The Pearl, Chapter 4 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. At the start of Chapter 4, what does the narrator reveal about the pearl buyers who wait for Kino?

   • Correct answer: They all work for one buyer and know in advance what each will offer
   • They bid freely against one another to win the finest pearls
   • They each keep a share of the pearl's price as their own profit
   • They are agents who carry the fishermen's pearls to the capital

   As word spreads through La Paz that Kino will sell his pearl, the narrator says it was only supposed that the buyers bid against one another; now there was "only one pearl buyer with many hands," and the men in the offices knew what price they would offer and how high they would bid. They earn only their salaries, yet they take joy in breaking a price down.

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2. 2

   Question 2. On the walk to the buyers, what does Juan Tomás say happened to the agent the old ones sent to the capital with their pearls?

   • He was robbed on the road and came home with nothing
   • He cheated the old ones and was driven out of the town
   • Correct answer: He was never heard of again, and the pearls were lost
   • He sold the pearls well and came home with a fortune

   Juan Tomás tells how the old ones pooled their pearls and sent an agent to sell them in the capital; "he was never heard of again and the pearls were lost," and a second man vanished the same way. Kino recalls the Father's sermon that the loss was a punishment on those who tried to leave their station.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What gives the stout dealer away when Kino lets the great pearl roll into the black velvet tray?

   • He knocks the scarlet hibiscus from its vase on the desk
   • Correct answer: The coin behind his desk stumbles and slips into his lap
   • His smiling face goes pale and his voice starts to shake
   • He gasps aloud and reaches across the desk to grab it

   His face shows no sign and does not change, but "the secret hand behind the desk missed in its precision": the coin he has been rolling over his knuckles stumbles and slips silently into his lap, and his fingers curl into a fist.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does the stout dealer first offer for the pearl, and how does Kino answer him?

   • Five hundred pesos; Kino says he will think it over
   • Fifteen hundred pesos; Kino says he will gladly take it
   • Fifty thousand pesos; Kino demands an even higher price
   • Correct answer: A thousand pesos; Kino says it is worth fifty thousand

   The stout man calls the pearl large and clumsy, a curiosity some museum might take, and offers "a thousand pesos." Kino's face grows dark: "It is worth fifty thousand," he says, and he accuses the dealer of wanting to cheat him.

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5. 5

   Question 5. When the three dealers are called in, what does the second one, the little man with a shy soft voice, say of the pearl?

   • That it is like fool's gold, too large for any market
   • Correct answer: That it is soft and chalky and will lose its color in months
   • That it is a monstrosity and he will make no offer at all
   • That a client of his likes such things and might buy it

   Looking through his glass, the second dealer laughs softly and says, "Better pearls are made of paste," calling the pearl soft and chalky. That is his verdict, not the narrator's. The first dealer refuses to make any offer, and the third offers five hundred pesos.

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6. 6

   Question 6. When Kino snatches back the pearl and says he may go to the capital, what does the narrator say the dealers knew?

   • Correct answer: That they had played too hard and would be disciplined
   • That the pearl was truly worthless and they had won
   • That Kino would surely come back to them before evening
   • That no buyer in the capital would ever pay him more

   The dealers glance quickly at one another. They know they have played too hard, and "they knew they would be disciplined for their failure." The man at the desk says at once that he might go to fifteen hundred, but Kino pushes through the crowd and strides away.

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7. 7

   Question 7. That evening Juan Tomás warns Kino. What does he say Kino has defied by refusing to sell?

   • Not just the pearl buyers but the priest and the Church
   • Not just the neighbors but the wishes of their father
   • Not just the dealers but every rich man in the city
   • Correct answer: Not just the pearl buyers but the whole way of life

   Juan Tomás says Kino has defied "not the pearl buyers, but the whole structure, the whole way of life," and that he is afraid for him. He doubts the capital will be any different and warns that friends protect a man only while they are not in danger. His parting "Go with God" has a strange chill for Kino.

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8. 8

   Question 8. After the second attack, Juana begs Kino to throw the pearl back in the sea. What does Kino decide?

   • To give the pearl to Juan Tomás to keep for the family
   • To bury the pearl again and remain at home until it is safe
   • Correct answer: To take the canoe at first light and go to the capital
   • To sell the pearl to the man at the desk in the morning

   His will hardens: "I will fight this thing," he says, and he plans that in the morning "we will go over the sea and over the mountains to the capital." He hushes Juana's fear, says they will start in the first light, and tells her, "Let us sleep a little."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events happen in Chapter 4, from the morning of the sale to the pearl buyers' offices?

