Deep Water

He tried to push of the bottom to get back up but he did not have enough strength. In this short story Deep Water by William O. Douglas he explained something that no one would imagine happening. His meaning was not only to tell you what a tragic thing happened to you but to explain that you have to learn to overcome your fears. We all have them some worse than others but we still have to get over them. He did not know how to swim so he tried to learn but then this happened. He faced his fears even though they were tough and now he is a good swimmer.

He was at the YMCA and he was all alone so he did not want to go in. He waited for someone to come and finally someone did. He got thrown in the pool and almost drowned. His heart pounded and he did not know how to swim. He only saw darkness. After this happened he was very afraid of water. He tried to get over it but he was too scared. This was very serious and tragic event and somehow he got over it.

He got over this by facing his fears and that’s what he is trying to tell you in this book. He is telling you if he could get over this then you should be able to get over your fears. It may take a long time just like his but it is worth not being afraid of something like he did. His fear of water was gone and he was happy he did. It was his point in this book to explain that you need to get over your fears and face them.

Since he did not know how to swim very well he decided to wait for someone to come. When he waited he did not intend for this to happen. The author was trying to tell you that sometimes you need to face your fears. He is trying to tell you that we all have them and don’t hide from them.

The Pearl

Could you imagine something like this happening to you? In this book The Pearl by John Steinbeck it is very exciting and the main character, Kino changed a lot. Kino went from very poor and unselfish to very greedy and did not care about anything else. I think the author was trying to give the message be grateful for what you get and don’t ask for more. Kino was a poor Indian and was very unselfish. He was considered the leader of the indigenous people. He went diving for pearls one day and found the pearl of the world and after that nothing was the same. All the visions Kino had somehow turned against him.

Kino had visions of him getting married with the pearls money and his son getting an education but all that unselfishness went to waste. Since he got rich everyone wanted his money. He felt like he was in a battle field and had to protect the pearl. He went to the pearl buyers and of course they tried to rip him off but he made them go high. When they went really high he still wanted more and more. He got so frustrated and mad he said he was going to the capital.

He was so selfish he made his own family go to the capital on a long harsh journey. He got so mad and selfish he beat his wife up but the weird thing was she did not mind. People were sent out on a search to find Kino and Juana because of the pearl. Those people were sent to kill him but instead Kino killed them but not in time before they killed Cyotito.

That’s not all that happened though. Kino finally realized what he turned into and threw the pearl in the ocean. Kino was poor until he found an amazing pearl but it turned against him. He thought the only thing that would be different was he was rich but everything changed. He was very unselfish until this happened. Amazing visions that he had suddenly all went wrong.

Journal reflection

I thought this book was very surprising especially around the end. I could not believe that cyotito got shot. I thought Juana loved him more than anything. I knew that Juana wanted to get rid of the pearl but i never thought that Kino would do it. he said the pearl is his soul and if he got rid of it he would lose his soul. I really liked this book in all together because it was almost a mystery but at the same time it was action and history which really surprised me. I love reading these kind of books because sometimes you know what's coming next but others your confused trying to figure out what could happen. That was a very exiting and sad ending.

Will the pearl destroy the family?

The pearl will destroy the family because it is getting to Kino's head. He is saying he is going to use it to get married and for his child to get an education but now everyone is trying to take his money. Most people when they get lots of money they say they are going to use it wisely but end up using it bad because of all the peer pressure. Everyone all of the sudden is you best friend. It will be hard for Kino to hold his ground and say no. it might just tear their family apart.

The Pearl Reflections

So far in this book The Pearl by John Steinbeck it has been very interesting. It also has been very good. I was very surprised at the beginning when Cyotito got stung by the scorpion. When he got stung I did not no what to think. I never have read a book like this when something horrible happened so quickly. I was definitely confused when the poison started to exit Cyotito's body because Steinbeck said Kino was crying but I could not tell if it was tears of joy or sadness. The part I liked most of this book was when Kino found the big pearl I felt happy for them. The part I liked least was when the doctor denied helping them because that is racism.