the horn handle of his great knife, so that it hung down in front of him and left both hands free” (83).

Amulet an ornament or small piece of jewelry thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease

“She could feel his warm breathe against her skin, and Juana whispered her combination of prayer and magic, her Hail Marys and her ancient intercession, against the black unhuman things” (84).

Intercession The action of intervening on behalf of another

“He looked into its surface and it was gray and ulcerous” (89).

Ulcerous Having or constituting an ulcer

“And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth” (89).

Malignant (of a disease) very virulent or infectious