Discussion Topic

Juana's reaction to Coyotito's scorpion sting in The Pearl

Summary:

Juana's reaction to Coyotito's scorpion sting is one of immediate alarm and desperation. She quickly tries to suck out the poison and insists on seeking the doctor's help, showcasing her maternal instinct to protect her child at all costs.

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How does Juana treat Coyotito's scorpion sting in The Pearl?

Immediately after Coyotito is stung by the scorpion, Juana attempts to suck the venom out of his wound before she and Kino travel into town to see the European doctor. Unfortunately, the supercilious European doctor refuses to see Coyotito because Kino and Juana are too poor to pay him for his services. When they return to their hut, Juana gathers brown seaweed and makes a flat damp poultice to place on her son's swollen shoulder. Steinbeck writes that Juana's ancient remedy was probably better than anything the doctor could have prescribed to heal the infant, but the remedy lacked his authority and was simple. Towards the end of chapter 2, Juana removes the poultice from Coyotito's shoulder and discovers that the swelling has gone down significantly. Once the European doctor learns that Kino has found the Pearl of the World, he visits his hut and seems to poison Coyotito, who...

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has been recovering. Since Kino lacks education and knowledge, he cannot tell if the doctor has purposely harmed his son in order to cure him of another ailment. It is implied that Juana's ancient remedy healed Coyotito.

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In The Pearl, how does Juana react to the scorpion near Coyotito's box?

As the parents watch the ominous scorpion, Kino hears the "Song of Evil" and Juana repeats "an ancient magic to guard against such evil" and finishes with a Hail Mary between "clenched teeth."

The fear of Juana is an ancient fear: the scorpion contains poison that can kill; moreover, the Indians are not often afforded medical care because of their inability to pay for this attention. Therefore, when the scorpion stings her baby, Juana immediately reacts by trying to suck out the poison and spitting it out because she knows that to get the doctor

...would be a remarkable thing.  The doctor never came to the cluster of brush houses.

This pivotal moment generates the other conflicts that move the plot of Steinbeck's parable

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How does Juana's reaction to Coyotito's scorpion sting in The Pearl surprise Kino?

At the beginning of John Steinbeck's novella The Pearl, when the scorpion has stung Coyotito, Juana's immediate response is to call for the doctor. This course of action has not occurred to Kino himself, and it surprises him, along with his neighbors.

The fact that it is so strange to want to see the doctor when a child's life is threatened emphasizes the rigid class divisions in the society Steinbeck depicts. The doctor never comes to the brush houses on the beach where Kino and Juana live. The author asks rhetorically why he would bother to do so, when he has enough work among rich people in the town. Kino's neighbors, meanwhile, predict that the doctor will not come.

In the short term, the neighbors are right. Even when Kino and Juana take Coyotito to see the doctor, he refuses to meet them, angrily asking why he should work for people who cannot pay him. However, when he hears that Kino has found the pearl of the world, then he comes to pay a house call soon enough. Ironically, however, Juana's maternal instincts are wrong, since the doctor is both corrupt and incompetent and only makes matters worse after Coyotito has practically recovered. This begins the sequence of misfortunes visited upon the family that possesses the pearl.

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