Wednesday, July 23, 2014

What songs has Kino heard in chapter 1 of Steinbeck's The Pearl?

The Songs of the
Indian


John Steinbeck's The Pearl
is a parable of Kino who finds the Pearl of the World.  His people have once
been creators of songs to express their pride, their happiness, and their successes and
loves.  Now, there are no new songs as Kino's people are oppressed; nevertheless, the
old songs remain along with some personal
songs. 


The Song of the
Family


So while the songs of a once proud
people have stopped, Kino hears the Song of the Family, music set to the beats of three
loving hearts.  His wife Juana sings, too, and hers is also a family song; Kino and
Juana are content.  The family song is music of love, warmth, safety.  It is "the
Whole," the sense of each belonging to the
other.


The Song of
Evil


When the scorpion appears, the "evil
music of the enemy" appears.  This Song of Evil" is the music of any foe of the
family,



"a
savage, secret, dangerous melody" that carries with it the plaintive song of the
Family."



It is a song of
anguish, anxiety, despair, and sickness or death.  When the scorpion bites the baby,
Kino beats it to death, but the threatening "Song of the Enemy roars in his
ears."


Music is the language of the soul and of the land of
a people.  And, while he and his loved ones are content, Kino hears the song of the
family,but when his baby in his danger, Kino hears the Song of the Enemy.  Clearly,
music is the language of Kino's soul that expresses his love and his fear for his
family.

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