Term
Yeah, but apparently people don't
dive for pearls anymore. |
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Definition
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Term
...Or whether you'd find a pearl at
all. |
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Definition
Sounds like everybody's ready to
start talking about the assignment. Should we start by reading the prompt? |
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Term
Okay...so we gotta find the
themes-- or universal ideas-- and then say why they matter? |
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Definition
(building on Tyler)
In terms of the epigraph. |
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Term
It's cool that this is a parable. I
always think of parables as bible stories...not novels. |
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Definition
Like the prompt says, a parable is
just a simple story. And so far, The Pearl does seem pretty simple. |
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Term
It almost reminds me of a bible
story-- |
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Definition
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Term
Their village just
sounds…primitive? We learn that Kino and his family live in a "brush house"-- and they're surrounded by roosters and pigs and birds. |
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Definition
| So would that be a theme? Nature? |
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Term
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Definition
There's also that thing about the
ants. |
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Term
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Definition
(Aidan scans his text)
Um, oh here it is: "Kino watched
with the detachment of God while a dusty ant frantically tried to escape the sand trap an ant lion had dug for him." |
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Term
| You're saying the ant lion is evil? |
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Definition
| Not evil, but maybe kind of cruel? |
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Term
I like it! Should we take a few
minutes to look over the excerpt and see if any other themes jump out? |
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Definition
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Term
Well...if we're talking about good
versus evil, I think Song of Evil is pretty self-explanatory. |
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Definition
| So in that case, family is good? |
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Term
That's kind of the point though,
right? It's almost too obvious. |
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Definition
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Term
So seeing things in black and white
might make the world clearer, but it can also be dangerous-- it sets up oppositions. |
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Definition
(half-teasing)
Are you saying that gray is a more harmonious color? |
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Term
Well that's when Kino first hears
the Song of Evil, right? When he sees the scorpion moving towards his kid? It says, "In his mind a new song had come, the Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage, secret, dangerous melody--" |
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Definition
"And underneath, the Song of the
Family cried plaintively." Chris is right: there's a battle going on inside Kino. |
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Term
| Did anyone look up "plaintively"? |
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Definition
(Aidan enters data into his smartphone/iPad)
Nope but I got it
right...here....Aha: "Plaintively:expressing suffering or sorrow." |
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Term
I don't know if this is a
theme...but I kept thinking about what Aidan said. |
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Definition
(mock vanity)
I hear that all the time. |
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Term
Well, look, a scorpion is about to
bite Kino's baby-- hard to justify those kinds of accidents. |
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Definition
I have a feeling there's more of
that to come. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Well, pearls are natural, right?
But they happen through random chance. A little piece of sand gets into an oyster and... |
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Term
We'll have to read it to find
out... |
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Definition
(looking disappointed)
If I had to make a guess... |
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