WLIRP+Susie

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World Literature Independent Reading Project Quarter 1 2009-2010 Note: In order for your book to qualify it must be by an author from a country other than the United States or the United Kingdom OR the primary setting must be outside of the United States or the United Kingdom.


 * Title: //The Pearl//
 * Author: John Steinback
 * Author’s Nationality: America
 * Setting (only list the primary settings): Mexico
 * Total Pages: 90
 * Original Publication Date: 1947
 * If your book is translated, who is the translator? If not translated write “NA” NA
 * Do you currently have a physical copy of the book? Yes
 * If you do not have a physical copy, how soon can you get one? (Write “NA” if you have a copy.) NA

1. If you don’t already, obtain a physical copy of the book and bring it to class when instructed. 2. Become an expert on your book by the end of the first quarter. The quarter ends on October 15th, so you have about seven weeks to complete the book. Keep in mind that you will be reading this book in addition to assigned readings for class, so when the homework load is light read your book. This is also the book you should use for KIS Reads. 3. Read actively by taking notes in the book (use Post-its if it’s on loan), and make sure you understand the main conflicts, how the characters develop, and any major themes. 4. At the end of each weak, write a 100-200 word reflection about your reading. Use your notes or post-its for ideas. 5. Your book will be the basis of a writing project at the conclusion of the first quarter, so keep track of the book.
 * Directions:**

How many pages do you need to read per week to be completed by 15 October, 2009? Week 1: 31 August - 4 September: 13 Week 2: 7-11 September: 13 Week 3: 14-18 September: 13 Week 4: 21-25 September: 13 Week 5: 28 September - 2 October: 13 Week 6: 5-9 October: 13 Week 7: 12-15 October: You must be completed with your book by Thursday, 15 October, 2009. 12
 * Once your selection has been approved, fill out the following:**

Reflection Week 3


 * This book is really easy for me to get into. Unlike some other books, when I first started reading //The Pearl//, other things surrounding me disappeared. With this book and how John Steinbeck describes the protagonist's life, the pages read in the limited amount of time is unbelievable. Also, being a fairly easy book to like and read, the reading plan is not a problem for me. Also, the amount of pages I have to read per week is very low, so that helps also. I may finish this book very soon, because I read more than what is required in one week. However after I am finished with //The Pearl//, I will start another book. I believe that the book is very realistic. It shows the greed of humans and the evil and the good mixing together. In the book, the protagonist is kept disturbed by many bad problems that keeps getting in his way. In this book, there is a character that is interesting to me. This character is a doctor, and I believe that he shows the reality of some people's lives. This doctor cures people just for money and greed rather than to help others. I think the main theme of this book is evil vs. good and appearance vs. reality. Talking about themes, I believe that this relates to Romeo and Juliet. The two books both shows that reality is different than what individual wants.**

How is your World Lit. reading going? Are you keeping up with your reading plan? What do you think about your book so far? What are the main conflicts? Are there any particularly interesting characters? Why? Have you noticed any major themes developing?

Evil vs. Good. and Appearance vs. Reality.

Do you see any connections between your World Lit book and anything else you have read recently?

Romeo and Juliet. Appearance versus reality.

Reflection #2

How is your World Lit. reading going? Are you keeping up with your reading plan? What do you think about your book so far? What are the main conflicts? Are there any particularly interesting characters? Why? Have you noticed any major themes developing?


 * My world literature book was finished faster than I thought. I was able to read this book greatly faster than the reading plan. My book so far has a great hooking story to it, and for me, it is very interesting. The main conflicts of this book is mostly Kino's greed for his bright future that the pearl may bring. In the book, I really like the character of the pearl buyers, because they cheat the pearl hunter's for their own advantage. Major theme of this book, I might have to say, is greed. Because of greed, Kino's life have been ruined. The greed was what started the whole conflict, and greed was what ended the whole problem. Greed in this book is signified as a negative factor. John Steinback tries to give the message of how greed can ruin a perfect man's life.**

=Outline of the World Literature Book Podcast=

INTRO
explain the main events of the book

1. kino's peaceful life 2. kino's baby struck by scorpion 3. kino visits doctor and gets rejected 4. kino finds pearl 5. news spreads around town 6. doctor comes, is suspicious 7. kino tries to sell pearl 8. pearl seller is suspicious 9. kino plans to go to separate town to sell pearl 10. the night he kills a man, and his house burns down 11. He flees the town with family 12. people follow 13. baby dies 14. the couple comes back and throws the pearl away

-KINO VS. IVAN
MAIN PROTAGONISTS

SIMILARITIES:

both go mad about their problem [ex. death of the son, death of himself]

both realize the truth from the appearance in the end (appearance vs. reality) [ex. badness<?> of the pearl, true side of death]

DIFFERENCES:

Kino tries to attempt every way to reach his goal Ivan is left to be devastated until death

Kino has someone besides him Ivan is left alone

Kino has a incentive Ivan does not

-Death vs. the Pearl
SIMILARITIES

both have different appearance to reality

both are main factors of the book

DIFFERENCES

the pearl seems to bring good dreams/future death seems to bring fear

the pearl in reality brought unfortunate events death was something not to be afraid of

Conclusion
wrap everything up in one sentence

"there are many similarities and differences of this book, etc. etc."

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SCRIPT

World Literature Book Podcast: Susie Kang

The book I am going to talk about is //The Pearl// by John Steinbeck. This book is about Kino, or the protagonist's life in Mexico.

Kino was living a peaceful life as a pearl hunter, until his baby boy got stung by a scorpion. Terrified, he hurries to the doctor to get help, but gets rejected for not having enough money. So Kino goes to the sea to find a pearl. He then finds a huge pearl. News spreads around town, and kino starts to dream about his bright future. However, since everyone is jealous and strongly wants the pearl, people start to cheat to get the pearl. For example, several men break into Kino's house to steal it. Near the end, Kino ends up killing a man and fleeing the town with his family. As a result, Kino and his wife ends up having their baby boy killed, and realizes that the pearl actually brought depravity. So they throw it back into the water.

Now, I'm going to compare this book to the short story "The Death of Ivan Ilych" written by Tolstoy.

Character Comparison: Kino and Ivan Ilych.

The main protagonists of the two books are similar and different in many ways.

Their similarities include that they both go mad about their problem [ex. death of the son or the character himself]

They both realize the truth from the appearance in the end [ex. true side of pearl or death]

On the other hand, there are three differences in the two books

Kino tries to attempt every way to reach his goal Ivan is left to be devastated until death

Kino has his family besides him entire time Ivan is left alone

Kino has a incentive to go on Ivan does not

Event Comparison: the pearl and death

In the main events of the two books, I have found two most important similarities.

the two events both have different appearance to reality, and both ruin the two protagonist's lives.

However, there are also differences to the two events.

when the protagonists first encounter the events, the pearl seems to bring good dreams/future death seems to bring fear

but, the pearl in reality brought unfortunate events death was something not to be afraid of

//The Pearl// and "The Death of Ivan Ilych" both had fascinating characters and events that were fairly similar to one another.

I believe that //The Pearl// was a fascinating book to read. It explains how appearance and reality might be different from one another. The book was also short and interesting, making it very easy to read it through. If one gets the chance, I strongly recommend him or her to read this book.