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1-Page Summary of The Pearl
Overview
The Pearl begins in a small Mexican town. There is a family, the father Kino, his wife Juana and their son Coyotito. Coyotito falls asleep while hanging from the ceiling on a rope with his bedding tied to it. A scorpion crawls down the rope to sting him but he bumps into the rope and causes it to fall on him instead. His parents rush over and try to use some kind of medicine or cure for it but are told by the doctor that they can’t because they don’t have enough money for treatment.
Kino and Juana leave the doctor’s office with Coyotito. Kino dives for oysters in his canoe, hoping to find pearls. He finds a very large oyster that yields an immense pearl when he opens it. The other pearl divers race toward Kino’s canoe after hearing him howl in delight at finding this enormous treasure.
News of Kino finding a pearl travels fast. The doctor who refused to treat Coyotito comes to visit him and admits that he was wrong for not treating him. His neighbors begin feeling bitter toward Kino because they think he’s getting too lucky, but neither Kino nor Juana notice this change in their attitude. Juan Tomas, the brother of Kino, asks what he will do with his money and envisions sending Coyotito to school when it is safe again and buying himself a rifle so that he can hunt more animals for food. He also hopes to send Coyotito to church dressed up like a sailor and get married in front of the priest. A local priest visits them as well; although Coyotito seems better now, the priest insists that they must pray together before making any decisions about using their money or selling their pearl (Kino has buried it under some rocks in his hut). That night, someone tries breaking into their house but runs off when Kino appears at the door with his shotgun (he had been sleeping next to Juana on a pallet on the floor). The next day, Juana tells her husband that she feels bad about keeping all of this money secret from others around them; however, she still believes that the pearl will bring nothing but trouble if they sell it. But then she realizes how much danger they are still facing due to being poor farmers living among bandits and decides not tell anyone else where her husband found the pearl until things have settled down some more.
Kino’s neighbors suggest that they should give the pearl to the Pope, buy masses for the families of Kino and Juana, or distribute it among poor people. However, Kino decides to sell it in La Paz. When he tries selling his pearl in La Paz, however, he is offered a thousand pesos when he thinks that he deserves fifty thousand. Although other dealers offer similar prices (thousand pesos), Kino refuses their offer and decides to go to Mexico City where there are more opportunities.
The next day, Juana tries to throw the pearl back into the ocean. However, Kino finds her and beats her for doing so. Outside of their house, a group of men confront Kino and knock the pearl from his hand. Juana watches him approach them holding another man’s throat slit in his hand. She sees that they’re going away together despite what happened last night because they have no choice but to do so now since their canoe has been damaged and their home was set on fire.
Kino and Juana travel that night, resting during the day. They hide when Kino thinks he is being followed by bighorn sheep trackers. He sees them pass by him and then goes into the mountains with Juana to hide in a cave while she cares for Coyotito. The trackers hear something crying but think it’s a coyote pup; they shoot at it anyway, killing Coyotito. Kino attacks the three trackers, killing all of them before hearing his son’s dying cry. He throws the pearl into the ocean after seeing an image of his dead son on it as he hears only death cries around him now that Coyotito has died too.
