'THE PEARL' by John Steinbeck - Chapter 6

Summary

Kino and Juana, with Coyotito, start walking towards the North. Kino, with his animal instinct, senses danger. As a result, they walk all night in the protection of darkness. In the daylight, Juana and Coyotito sleep, while Kino keeps watch. When Juana wakes, Kino sleeps restlessly for a short while. Upon waking, Kino senses danger; he sees three figures in the distance, two on horseback and one on foot. He realizes that they are inland hunters, trackers out to find him. These trackers are as sensitive as hounds and can easily find their trail. Panic stricken, Kino almost feels like giving them the pearl; but Juana makes him realize that they will kill him anyway, pearl or not.
Kino and Juana start running towards the mountains, seeking "the high place, as nearly all animals do when they are pursued." After a while he sees that Juana is tired; he asks her to hide while he goes ahead, but Juana refuses. Finally, they stop at a cave, and Juana and the baby go inside to rest. Kino goes to leave a false trail that he hopes will fool the trackers. The plan does not work, for the trackers rest close to the cave for the night. Kino decides he must attack and try to seize the gun. He tells Juana that if he is killed, she must stay hidden until the trackers move on. He then touches Coyotito's head and strokes Juana's cheek. Finally, he removes his white clothes, which would have disclosed him, and moves towards the trackers.
Kino crawls quietly down the mountain towards the stream by which the trackers are sleeping. When he is twenty feet away, Kino readies his knife for attack. Suddenly, a small cry is heard, and one of the sleeping trackers awakens. The trackers decide the cry comes from a coyote cub. One tracker raises his rifle to shoot if a coyote appears. As the rifle fires, Kino leaps at the gunman and stabs him. He swiftly attacks the second tracker, while the third runs away. Kino grabs the gun and fires at the fleeing tracker. Suddenly, Kino hears a horrible cry coming from the cave. Coyotito has been killed in the gunfire.
Kino and Juana return to La Paz. All the townsfolk come out to see them. Juana is carrying her shawl in which the dead body of her child lies. Both walk through the city without a word, but bitterness is etched on Kino. No one dares speak to the couple. They keep walking until they reach the beach. While wild music beats in his head, Kino takes the pearl into his hand. No longer does he see hope or goodness in its beauty; instead, he sees his ruined canoe, his burned hut, murdered men, and a dead baby. Kino offers the pearl to his wife, but she refuses. Kino raises his arm and flings the pearl back into the sea. They see it splash into the water, and Kino and Juana silently watch as it disappears below.

by : Puan Zariah bt. Zainal