In the told story the message or moral heard by the listener is likely to have been quite different from the message contemporary readers get from this story.
Prior to reading the story, teachers should make it clear to students that Steinbeck moves this tale a step beyond the storytelling tradition. Students can discuss these in terms of their surface meaning and also in terms of any messages or morals they held for the listener.Ģ. If you live in a part of the country in which storytelling is or was a part of the culture, it may be possible to orally read or learn to tell one or more of the "local" stories. It is helpful for teachers to explain the oral storytelling tradition from which this type of story comes. However, some limited prereading information might be useful to students not familiar with the oral tradition from which this story comes.ġ. However, within its simplicity is the great complexity of a tale filled with imagery, symbolism, and thematic significance. The Pearl is the most teachable of all John Steinbeck's novellas. The stories tell us not only of the lives of the poor who seek to live off the land, but of the struggles of all people. However, each of these people has a deceptively simple, but important story to tell, a story filled with love and pain.
Steinbeck's characters are not the rich men and women of California's boom days, but are the homeless, the migrant workers, the poor fishermen, and the farmers. His wonderful novellas The Pearl, Cannery Row, The Red Pony, and Of Mice and Men not only introduce readers to a fascinating, realistic cast of characters, make the hills and seacoast of California and Mexico come to life, but also tell intriguing stories of the lives of real people.
John Steinbeck is one of the greatest storytellers of the twentieth century. Teachers are encouraged to guide, help with reading, and yet allow the students to independently respond to the work. The teaching methodologies are based on response strategies that encourage student interaction with the literary work. The brief discussion of the techniques of plot, character development and theme employed by Steinbeck in his deceptively simple story provides an overview of the story as well as an understanding of its simplicity and complexity. The prereading activities prepare students for what they will read in the novel. This guide is designed to assist teachers in moving students beyond the surface story of Steinbeck's novella.
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