PEARL

JOHN STEINBECK

Wow, maybe many of you who hate this book need to do a little soul searching and cognitive...more

Wow, maybe many of you who hate this book need to do a little soul searching and cognitive introspection. This book paints the dangers of wealth, conspicuous material possession, and displays the common facades worn by your fellow neighbor who only superficially smiles and waves to you. Is this book depressing? Yes- if you are from a wealthy, materialistic background and are now wondering who your real friends are. No- if you aren't mentally influenced and controlled by the accumulation of wealth and riches and find peace of mind and real friendship within the simple life. Personally, I think this book does an excellent job of illustrating the modern day capitalist society that we live in today: the greed, the competition, and lack of civility, and the hypocricy within contemporary Western morality.   hide

I had to read this to create the 8th grade summer reading test. I didn't think it was that...more

I had to read this to create the 8th grade summer reading test. I didn't think it was that spectacular as a whole because of the writing but the story itself (very much like a parable, as Steinbeck calls it) is meaningful. On the first or second day of class, the 8th graders were so excited to discuss the ending and to me, that is why this book is great. I love it when books stir things up amongst youth!    hide

I think this novel still comments on our culture, and if it makes us feel frustrated enough at the...more

I think this novel still comments on our culture, and if it makes us feel frustrated enough at the apparent powerlessness and futility within the novel or without to galvanise us to make change... Some art is about communication, not interior decoration; some novels are not about light entertainment. Just don't read it if you're already depressed!    hide

Such a fast read it is easy to skip over the sometimes too obvious and cliche moral lessons in this...more

Such a fast read it is easy to skip over the sometimes too obvious and cliche moral lessons in this book. Slow down and reflect a bit on the truths about human nature and you won't be disappointed. It is a portrait of life tainted by greed, wealth, the prospect of power and the humbling of man. Taking place in colonial Bolivia there is also a backdrop of race relations, and a struggle between what is the sacred and the secular.   hide

This text was assigned reading for the aptly named Sister Dolores' 1983-1984 Freshman English class...more

This text was assigned reading for the aptly named Sister Dolores' 1983-1984 Freshman English class at Trinity High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania . Not to kill the suspense for people who have not read the book, but all of Sr. Dolores' assigned reading material had at least one, frequently more than one, of the major characters end up being killed.   hide