The Pearl: Chapter Summary 5

Kino senses movement near him, but it is only Juana who arises silently from beside him. Kino sees her near the hanging box where Coyotito lay, and then watches her go out the doorway. Kino begins to feel a great sense of rage as he hears her footsteps going toward the shore; Juana is going to throw the pearl back into the ocean. Kino chases Juana, then strikes her in the face with his clenched fist and kicks her in the side. He then turns away from her and walks up the beach. Juana knows that when Kino said that he is a man, he meant that he was “half-insane and half-god” and knows as a woman that “the mountain would stand while the man broke himself; that the sea would surge while the man drowned in it.”

While walking on the beach, men accost Kino in search of the pearl, which is knocked from his hand and lands on the pathway. Juana soon sees Kino limping toward her with a stranger whose throat has been slit. She finds the pearl for Kino, and tells him that they must go away before daylight. Kino says that he struck to save his life, but Juana says that this does not matter. He orders her to get Coyotito and all of the corn they have. Kino finds his canoe with a splintered hole in the bottom. He rushes home to find Juana and Coyotito, but Juana tells Kino that their house was torn up and the floor dug, and someone set fire to the outside.

Juana and Coyotito go to Juan Tomas and Apolonia. When Kino tells about the man he has killed, Juan Tomas says that it is the pearl and he should have sold it. Kino begs his brother to hide them until nightfall. Kino tells Juan Tomas that he will head north. Kino says that he will not give up the pearl, because “if I give it up I shall lose my soul.”
Abam Kie

Abam Kie is currently teaching English at a secondary school in Kelantan. He likes to write a blog during his free time to relieve his stress after teaching rowdy but good-natured teenagers. When he is not at school, you can find him taking care of his adorable daughters while reading some books, magazines and websites to equip himself with the latest TESL methodology.

1 Comments

If you comment as an anonymous user, kindly leave me your e-mail address so that I can track you back. Thank you in advance.

Previous Post Next Post