The Songs of The Pearl
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Song of the Family
You take the trouble as it comes and love them more than anyone
Good or bad or indifferent, it's still family
You choose your lovers, you choose your friends
Not the family you're in
They'll be with you 'til the end, 'cause it's family
And when it's family, you forgive them for they know not what they do
When it's family, they're a mirror of the worst and best in you
When it's family, when it's family
Let me be all I should be to the family.
In the book, the Song of the Family means a lot of Kino. His family is his whole life and they are happy to be together. The Song of the Family represents love, security and comfort. Kino loves his family and would do anything to make them happy. No matter what, Juana still loves Kino even after he is changed after finding the pearl.
The song that I chose for the Song of the Family is called "Family" by Dolly Parton. This song is about loving your family no matter what, even if they are bad or indifferent. This song relates to the Song of the Family in the book in many ways. Juana was always there for her baby and Kino. Even when Kino turned greedy and too ambitious, she tried to help him and she stayed with him for the whole time. She did this because of the love she has for Coyotito. Throughout the whole book, Juana took care of Coyotito and tried to save Kino from his downfall. Even though Kino did become greedy, he was just doing it for the good of the family.
The Song of the Enemy
The song I chose to represent The Song of the Enemy is the theme song from the movie Jaws. I chose this song because if I were Kino or Juana, this would be the song playing in the background as the scorpion went closer to Kino. This song slowly builds suspense until it reaches the climax, which in the movie would be the shark killing a person. The Song of the Enemy reaches its climax when the scorpion bites Coyotito.
The Song of Evil
I took a knife and cut out her eye
I took it home and watched it wither and die
Well, she's lucky that I didn't slip her a smile
That's why she sleeps with one eye open
That's the price she paid
I said, hey, girl with one eye
Get your filthy fingers out of my pie
I said, hey, girl with one eye
I'll cut your little heart out 'cause you made me cry.
The song I chose to represent The Song of Evil is "Girl With One Eye" by Florence and the Machine. The lyrics of the song helps us visualize the anger that the girl is feeling because of the girl whose eye she cut out. After the scorpion stung Coyotito, Kin's anger was represented by he crushed the scorpion into a paste. In the Song "Girl With One Eye," the girl getting her eye cut out is an act of evil. In The Pearl, the scorpion stinging Coyotito is the act of evil.
The Song of the Pearl in the Beginning
The song that I chose to represent The Song of the Pearl is "The Battle" from movie The Chronicles of Narnia. This song starts off mysterious and suspenseful, just as the Song of the Pearl was before Kino picked up the oyster. At about 40 seconds of the song, this song has a triumphant tone to it represented when Kino found the pearl after opening the oyster. The song ends sounding hopeful.
The Song of the Pearl in the End
The song I chose to represent the Song of the Pearl in the end is "The Eve of Destruction" by Bill McGuire. This song is about destruction that was brought by war in the country. This relates to the Song of the Pearl in the end, because both of the songs are about destruction. The pearl destroyed Kino's life and good qualities. In the song I chose, war is destroying other peoples lives and homes. The wars that "The Eve of Destruction" was written about were distorted and insane as well as the Song of the Pearl in the end.
The Song of the Book
Currency, is all you worship,
you sold your soul, but still don't have enough.
Take all you can, the world is just for you,
Greed is good, we'll suffer at your hand.
Take all the land, build over our bones,
You'll kill us all when you carry out your plan.
The song I chose to represent the Song of the Book is Greed by Adam J. North. I chose this song because it's about people who are ruled by money and will do anything to get what they want. In the book, all that Kino wants is to do good things for his family and would do anything to get them. He even declines the pearl buyers offers because he wanted more. Overall, the theme of this book was greed and how it can corrupt people. It teaches a lesson about greed and human satisfaction.