1. The Pearl
John Steinbeck

2. Takes Place in La Paz, Mexico
Setting
Takes Place in La Paz, Mexico

3. About La Paz Climate Warm Winters Hot Summers
La Paz today currently has 160,000 people and has great shopping, a nice beach-front boulevard, old colonial buildings, and a relaxed atmosphere. Probably the most ‘Mexican’ of the Baja cities, and is a popular vacation and retirement hotspot.
Climate
Warm Winters
Hot Summers
Only 6 in. of rain a year
La Paz:
Means “peace”
Is famous for it’s sunsets
Is one of the best places in the world for diving & snorkeling
La Paz Sunset
La Paz Beach
City of La Paz

4. Indians Lived in Grass Huts
La Paz in Story (1930's)
Indians Lived in Grass Huts
Spanish descendants lived in brick houses. The bricks, called adobe, were made of mud, straw, and water
The Indians were poor and uneducated, with no knowledge of the outside world. Yet they were an honest and dignified people rich with traditions

5. A Look at the Town
The town of La Paz in the novel is predominantly populated by Spanish -descendant Mexican citizens and rich European settlers. They are much wealthier than the Mexican Indians. Their architecture demonstrates this.

6. Scorpions
Scorpions are eight legged venomous invertebrates belonging to the class Arachnida
They are related to spiders, mites, and ticks
The tail ends in a bulb-like poison gland or stinger

7. Scorpions Sharp pincers for grasping
Use the venom in their tail to poison and paralyze their prey
Usually live in deserts, forests, or caves
Over 15,000 different species of scorpions
Carnivores
25 species of scorpions are deadly to humans

8. Pearls Are the oldest gemstones in the world
Prized for thousands of years by ancient China, India, Egypt, Rome, and Native American Tribes
The pearl in Steinbeck’s story is said to be about the size of a seagulls egg

9. Pearls
Natural pearls are produced by the soft tissue of oysters and clams with no human intervention
Natural pearls are rare and valuable. The price of a pearl is based on size, shape, quality of surface, and luster.
Most pearls today are cultured pearls, meaning that they are man-made

10. About Steinbeck Born in Salinas, Cal 1902
Died 1968, in New York from heart attack
Won Nobel Prize for literature in 1962 which is the highest honor a writer can receive

11. Steinbeck Facts
Type of author who liked to know his material first hand
Many of his works take place in California where he lived
Much of his writing focuses on people who have been treated unfairly and unjustly
The Pearl was based on real people Steinbeck became acquainted with during his travels
In preparation for writing his novels, Steinbeck would often live, work, and be with the people about whom he was to write
In the late 1930’s Steinbeck engaged in a lengthy exploration of marine life along the gulf of the California Baja. There he met Indians who became characters in the Pearl and 1st heard of the story of the ‘Pearl of the World’.

12. References www.mexperience.com www.sandiegohistory.org