In chapter 1 of The Pearl, the setting is simple: a hut by the ocean in which Kino lives with his wife and baby. The tone is one of peace and simplicity, even innocence. Like the Garden of Eden, the man and wife live in a “paradise” of nature. The separation from the turmoil and chaos of a city, with its large conglomerate of people and “sin” presents a place where nothing bad could happen. The poverty is not overbearing; the hunger is minimal. What hopes and dreams Kino has are within easy reach. It is only when Kino finds the pearl that the possibilities of a life outside of this paradise bring a sense that Kino’s life will change for the worse, as indeed it does. As is usual, the tone of peacefulness so early in a story is an indication that something will interrupt or destroy that peace. With the scorpion bite on the baby’s shoulder, however, trouble has come into Kino’s paradise.
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