• Juana: A 12 years old girl with black hair, she was thin, very innocent, poor, aggressive and honest. She had a hard life and always felt guilty of the death of her little sister. Her purpose was to find her father in “El otro Lado”. She is the main character of this book and she will live the hardest times of her life trying to find her missing father.…
PearlHester’s illegitimate daughter. Pearl is a young girl with a moody, mischievous spirit and the ability to perceive things others do not. She quickly discerns the truth about her mother and Dimmesdale, though neither will confirm her suspicions. The townspeople say that she barely seems human and spread rumors that her unknown father is actually the Devil. Pearl has grown up with her mother outside of the town, and she often terrorizes the town’s children, who view her as a curiosity. She is wise beyond her years, frequently engaging in ironic play having to do with her mother’s scarlet letter.…
Children are, by nature, incredibly sensitive creatures. They can sense almost any emotion an adult might feel just by observing a particular person's body language and facial expressions. Such is the case with the youthful Pearl from the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorn. As the daughter of the adulteress Hester Prynne, the townspeople view Pearl as a demon in an angel's clothing; as an imp who not only knows exactly what the letter "A" signifies on the breast of her mother, but as the demon who placed it there as well. They also believe Pearl uses this information against Hester by constantly mentioning the letter in order to make Hester extremely uncomfortable. This is not true.<br><br>" Nay, Mother, I have told all I know,' said Pearl more seriously than she was wont to speak 'But in good earnest now, Mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean? -and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom? -and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?' She took her mother's hand in both her own, and gazed into her eyes with an earnestness that was seldom seen in her wild and capricious character" (Hawthorne 175). <br><br>This dialogue does not seem to be the words of a demon, but a child who is utterly curious about what the letter on her mother's bosom means. One must not underestimate Pearl's intelligence though. In fact, Pearl is not the demon many consider her to be; instead she is intelligent and sensitive towards her surroundings and can thus understand much about the scarlet letter her mother wears. <br><br>"The neighboring townspeople had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring; such as, ever since old Catholic times, had occasionally been seen on earth, through the agency of their of their mother's sin, and to promote some foul and wicked purpose" (Hawthorne 95-96). From this statement and many others similar to it throughout the novel, many readers are given the impression that Pearl is a possessed child. Before any type of…
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne symbolizes Pearl as four main things. First, the chaos inside of Hester. Second, the hidden sin of her parents. Third, a last hope for Dimmesdale. Fourth, a chance to start a better life. Lastly, the scarlet letter itself.…
She was a Pearl that didn’t want to hide; she wanted to shine brightly. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, introduces Pearl as a wise child who’s always striving to learn more. In Hester’s life, Pearl is given to her as a symbol of Hester’s past. Although Hester and Dimmesdale could have committed adultery without having Pearl, Hawthorne made Pearl a character to symbolize Hester and Dimmesdale’s actions. Pearl serves as a living example of Hester and Dimmesdale’s actions to Hester herself, Dimmesdale, the townspeople, and the reader.…
Kino’s neighbors were jealous of Kino and one night someone tried to steal the pearl by attacking Kino. Kino fought back and “felt his knife go home,” killing the man (59). Then Kino, with Juana and Coyotito, fled the village, but trackers were sent to find them and to bring Kino to justice. Thus, the pearl resulted in Kino being a wanted criminal and forced him to flee his home. Eventually, the trackers caught up with Kino and his family and, hearing Coyotito cry, thinking it was a coyote pup, fired a shot into the cave that killed Coyotito. Kino killed each of the trackers and returned to village with Juana and his dead son and the pearl, which was “gray, like a malignant growth” (89). Kino finally sees the pearl as “distorted and insane” and…
Through Juana’s story, Reyna, impersonates the journey and struggles that many people have to endure to get to the United States so they can have a better life for them and their families. Juana’s main motivation to cross over to the other side is to find her father that “abandoned” her and her mother when she was still a little girl, but she is also driven by harsh living conditions, oppression by a corrupt government, and hunger. Throughout her youth in Mexico Juana encounters many problems, both emotional and physical and these later encourage her to look for a better life in the United States. When she is twelve she is left in charge taking care of her baby sister in a flooded house while her mother goes out and looks for her father who still hasn’t returned from work. The next day as her father wakes her, she sees that her sister is missing and the baby is found drowned in the depths of the water of her flooded house. Juana has to deal with the guilt of her sister’s death, causing her great emotional and physical pain. As if things were not bad enough, this is not the only thing that Juana has to endure throughout her youth. After her sister’s death, her father leaves for “el otro lado” in search of work, leaving behind the debt of her sister’s funeral. No money…
