Victor shares,
In many parts of the book, Kino hears songs. These songs express his mood or sense of his milieu. For example, in the first chapter, Kino hears the "Song of the Family," which is the "grinding stone where Juana worked the corn for the morning cakes. " With this song, Kino expresses his feelings of comfort and joy at his family and surroundings. As the story continues, Kino hears the "Song of Evil" when a scorpion crawls near the hanging box where Coyotito lies. T his tune describes Kino's sense of urgency and alarm as he fears for his baby. He is frightened of what might happen when the scorpion attacks Coyotito. Throughout the book, such songs add a deeper layer of emotion to Kino and his wife's journey.
Suzanne observes,
Kino hears different songs in his head throughout the novella. The one he hears most frequently is the song of evil. This song gives him a warning if someone evil is near trying to harm him. When Kino finds the pearl, he begins to hear the song of evil more often. The song acts like a warning system for Kino. He is very lucky to hear these songs. For example, he hears the song of evil when the people who are hurting Kino and Juana appear for the first time. The song of evil probably saves their lives.
The songs that frequently appear in Kino's mind have much meaning to the novella. Some of the songs are happy and cheerful, while others may be grim or sad. In any situation, all the songs have a purpose, whether it be big or small. For instance, when something positive happens, the songs have no purpose except to add to his happy mood. However when the situation is bitter or unpleasant, the songs hold a much bigger reason of existense. They often act as a warning to him that something or someone with negative intentions is around him. This gives him the ablitity to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novella, Kino forms a variety of songs in his mind to go with the events that are occuring around him. He also remembers songs that he came up with before, like the song of the family and the song of evil (which are both mentioned alot.), throughout the story. These songs serve multiple purposes in Kino's life. The dark song of evil most often serves as a warning to him that bad things are likely to occur in the future, like when the scorpion is crawling down the rope holding up the baby's handing box, while his bright and cheery song of the family warms his heart with the thoughts of his loving wife and fun little boy. Overall, these diverse songs play a major role in establishing the plot of the novella, and just making it more interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteKino and his people represent the world with songs. The songs are part of who they are. The songs are the lens Kino uses to perceive the world; to him, they are a natural representation of the world around him. They show how he is feeling, how the mood is, and musically represent the most mundane of things. They are the gods that govern human behavior, the Song of Evil tempting people to crime, and the Song of Family guiding Kino to strive and work for the sake of his family. They are our most basic desires, and they influence us all, whether we know we hear them or not.
ReplyDeleteThe many songs in the novella Pearl foreshadow the upcoming events. The Song of the Family is in the beginning and it is a peaceful and happy song that helps soothe him. The Song of the Evil, on the other hand, leads people to do bad things over stupid things.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, Kino's songs all take on different meanings than he intended. The Song of Family is his ordinary, happy song for the day; the Song of Evil is normally his warning song that someone or something unordinary is approaching and could mean danger. To me the song that changed the most was the Song of the Pearl That Might Be, because in the beginning it is a sweet mellifluous melody, like when Kino starts to think about what he can buy with the pearl, the song is a triumphant, vibrant piece. As Kino tries to rid himself of the pearl the song becomes a high pitched tone. The Song of the Pearl That Might Be eventually morphs itself into the Song of Evil.
ReplyDeleteR.Kubiak
The songs he hears are throughout the book set the mood for the reader. They forshadow whats going to happen, or help set the mood for what is happening. They also help kino survive throughout the book, and know if something is wrong or right. the songs are kind of like impulses or gut feelings, and like the feelings you can trust the songs.
ReplyDelete-Katherine M.
The songs in The Pearl, especially the Song of Evil and the Song of Family, tell what the characters are feeling like. In some situations, they show how much the person is determined; like when Kino risked his life for the safety of his family and creeped up and killed the trackers. The songs also forshadows the happy, hopeful emotions when Kino found the Pearl of the World and the gloomy, uncertain feelings when the Song of Evil rang in his head.
ReplyDeleteThe songs used in The Pearl represent the feelings of Kino towards certain people, certain ideas, and certain surroundings. It is a clever way for John Steinbeck to describe the mood going on inside his novella. For example, the Song of the Family represents the feelings of calmness and tranquility inside Kino, while the Song of Evil represents that terrible people or ideas are near Kino physically or mentally. These songs can help foreshadow an upcoming event, or help Steinbeck create an even more vivid picture in your head of what is happening that moment. The songs act like a pair of eyes through which Kino and others see the world. The songs represent the most basic of human feelings and influence Kino all the time. These variety of songs play an immense role in the story, for they guide Kino on his striving quest to make his family prosperous.
ReplyDeleteThe songs in The Pearl are a reflection of Kino's feelings and set many of the tones and moods of the book. The author chooses to use songs to show how Kino is feeling. There are songs for everything, from family to enemies. Kino uses songs to represent his culter, fellow man, and life itself.
ReplyDelete-Griffin I.
Throughout the book, Kino hears songs in his head. His song for family is warm and happy. The song of evil comes when he senses that something bad is about to happen, and it is dark, mean, and frightening. The songs in Kinos head develop the mood of the story. It also helps paint a picture in your mind of what the scene would be like.
ReplyDelete-Jack L.