   • Juana dresses Coyotito in the clothes she had prepared for his baptism.

     Happened

     Throwing caution to the winds, Juana dresses the baby in the clothes she had prepared for his baptism and puts on her own marriage skirt.

   • The fishermen go out to dive for pearls as usual that morning.

     Didn't happen

     The canoes lie lined up on the beach; the fishermen stay ashore because there will be too much to see when Kino goes to sell the pearl.

   • Kino carries the pearl unwrapped in his hand the whole way into town.

     Didn't happen

     The pearl is wrapped in an old soft piece of deerskin, placed in a little leather bag, and kept in a pocket in Kino's shirt.

   • Of all the neighbors, only his brother Juan Tomás walks with Kino.

     Happened

     Because of the seriousness of the occasion, only one man walks with Kino, his brother Juan Tomás, while the neighbors follow as a crowd.

   • The beggars join the procession as it passes the church.

     Happened

     As before, the beggars join them as they pass the church, and the owners of the little saloons close up shop and go along.

   • The pearl buyers' offices are bright rooms with wide-open windows.

     Didn't happen

     The offices are clustered in one narrow street, barred at the windows, with wooden slats that let in only a soft gloom.

   • As the three dealers arrive, Kino looks into Juana's eyes and takes new strength.

     Happened

     Kino feels a little tugging at his back, turns and looks in Juana's eyes, and when he looks away he has renewed strength.

   • The second dealer shows Kino how to look at the pearl through a glass.

     Happened

     The second dealer offers his glass to Kino and shows him how to use it, and Kino is shocked at the strange-looking surface.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events happen in Chapter 4, from that evening to the attack in the night?

    • Some neighbors argue that Kino should have taken the fifteen hundred pesos.

      Happened

      Some argue it would have been better to take the one thousand five hundred pesos and fear Kino is being a pigheaded fool, while others call him brave and are proud of him.

    • Kino buries the pearl under a stone of the fire hole in his house.

      Happened

      Back home, Kino buries his pearl under a stone of the fire hole, and Juana watches him while he does it.

    • Kino gives the pearl to Juan Tomás to hide for the night.

      Didn't happen

      Kino keeps the pearl himself, buried under the stone of the fire hole; Juan Tomás comes only to talk with him and to warn him.

    • Juana sings the melody of the family to Coyotito while Kino broods.

      Happened

      As though she too could hear the Song of Evil, Juana sings the melody of the family softly to Coyotito to keep the evil out.

    • Kino sees the face of the man who attacks him outside the door.

      Didn't happen

      When Juana asks who it was, Kino says he does not know: "I didn’t see." The chapter never says who attacked him.

    • Juana washes a deep cut that runs down Kino's cheek from ear to chin.

      Happened

      Juana finds Kino on the ground, helps him inside, wipes the blood from his face and washes the long deep cut in his cheek from ear to chin.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "legerdemain" mean in "his right hand practiced legerdemain" as the stout dealer waits for Kino?

    • A lawful claim to own a piece of land or goods
    • Nervous restless motion made without thinking
    • Correct answer: Quick tricks of the hand done to fool the eye
    • A light, cheerful mood that makes a man joke

    Legerdemain is sleight of hand. The dealer rolls a coin over his knuckles and makes it "appear and disappear," and his fingers do it all mechanically while he watches the door.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "collusion" mean when the stout dealer says, "so that you can see there is no collusion"?

    • A violent crash between two moving objects
    • An honest contest between rival sellers
    • A careful judgment of what a thing is worth
    • Correct answer: A secret agreement among people to cheat others

    Collusion is a secret agreement to cheat. The dealer calls in the others to show there is none, yet the narrator has already said there "was only one pearl buyer with many hands."

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "lethargy" mean in "A lethargy had settled on him" as Kino broods after Juan Tomás leaves?

    • Correct answer: A heavy, sluggish lack of energy and will
    • A sudden, furious burst of anger and energy
    • A deadly sickness that slowly takes a life
    • A sharp, throbbing pain from an old wound

    Lethargy is a heavy, sluggish state. Kino sits brooding on his sleeping-mat with "a little gray hopelessness," feeling that every road is blocked against him.

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