POST 3: ANIMAL IMAGERY IN THE PEARL (August 1-5)

Two of the qualities that mark John Steinbeck's work are his deep feeling for nature and his great sympathy for people. Part of his affinity for nature stems from his attending Stanford University and actually majoring in marine biology (!). Furthermore, in 1940, after he had already written great masterpieces such as OF MICE AND MEN and THE GRAPES OF WRATH, he sailed in a sardine boat with a friend to collect marine invertebrates from the beaches of the Gulf of California. He heard the story of a poor Indian boy who found a magnificent pearl. Guess what this story turned into....

Your job in this blog entry is to discuss the plethora of animal imagery that can be found throughout this novella. The hissing snakes, the fish, Kino and Juana being compared as animals, the ants, the scorpion, the dogs, and the list goes on and on of various types of animals used for a specific purpose. WHAT are some examples of animal imagery used in this piece and what EFFECT do you think Steinbeck hoped to achieve by using it?

BLOG POST #2: SANTIAGO'S FATE (July 18-22)

You might be surprised to hear that there are those who believe that Santiago dies at the conclusion of the novel (and there is actually some evidence to support this). What is YOUR interpretation of the ending of the novel? Does Santiago live or die? Provide a convincing argument one way or another and cite some evidence from the text if possible to support your claim. This is definitely the type of question that lends itself so some well-intentioned banter between everyone!