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Course Description
The featured classic novel for this 4 week course is The Pearl, by John Steinbeck. Written in 1947, this classic Steinbeck novella is a parable that provides a moral lesson, and the characters, objects, and events have symbolic significance. This class will dive into the moral messaging and symbolism that is projected in Steinbeck’s work. Themes include prejudice of native people, greed and how even the promise of wealth can effect people, family, and good/evil. 

Learning Objectives for The Pearl:

-Examine the function of setting and the role of nature in the novel;
-Evaluate the novel as allegory;
-Examine the role of women, as represented by Kino's wife, Juana, in the story;
-Discuss how the blending of Spanish and Indian cultures affects the story and Kino's life, and
-Discuss the consequences of greed and evil, and identify them as motifs of the story.

Review for the novella:

"Steinbeck's retelling of this Mexican folk tale, The Pearl, is beautiful and lyrical. The author uses evocative language to describe Kino's world and his emotional journey. In this novel, every feeling and every important part of Kino and Juana's world has a "song" that the characters "sing" to each other and hear in their hearts -- the song of evil, the song of family, the song of hope. It's a simple story, told with power and poetry by one of America's all-time greatest novelists."

--Barbara Schultz

The class will 

As with all my literature classes, studying this classic of works such as "The Pearl" will help students:

-Increase their vocabulary (front loading of novel vocabulary);
-Understand and identify elements of a plot (Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution); 
-Identify themes; 
-Use of symbolism;
-Character Development; 
-Using textual evidence to infer meaning;
-Syntax (the proper order of words in a phrase or sentence);
-How figurative language and other literary devices are used to enhance the reading experience.

Brief Overview of Lessons:

Lesson 1: An introduction of our author, John Steinbeck and his classic, "The Pear," will be covered in lesson 1. This class will include reviewing the author's biography, his style of writing, a vocabulary list pertinent to the next assigned reading, a brief summary of the book's plot, addressing potential themes. 

Lesson 2: Chapters 1-3

Lesson 3: Chapters 4-6

Lesson 4: Wrap-up that includes reviewing the symbolism, themes, climax, and motifs.

All my classes are interactive where students are encouraged to ask questions, make observations, and share their thoughts and opinions. In other words, talking is welcome and expected! Classes are discussion based for an open exchange of ideas about the novel and how each student interprets it. Classes will include PowerPoint lectures, watching the movie version of the novel (outside of class and if available at no cost), in-class assignments, in-class discussions, some assignments for homework to do while they read, and, of course, reading.

IMPORTANT...
A copy of the book is required. The edition we will be working with is: “The Pearl,” Penguin Edition, on Amazon for $10.80. Please buy only the edition recommend, using multiple editions results in the time-consuming process of students searching for passages as we study the book and jump from one page/passage to another. 

I have included the Amazon link for the book below:

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-John-Steinbeck/dp/014017737X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TPWQ47EASYXI&dchild=1&keywords=the+pearl+by+john+steinbeck&qid=1613162162&sprefix=the+pearl%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1

Parent/Student testimonials for my literature courses:

"Thank you, Mr. Lewis!  My son loved this class!  I especially appreciated the weekly questions you sent out, as well as the list of literary terms.  We appreciate you helping our son dive into a great piece of literature and analyze its content.  Thank you!"

"This class was amazing. The discussions were very fun, and I loved talking about my favorite parts of the book. The teacher explained everything amazingly, and the class was very organized. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone."

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