1. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Ms. DeFeo, Mrs. McDevitt, and Mr. Jamison
English College Prep

2. John Steinbeck The author of the story was born in Salinas, California
Always had a love for books, and for people as well
He started out at Stanford to be a Marine Biologist, but soon left and moved to New York to devote his life to writing
His first three novels, were not favored by critics, and therefore did not sell too well
His writing career changed with his next novel, Tortilla Flat, and in 1939 his novel The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize.

3. John Steinbeck
From the time of his Pulitzer Prize win, until the time of his death in 1968, Steinbeck wrote many work of fiction and non-fiction.
He also received many awards and honors, including the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Steinbeck wrote stories based on fact, whether they were fiction or non-fiction.
Many of his stories are set in his home state of California, and deal with subjects and people he knew and observed over his lifetime.
Steinbeck had a passion for social injustice, as displayed in our book we are about to read, The Pearl.

4. The Pearl Themes and Setting
The Pearl, like many of Steinbeck’s other novels, is about hard working people who fight to earn a living.
It is important to remember that this story depicts life in a remote area of Mexico, meaning…
The relationship of men and women is unequal, men make decisions and women accept them.
There is much tension between the Indian population (Kino, Juana, Juan Tomas, Apolonia) and the Hispanic population (Doctor, Priest, and the Pearl buyers) because the Spanish descendents had social power, controlled the economy, and frequently exploited the Indians.

5. The Pearl Background Info and themes…
The Pearl (written in 1947) is set in Mexico
During this time in Mexico’s history, the Indian Mexicans were more poor than the Spanish Mexicans
They had no money for school, and had to perform the worst jobs.
They have to work very hard, for little money
Today in Mexico you can still find poor fisherman, like our protagonist (or main character) Kino.

6. Facts
If pearls are large and perfectly shaped, they are among the most valuable gems
Pearls are not mined from the earth (like diamonds) they are taken from shellfish, especially oysters and mussels.

7. Facts
Pearls are the result of a natural defense against a foreign substance (most commonly a grain of sand) that gets into the mollusk (oyster or mussel) and causes irritation to its membrane
Cells inside produce nacre (which is Mother of Pearl) and form around the foreign object, thus creating the pearl!