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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long will Juan hide Kino and Juana in Chapter 5?

2. How long is the knife Juan hands to Kino in Chapter 5?

3. Who attacks Kino after Juan leaves in Chapter 4?

4. Where does the old man in the village ride to see Kino on his way to sell the pearl?

5. What cities does Kino tell Juana to go to in Chapter 6, while they continue evading the trackers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the place where Juana and Kino spend the day in Chapter 6 while they are on the run.

2. Name some of the things the other villagers say they would do if they had the great pearl.

3. Name some of the theories Juan Tomas gives the neighbors to divert suspicion as to what happened to Kino and his family in Chapter 5.

4. Why does Kino take off his clothes in Chapter 6?

5. How does Coyotito get shot?

6. Describe the water Kino's family finds while on the run in Chapter 6. What does the water symbolize?

7. What does Kino do when the dark figure attacks him on the path back home in Chapter 5?

8. What is evil beyond thinking to Kino?

9. What motivation do the pearl buyers have to purchase the great pearl at a low price?

10. Why do all the divers leave their canoes on the beach the morning after Kino's big pearl find?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Race is an important theme throughout the novel. Discuss how race is shown and how this tension causes problems for Kino and his family.

1.) How would a less-biased response from the doctor or his servant at the gate affected the rest of the story? Would the outcome be different if the doctor had treated Coyotito from his scorpion bite initially? Why or why not?

2.) How do the pearl buyers represent the oppression that a biased social structure brings to the community? How do they work against the divers and prevent a fair deal?

3.) How does this racial situation affect Kino's response to the dead man he stabbed?

Essay Topic 2

For the villagers, they trust things of the spirit and things of the imagination before they will trust their own eyes. Describe how this overall belief is shown in the villagers' actions, Juana's actions and the way they react to their situation.

1.) What specifically do the villagers believe in, in terms of God, creation, and the afterlife?

2.) In what ways are religions and beliefs integrated into one another?

Essay Topic 3

One of Kino's dreams is to own a rifle. After he says this, the villagers react in awe and even Juana is amazed at his bravery. Why is this dream of owning a rifle an ironic wish once the end of the story is over? What does the rifle symbolize to Kino and the villagers and what role does it ultimately represent in the novel?

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