Characters
Pearl
Plot
Context
Vocabulary
100

This poor pearl diver is the novel’s protagonist.


Who is Kino?



100

Kino finds the pearl while doing this for a living.

What is diving for pearls?

100

The story begins in this country.

What is Mexico?

100

The Pearl was written by this American author.

Who is John Steinbeck?

100

This adjective means “making someone feel better or less worried,” like when Juana tries to comfort Coyotito after he is stung.

What is reassuring?

200

She is Kino’s devoted wife and the moral center of the story.

Who is Juana?

200

The pearl is described with this nickname after it’s discovered.

What is “The Pearl of the World”?

200

Kino dreams of using the pearl to buy this for Coyotito.

What is an education?

200

The author of the Pearl was born in this US state.

What is California?

200

This adjective means “very tiring or needing a lot of effort,” like Kino’s work diving for pearls.

What is strenuous?

300

This boy is Kino and Juana’s baby son.

Who is Coyotito?

300

This emotion gradually replaces Kino’s joy after finding the pearl.

What is greed/fear?

300

When Kino refuses to sell the pearl for a low price, he decides to travel to this city.

What is the capital?

300

The Pearl was inspired in part by Steinbeck’s time in this region, where he observed the lives of Mexican pearl divers.

What is Baja California?

300

This noun describes a state of tiredness or inactivity, which Kino feels after days of fleeing.

What is lethargy?

400

He is the town’s wealthy spiritual leader who shows up when he hears about Kino’s pearl.

Who is the priest?

400

At the novel’s end, Kino and Juana do this with the pearl.

What is throw it back into the sea?

400
Near the end of the novel, the trackers are compared to these animals.

What are dogs/hounds?

400

The book was first published in this decade.

What is the 1940s?

400

Filled with wonder or delight, Kino and Juana are described by this adjective when they first see the pearl.

What is entranced?

500

This man, Kino’s brother, first helps him when the pearl is found and later warns him about danger.

Who is Juan Tomás?

500

By the end of the story, the pearl reflects not light but this instead.

What is darkness or evil?

500

Coyotito dies from this cause near the end of the novel.

What is a gunshot?

500

This literary term describes a story that teaches a moral or lesson.

What is an allegory?

500

Kino moved through the desert at night, careful not to alert the trackers to his presence, acting in this sneaky, secretive way.

What is furtive?

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