In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pearl serves many roles as a character. In the harsh Puritan society she lived in with her mother Hester, she provides some comical relief into their difficult lives. Hester was condemned her whole life from committing adultery. Her letter was not the only punishment she faced, but the internal guilt of knowing she went against her religion sat with her for life. Pearl was her most precious gift and she gave Hester a reason to keep going and continue on with her life, because she knew that Pearl deserved the best. Lastly, Pearl serves as a device to help further connect Hester and Dimmesdale. Although a result of adultery, Pearl is the result of two people who truly loved each other, which was rare for this…
In A Place Where the Sea Remembers, Sandra Benitez invites us into a mesmerizing world filled with love, anger, tragedy and hope. This rich and bewitching story is a bittersweet portrait of the people in Santiago, a Mexican village by the sea. Each character faces a conflict that affects the course of his or her life. The characters in this conflict are Remedios, la curandera of the small town who listens to people’s stories and gives them advice, Marta, a 16 year old teenage girl, who was raped and became pregnant. Chayo is Marta’s big sister and Calendario is Chayo’s husband. Justo Flores, his conflict is person vs. self. One of the most important conflicts in this story is person vs. person, then person vs. supernatural followed by person vs. self.…
Kino refused to give up the pearl, and he had to pay by getting Coyotito shot by a rifle. However, Kino also received gender equality and respect. The loss of Coyotito made Juana and Kino become equal because they had both faced the same pain.…
Set in La Paz, Mexico, Kino is content with his small family and house made of brush. However, when his only son Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, Kino sets out to find a pearl grand enough to pay the doctor who has refused to help. In an ancient clam, Kino stumbles upon the largest pearl anyone in La Paz had ever seen. Dubbed “the Pearl of the World” everyone suddenly became interested in Kino and his family. When his brother, Juan Tomas, asks what the future holds, Kino sees images of Coyotito in school and a real marriage for Juana and himself reflected in the pearl’s surface. Even Coyotito’s wound seemed to be healing. However, joy and opportunity dragged paranoia and thievery along for the journey. Kino began to distrust everyone and everything. His new personality resembled an impenetrable shell through which no one could break, not even Juana. At the pearl market, Kino was told that his prize was a monstrosity only worth 1,000 pesos. Knowing that he could get much more, Kino decided to make the trek to the capital for a fair bid to be made. Throughout the story, at least three…
The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester's human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion that Hester once had.…
had the pearl. Many people wanted what he had so they tried to take the pearl. But at the end of this novel, they felt differently. When these people saw that the pearl led to avarice, they didn’t want what Kino had anymore. The people saw the pearl as greed and troubles in Kino’s life at the end of the story. As I said, Many people wanted what he had in the beginning but there state of mind changed for this pearl.…
Besides Marie's tragic family life, she also had to deal with her emotions being used and abused by two people. The first person was her husband, who cheated on her many times while she was grieving over the many miscarriages she had. Her miscarriages affected her greatly causing her much suffering over the years. Marie left her village due to all these painful emotions. The second person who used her was a Dominican man she had met. Marie states, "The Dominican and I made love on the grass once, but he never spoke to me again" (Danticat 96). At the end of the story, Marie encounters the Dominican again when she is burying the baby in the garden. He accuses her of killing the baby and gets her in trouble with the law. The fact that Marie was abused emotionally in both situations partly explains why she held onto the baby for so long. She felt she needed something permanent in her life.…
The Village: In many ways, the village in which most of the story takes place, is a symbol of the oppression of the people. To create this symbol, Steinbeck personifies the town. The Gulf Another important element of the setting is the sea. It, too, takes on symbolic importance in the story. The Gulf provides the villagers with their livelihood and sustenance-fish and pearls. However, like the town, it cannot be trusted. Steinbeck uses the sea to make his readers aware that things are not always what the seem. "Although the morning was young, the hazy mirage was up. The uncertain air that magnified some things and blotted out others hung over the whole Gulf so that all sights were unreal and vision could not be trusted....There was no certainty in seeing, no proof that what you saw was there or not there [emphases added]."…