Deep Water Essay

Imagine if you didn’t know how to swim and someone threw you in a nine-foot deep pool. What would you do? This is exactly what happened to William when he was a child. Fortunately William did not drown while in the pool, but someone had saved him and he was okay. Deep Water by William O. Douglas was a story I could relate to and a story that actually meant something.


I can relate to the story Deep Water because my little cousin is very afraid of water. He is always scared that his house will flood. Surprisingly he loves the pool, but doesn’t go in the deep water. Some other ways I can relate is the fear of drowning and other fears. Whenever I’m in the middle of Pewaukee Lake, I’m scared that one of my siblings or I will drown. Luckily, my whole family knows how to swim. Everyone has fears, such as William’s fear of drowning. I also have fears such as my family dying or something bad happening. William’s fear and my fear are very similar.

Even though I can relate to the story Deep Water a lot, it is also a very meaningful story. When he finally conquered his fear of drowning, he swam 2 miles across a lake! He knew he could do it all along, but he just had to try and do his best. William never gave up on his lessons after that. He knew that he had to conquer his fear. A lot of children with fears can relate to this story.

The story Deep Water by William O. Douglas has an actually meaning and is something I can really relate to. It relates to a lot of kids around the world. If children ever read this story I hope they learn to try to overcome their fears and don’t give up.

Essay For The Pearl

Dear John Steinbeck,
I am a student at Asa Clark Middle School in Pewaukee, Wisconsin and my language arts class read your book, The Pearl. How did you get the idea of writing a book like The Pearl? It really taught me a lesson about how to put your family first and everything else second. While some parts in The Pearl I found most fascinating, other parts I did not like.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it had so many things I liked in it. Someone I really liked in the book was Juana. In the beginning of the book you wrote that she was" a strong man"(7). Although you wrote that in the beginning in the book Juana really showed that throughout the story. When Kino practically beat her up, she wasn't mad nor frightened. Juana knew that he was going to turn in to a man, which she thought was half insane and half god. Juana really shows what a strong woman is like.

Another thing I was entertained by was the adventure they had finding the pearl and then going over the mountains to find a better buyer. Kino was determined to find a pearl buyer that would not cheat him and give him the money it was worth. I loved how they threw the pearl out in the end so it wouldn’t bring them anymore evil. Besides, Kino should have listened to Juana in the first place or all those bad things wouldn’t have happened.

Even though The Pearl had a lot of interesting parts in it, there are certain parts I disliked. I really didn't like the ending. Why did the baby have to die? I don't think the Coyotitio really deserved to die but, it did teach Kino a huge lesson. The other thing that I didn’t like was how Kino changed throughout the book. I understand it does teach you a lesson though. Kino shouldn't have killed people just because of a pearl. His personality changed completely upside down from the beginning of the book to the end.
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Different parts of The Pearl were not the best parts in the book but some were very interesting. If you ever write any other books, some ideas to make it more exciting are to have more adventure, maybe more bad things happen or possibly something get stolen. Those are the kinds of things students like is your kind of books. Overall, The Pearl was a pretty good book. I really enjoyed how you wrote the book.

Sincerely,
Kennedi Bates

Journal Reflection for The Pearl

The Pearl was a very interesting book. Sometimes it was boring but as it went on it got way more exciting. Through the book Kino changed a lot. At the beginning he was a sweet, gentle and caring guy. He started changing though. He became a monster! Kino beat up his wife and in the end made someone else kill their baby just because of the pearl. The pearl was Kino's life, he said. If it died he died. That’s what family is supposed to be about. Not about a object that you fell in love with! Juana knew that the pearl was destroying their family and tried to get rid of it. The real Kino that was once was caring was gone. He had been replaced with a no caring person at all. At the end Kino, Juana and Coyotito went to go find a better price for the Great Pearl. On their journey, Kino wanted a gun so bad, he stole one from someone and that made his baby die. Kino and Juana went back to their town and threw it out into the sea. They should have done that in the beginning and nothing bad would've happened. The lesson learned was that always put your family first before anything else.

Will the pearl destroy the family?

Juana fears that the pearl may destroy the family. Kino is not going to give up on this pearl and he is basically falling in love with it. He was supposed to fall in love with his family and that he at least has someone to share the Earth with, but he is only thinking about their future. Kino is not thinking about if it gets stolen. What would they do then? What would happen? Family is most important, which I understand why Kino is thinking about the future, but he needs to think about what would happen if it got stolen. Besides thinking about the pearl getting stolen, Juana wants the pearl to no longer be in their lives. She doesn't want any money because the pearl was destroying the family. Although Juana wants the pearl to be gone, Kino doesn't. That will cause a big conflict in the family.

Journal Reflection for The Pearl

The Pearl has been an okay book so far. Sometimes it is boring and sometimes it gets exciting! Besides it being a okay book, the author uses so many descriptive words, that you really get a vivid picture of that scene in your head. He puts in so many details in his writing. Some of the quotes he uses really inspire me and get me thinking about different topics. Although they inspire me a lot, some don’t make sense, but I try to figure it out so I can understand what the author is trying to say. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of vocabulary that I don't know which sometimes confuses me and makes me not understand some parts.