The Pearl, Chapter 2 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. At the start of Chapter 2, what does Juana apply to Coyotito's scorpion sting?

   • A paste of herbs from the hills
   • Correct answer: A damp seaweed poultice
   • The ointment the doctor provided
   • A strip of boiled cloth

   Juana wades in, gathers brown seaweed and lays a flat damp poultice on the baby's swollen shoulder; the narrator calls it "probably better than the doctor could have done," though it lacked his authority.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why is Kino's canoe particularly important to him?

   • It is the only canoe on the beach that can carry a mast and sail
   • He bought it in Nayarit with the money from his first pearl
   • Correct answer: It is a family inheritance, the one property of real value he owns
   • It was a gift from Juan Tomás when Coyotito was born

   Kino's grandfather brought the canoe from Nayarit and it came down to Kino through his father; the narrator calls it "the one thing of value he owned in the world."

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3. 3

   Question 3. According to the narrator, what had Juana prayed for?

   • Correct answer: That they will find a pearl to pay the doctor to cure the baby
   • That the doctor will change his mind and come to the brush houses
   • That the poison will leave the baby's body on its own
   • That Kino will return safely from the sharks

   Juana had not prayed directly for the baby's recovery but "that they might find a pearl with which to hire the doctor"; her own seaweed remedy lacked the doctor's authority because it was simple and cost nothing.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Where does Kino spot the enormous oyster that contains the great pearl?

   • Inside a cluster of shells he had already pulled up
   • Hidden beneath the sand at the bottom of the estuary
   • Tangled in a bed of seaweed near the canoe
   • Correct answer: Lying alone under a little overhang near the rocks

   Beside a hummock of rubbly rock, "under a little overhang," Kino sees a very large oyster lying by itself, its shell partly open on a ghostly gleam, before he pries it free.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Why does Kino open a small oyster before the great one?

   • The other divers are watching and he does not want to show his find
   • He wants to be sure the dive was worth the effort
   • Correct answer: He is superstitiously afraid the great shell will be empty
   • Juana tells him to save the best for last

   Kino stalls on purpose: "It is not good to want a thing too much"; the gleam "might be a reflection," so he opens one small oyster first.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Steinbeck describe the pearl at the moment of its discovery?

   • Correct answer: As perfect as the moon
   • As small but priceless
   • As dark as a storm cloud
   • As rough and unfinished

   The narrator says the great pearl lay "perfect as the moon," that it gave back the light "in silver incandescence," and that it was "as large as a sea-gull’s egg."

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Kino do when his emotion breaks over him, with the pearl in his fist?

   • He whispers a prayer of thanks to the Virgin over the water
   • He hands it straight to Juana and tells her to hide it
   • He hides it under the blanket in the bow and paddles home silently
   • Correct answer: He puts back his head and howls, and his body goes rigid

   Only after he sees the swelling going out of Coyotito's shoulder does Kino's fist close over the pearl and his emotion break: he puts back his head and howls, his eyes roll up, and the men in the other canoes race toward him.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What change does Juana notice in Coyotito at the moment Kino finds the pearl?

   • The baby's fever rises dangerously again
   • Correct answer: The swelling on the baby's shoulder is going down
   • The stomach cramps finally come to the baby
   • The baby wakes and begins to nurse again

   Juana lifts the seaweed poultice, looks at the shoulder and cries out to Kino, and he sees that "the swelling was going out of the baby’s shoulder."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following events actually occur in Chapter 2 of The Pearl?

   • Kino and Juana take Coyotito to the beach before the dive.

     Happened

     Juana lays Coyotito on Kino's folded blanket in the bow of the canoe and shades him with her shawl.

   • Juana applies a seaweed poultice to Coyotito's shoulder.

     Happened

     Juana wades in, gathers brown seaweed and makes a flat damp poultice for the baby's swollen shoulder.

   • Kino dives and eventually surfaces with the largest pearl in the world.

     Happened

     Kino brings up the great oyster, and when he opens it in the canoe it holds "the greatest pearl in the world."

   • The town doctor comes to the beach and examines the baby.

     Didn't happen

     The doctor never appears in this chapter; he is only mentioned, as when the narrator says the poultice was probably better than what he could have done.

   • Kino's brother Juan Tomás joins him in the canoe.

     Didn't happen

     Only Juana and the baby are in the canoe with Kino; Juana paddles out with him and steadies the boat while he climbs back in.

   • Kino opens a small oyster before opening the great one.

     Happened

     Kino opens one small oyster from his basket and throws it in the water before he seems to see the great oyster.

   • A shark attacks Kino during the dive.

     Didn't happen

     No shark appears; Kino works calmly on the bottom and can stay down "over two minutes without strain."

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'poultice' mean as used in 'made a flat damp poultice of it'?

    • A bitter liquid medicine swallowed to reduce a fever
    • A wooden strip tied to a broken limb to hold it still
    • Correct answer: A soft, moist mass applied to a wound to reduce swelling
    • A spoken charm or prayer said over a wound to help it heal

    A poultice is a soft, moist application placed on the skin to draw out infection or ease inflammation. Juana uses seaweed as the folk version of one.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'estuary' mean as used in 'The town lay on a broad estuary'?

    • A wide area of open ocean far from any shore
    • Correct answer: A coastal inlet where fresh and salt water meet
    • A stone wall built out to shelter boats
    • A swampy shore where mangrove trees grow

    An estuary is the tidal mouth of a river or inlet where fresh water mixes with the sea. The town and the brush houses of the fishing people lie on one.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'reluctant' mean as used in 'Now Kino was reluctant to open it'?

    • Correct answer: Unwilling or hesitant to do something
    • Feeling great relief after a danger passes
    • Shining brightly or giving off a glow
    • Eager and ready to act at once

    Reluctant means unwilling or holding back. Kino has the great oyster in his hands and hesitates to open it: the flash he saw under the lip may have been only a reflection.

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