The Pearl

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue-Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. In the prologue, the narrator introduces The Pearl as what kind of story?

2. What does Kino do when he wakes up?

3. What kind of animal attacks Coyotito?

4. Before he finds the pearl, what is Kino’s most valuable possession?

5. What does Juana put on Coyotito’s injury?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the Song of the Family mean to Kino?

2. Why are the neighbors surprised when Juana asks for someone to get the doctor?

3. What does the doctor want most of all?

4. Why are Kino and Juana especially eager to find a valuable pearl?

5. What is Kino’s initial reaction after finding the pearl?

Paired Resource

“Is This the World’s Largest Pearl? It’s Been Under a Bed for 10 Years”       

• Gives the backstory of what may be the world’s largest pearl
• Why might someone who finds a pearl choose to keep it instead of selling it? What do you think Kino should do with the pearl?

“Baja California”

• Encyclopedia entry describing the geography and history of Baja California
• Connects with The Instruments of Colonial Oppression theme
• Broadly speaking, what impact did the arrival of European colonists have on the Indigenous people living in Baja California?

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. What song does Kino hear during the priest’s visit?

2. What does the doctor administer to Coyotito during his first visit?

3. Kino recalls a sermon in which the priest compared the universe to what kind of building?

4. How much money does the pearl dealer initially offer for Kino’s pearl?

5. What does Kino plan to do with the pearl after he refuses the pearl dealer’s offer?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do the townspeople react to the news of the pearl?

2. How does Kino’s illiteracy impact his relationship with the doctor and the priest?

3. Why does Juana encourage Kino to get rid of the pearl?

4. How do the pearl dealers keep prices low?

5. Describe the relationship between Kino and his brother, Juan Tomás.

Paired Resource

“The Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy: A Snapshot of Illiteracy in a Global Context”

• A 2012 report by the World Literacy Foundation illustrating the costs of illiteracy worldwide
• Demonstrates the conditions that allow The Instruments of Colonial Oppression to operate
• Download the report and read section 4.3, “Literacy and Poverty.” How does that information apply to Kino’s situation? Can you find any other relevant sections?

“What is Toxic Masculinity?”

• A 2019 New York Times article by Maya Salam exploring the definition of—and controversy over—toxic masculinity
• Connects with Pride Versus Humility in Family Relationships
• Kino expresses his determination to get a fair price for the pearl in gendered terms, stating, “I am a man” (Chapter 4). To what extent does he embody (or not) characteristics of toxic masculinity, as defined in the article?

Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. Kino prevents Juana from doing what?

2. Where do Kino and Juana hide after their house burns down?

3. What kind of terrain does Kino move towards after spotting the trackers?

4. When Coyotito cries, what kind of animal do the hunters think is making the sound?

5. After Kino and Juana return to La Paz, what do they do with the pearl?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what ways does Juana feel that she and Kino need each other?

2. Why does the vandalism of his canoe so deeply affect Kino?

3. What might Kino mean when he says that “the pearl has become my soul”? (Chapter 5)

4. Identify at least one way in which Kino tries to turn his surroundings to his advantage as he attacks the trackers.

5. How does Kino come to view the pearl at the novella’s conclusion?

Recommended Next Reads

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

• A novel exploring the impact of colonialism in Nigeria
• Shared themes include The Instruments of Colonial Oppression and Pride Versus Humility in Family Relationships
• Things Fall Apart on SuperSummary

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

• A novel tracing an American family’s misfortunes during the Great Depression
• Shared topics include the exploitation of labor and failed aspirations towards a better life
• Shared themes include The Corrupting Influence of Greed
• The Grapes of Wrath on SuperSummary