The Pearl The Pearl question


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How would u end this book?
Logan Logan Oct 04, 2011 12:58PM
Please tell me how u would end the story before they started to run away...



M Oct 24, 2011 03:01PM   4 votes
I would have the pearl hatch, and attack Tokyo.


ANaRChIST!!

I would end it in a last-chapter time warp, where a crochety old bat of an English teacher has assigned the book to her stoonts to review and now she's having to grade their papers which plumbed the very depths of banality. Then maybe she'd suicide after turning in the grades for the semester (or possibly just take it out on her 12 year old son by beating his ass with a stick?)

I.e., "GET thee through the looking glass, ya varmint... And don't come back!" type of ending...


I like the ending just fine. It was really sad to know that coyotito died. It shows how people are selfish when it comes to money and how money can change people. Before Kino found the pearl he was just an ordinary guy in a village. However, once he found the pearl his life changed completely. Suddenly everyone knew about him and he turned into the most important person on the village. This shows that there are some people that are honestly just gold diggers.


Sam (last edited Sep 03, 2013 02:17AM ) Sep 03, 2013 02:17AM   0 votes
I think the fact that the book is still being discussed and even taught in schools suggest that the ending was perfect.


I would have the family sell the pearl and be able to offer Coyotito an education and a better life than that of his impoverished parents. However, the tragic end of the novel is more in tune with reality.


L.E. (last edited Mar 20, 2014 04:47PM ) Mar 20, 2014 04:39PM   0 votes
The ending suited the story and its message. It was hardly possible that anything else could have happened to the poor, powerless pearl diver. It was an inevitable ending.

Happy endings are more commercial, but you have to be true to your material. I've found times in my own writing when I know the way the story is going will not popular, but I have to be true to the story as I see it. Anything else wouldn't feel right.

I haven't read every Steinbeck story, but as I think about it now I can't think of a single one with a happy ending. Anyone know of any I'm missing?


Given the society and the conditions the family lived in, I dont think it is possibke to end the story differently. That image of Kino and Juana walking back in defeat to the village, carrying the dead baby is so painfully strong. Kino doesn't die so he can live to regret the whole thing.


I think the ending is perfect, too. Kino wasn't trying to become a rich man; it just happened when he went diving for pearls to pay for a doctor for his son. And then human nature took over. The ending is tragic because in the beginning, Kino was good. Steinbeck will always be the master of developing a whole story around a human flaw.


The baby's death was too much, I would rather have Coyotito live, the family could be poor as long as they were all together.


I would've had the wife of kino die to show the readers that kino didn't care about anyone or anything but the pearl. Having her die would really show the true meaning of the story that you shouldn't be greedy because once you gain one thing you also loose something as well.


I agree with most people on keeping it the way it is. I also really like it when stories have happy ending, but I don't if it isn't realistic or too perfect. If the author ended it with Juana and Coyotito being better off as well as the doctor and Kino either dying or somehow getting their karma- it'd be predictable. And let's face it, in real life, not all good things happen to good people and not all bad things happen to bad people. But I do think that Coyotito's death was a punishment for Kino.


Duane, you shoud read THE EYRE AFFAIR. You´re thinking along the lines of that novel.


Not a fan of the book, but I'm not sure I would change the ending. The decapitation of the irritatingly helpless Macguffin satisfied me for the remainder of its duration.


I would end it with Kino finding the 6 remaining pearls, then summoning Shen Long.

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John Wanga wow that's a cool one ...more
Mar 14, 2024 06:42PM · flag

I had to do this for a class assignment and this is what i have so far:


The sun turned the sky a blood red orange color as it sunk away and was replaced with the crescent of a luminous moon. Beyond Jaun Tomás’s brush house, Kino could hear the oceans waves beat against the sand, its song faint. Coyotito, nestled against Juana’s breast, let out a small whimper and Juana hushed him. As the night grew darker, Juana and Apolonia packed while Kino discussed his plans with Jaun Tomás, “The wind is perfect, it will sweep away your footprints and cover your tracks” stated Jaun Tomás. Kino whispered softly “I hope to see you again in the future brother” and Jaun Tomás responded by saying, “You will. Go now with God brother” and embraced his brother with a hug before thanking him. Juana, Kino and little Coyotito slipped into the dark unnoticed.
Cold wind threatened to blow away their footing as they trudged on, twigs and pieces of small rocks pelted them as they moved forward. They avoided areas where a sleeper could possibly see them pass and recognize them. The ground was hard and icy, shards of sharp pieces dug into their feet, but it was as though, it was unnoticeable. When the sky started to brighten, they found a place to rest covered by foliage and brush. Kino went back to the road and wiped off the trail of foot prints they had left when veering off to find a place to rest. For a while Juana and Kino slept, waiting till it was dark enough to move again. Kino, who had been previously sleeping bolted upright and calmed his breath, listening. Juana, who was now awake, was still, moving only to breathe and blink. She held Coyotito close now. In the distance they could hear hooves hitting packed dirt and quiet murmuring. Kino peeked from behind his hiding spot.

~Hailey Jaynes


Loved this book!
I thought the ending was perfect--so sad yet at the same time very satisfying.


I think its perfect. The ending illustrates Kino swallowing his pride and tossing out what truly does not benefit him, like the pearl.


I'm a sap for books with young children. I wanted a happy ending - or at the very least that the baby lived.


I would have an atomic bomb fall on all of 'em.


I think Steinbeck's ending is a better one than most would conceive.
To the original thread starter: Did you like the ending of The Pearl?


This is an outstanding story, but the ending is dark. I would have them escape to freedom, including the baby. A happier ending would help.


I would have Kino sell the pearl and buy loads of stuff to benefit his family with.


Or add zombies.

Zombies are nice.


I personally think that Kino deserved to die, and Juana and Coiyotito would live a happy life after sending the pearl away.


I keep the book exactly as is


Great book, of course we want a happier ending, but it wouldn't be the right ending. The book is about struggle and hope, the idea of redemption ultimately failing because of their placement in society.


They lose the pearl in the cave, but escape. They will have to start over without anything since they can't go back to their home. We never know what becomes of them. We are left to speculate.


I hate this kind of question -- second guessing a writer. My way to end the book is to read the last page and close the cover.


Well I am NO Steinbeck...but My own ending would have that evil so called Doctor dying some horribly satisfying death, a death worthy of his evilness. Then Kino would have got a fair deal on that pearl and Coyotito would have got the education he needed to be a great and beloved Doctor to all the people of his own village and villages far and wide. I really like a happy ending.

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John Wanga 😂😂so u would have the Doctor killed. Now that's evil. love it ...more
Mar 14, 2024 06:44PM

I think the ending is perfect. It's a great novel by a great author. And I think it ends just the way it should. A Hollywood ending would have been, well... a Hollywood ending. And it's not kind of story.


How would YOU end it? What do you think we are, your vassals?


I hated the whole book . It was very boring, I just thought it was bad written.


I would burn the book.I don't like the writing or the author.


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