John Steinbeck and The Pearl

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John Steinbeck and The Pearl
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Biography

• Born in California in 1902.
• He was a handful as a child, so much so that
  his mother said John will either be President or
  go to jail.
• In school he was a below average student but did
  develop many of his views on literature during
  his time in college.
• Published 19 works of fiction, 10 non-fiction
  and wrote 12 screenplays.
• 3 marriages 2 children.

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Biography Continued

• His ideas and views were shaped by his California
  roots and the social conditions in America during
  his lifetime.
• He lived in New York with his third wife, Elaine
  for 18 years.
• His career was in such decline that Steinbeck was
  surprised to learn that he had won the Nobel
  Prize for literature in 1962.
• He died from complication from surgery in 1968.

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What Is the Nobel Prize?

• Created by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist who
  made his fortune developing modern explosives.
• The award is given in the fields of physics,
  chemistry, medicine, economics, literature and
  for people and groups that promote peace
  throughout the world.
• John Steinbeck won the prize in 1962 For his
  realistic and imaginative writings, combining as
  they do sympathetic humour and keen social
  perception."

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Nobel Prize 1962

• Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of
  human need for it and it has not changed except
  to become more needed. The skalds, the bards, the
  writers are not separate and exclusive. From the
  beginning, their functions, their duties, their
  responsibilities have been decreed by our
  species...the writer is delegated to declare and
  to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness
  of heart and spirit - for gallantry in defeat,
  for courage, compassion and love..

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Literature is a necessity of human life

• It reveals injustices and gives people hope.
• His masterpieces were The Grapes of Wrath, Of
  Mice and Men, East of Eden and Tortilla Flats.
• Explored the major issues of the day, greed and
  corruption, friendship and loyalty, fear and
  survival, weakness and heroism.

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The Pearl---Fable or Novel?

• A fable is a story, usually but not always about
  animals with human qualities, that illustrates
  some moral truth or wisdom.
• What is your definition of a novel?

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The Pearl

• Steinbeck said of The Pearl It is a strange
  piece of workfull of curious methods and
  figures. A folktale, I hope. A black and white
  story like a parable.
• The story grew out of his experiences while
  writing his book The Sea of Cortez .Steinbeck and
  a friend sailed around Baja researching nature
  and culture. This story came from La Paz, Mexico.
• The Pearl is actually a retelling of a Mexican
  folk tale, the story of a poor fisherman and his
  wife and baby. When the fisherman, Kino, finds an
  extraordinary pearl he hopes it will bring
  comfort and health to his family, but soon
  discovers "that the rare gem is instead a
  conveyor of greed, envy and ultimately death"
  (from the dust jacket of the 1986 Viking
  edition). An antlion appears early in the
  storyas a reminder of nature's struggle of life
  and death, and perhaps to presage Kino's own
  struggle
• The dawn came quickly now, a wash, a glow, a
  lightness, and then an explosion of fire as the
  sun arose out of the Gulf. Kino looked down to
  cover his eyes from the glare. He could hear the
  pat of the corncakes in the house and the rich
  smell of them on the cooking plate. The ants were
  busy on the ground, big black ones with shiny
  bodies, and little dusty quick ants. Kino watched
  with the detachment of God while a dusty ant
  frantically tried to escape the sand trap an ant
  lion had dug for him. A thin, timid dog came
  close and, at a soft word from Kino, curled up,
  arranged its tail neatly over its feet, and laid
  its chin delicately on the pile. It was a black
  dog with yellow-gold spots where its eyebrows
  should have been. It was a morning like other
  morning and yet perfect among mornings (Steinbeck
  1986 1945, 3).

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In Mexico, I heard a story ..I tried to write
it as folklore, to give it that set aside raised
up feeling that all folk stories have. I called
it The Pearl. It didnt do so well at first
either, but it seems to be gathering some
friends, or at least acquaintances. From
Steinbeck and His Critics
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