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What is the "Song of Evil" and when does Kino first hear it in "The Pearl"?

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The "Song of Evil" in Steinbeck's The Pearl is a motif representing danger and foreshadowing threats. Kino first hears it when a scorpion threatens his family, signaling immediate peril. As Kino stealthily approaches the scorpion, the song intensifies, culminating in the scorpion stinging his baby. This motif not only alerts Kino to present dangers but also foreshadows future challenges as the family seeks a doctor amidst societal prejudices.

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John Steinbeck's The Pearl is written as a parable, a simple story meant to develop a moral lesson. In developing this parable, Steinbeck employs music as a motif and as an instrument for foreshadowing.

When Kino first hears the Song of Evil, he immediately reacts to the "evil music of...any foe of the family." The foe is a scorpion. Kino goes into motion, holding his hands palm down in front of him. As he moves stealthily, he keeps his eyes constantly on the creature that threatens harm to his baby, hoping to catch it. He stands motionless waiting for the scorpion; the scorpion stops, sensing danger, and Kino hears "the music of the enemy." Kino again moves his hand forward with a smooth motion. But at this moment, the baby shakes the rope that the scorpion is moving down, causing the scorpion to fall onto the baby's shoulder, where it strikes with his tail. Swiftly, Kino snatches the scorpion, and he kills it.

As Kino beats and stamps "the enemy," the baby's mother puts her lips on the puncture, sucking out the poison. Afterwards, she tells Kino to get a doctor. But Kino tells her that a doctor will not come. Nevertheless, Juana is adamant that her baby be seen by a doctor: "Then we will go to him," she says.

The Song of Evil has alerted Kino to danger and he has reacted; in addition, it foreshadows new dangers to come as the family seeks a doctor, a man of "...a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's and Juana's race."

Thus, throughout the narrative of Steinbeck's novel, the song of Evil emerges, foreshadowing danger and spurring Kino into action. 

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