The Pearl Socratic Seminar Discussion Questions

“ The Pearl” Socratic Seminar Discussion Questions In preparation for our Socratic seminar on “The Pearl,” write down your responses to the following questions. Be sure to find textual evidence to support your ideas and cite page numbers so you can reference the text during the discussion!

Characters 1. A sympathetic character is a character that you can identify with and care about. Which character in “The Pearl” do you think is the most sympathetic, and why?

2. “The Pearl” is told from the third person omniscient point of view. How do you think the story would change if it were told directly from Kino’s first person point of view? What if it was told by Juana?

3. Kino and Juana live on a primitive level in their lives and their religion, yet they both want a church wedding and a christening for Coyotito. How are these values consistent with their lives? How are they contradictory?

4. Analyze the characters of the doctor, the priest, and the pearl merchants. How are they victims of greediness? How do their actions show their greediness? Explain how they treat Kino and Juana before and after the discovery of the pearl. What judgments can be concluded regarding the fields of medicine, religion and business?

5. Describe Kino and Juana's life before and after the discovery of the pearl. What did they value? What goals were important to them? What were their dreams?

The Theme of Greed 6. How does greed affect Kino, Juana, and the villagers and townspeople?

7. What lessons can be learned from this story about the effects of greed? Conflict 8. There are many types of conflict in literature. Discuss which of the following types of conflict you saw in “The Pearl,” who or what was involved, and how the conflicts were resolved.

a. Person vs. self - an internal conflict of feelings.

b. Person vs. person - the typical protagonist vs. antagonist scenario.

c. Person vs. society - the protagonist fights society, culture, or a system of beliefs held by society.

d. Person vs. nature - the protagonist is threatened by a component of nature.

Symbols: 9. The pearl represents different things at different times during the story. How does the meaning of the pearl change during the course of the novel, and what events cause each shift in what the pearl represents?

10. In Kino’s culture, canoes are highly valued. What might a canoe symbolize to Kino and the other townsfolk?

11. What are the songs that Kino hears during the novel? What do each represent? At what point does he hear them?

The Ending of “The Pearl” 12. What do you think happens to Kino and Juana after they return to their village and throw the pearl into the ocean?

13. If you could rewrite the end of the story in a realistic manner (no aliens or flying pigs, please) how would you change it, and why?