"Deep Water"

Everyone has fears. Some are small fears, and some are big. It depends on what it is. In the short story ”Deep Water”, William Douglas is afraid of water, which later he realizes it wasn’t half bad. Then, he was scared of it again, but now he loves it. This short story is truly trying to tell us to face our fears, and if we’re still afraid, then try it again. You’ll be surprised what happens.


Many people try to face their fears. Many people are too afraid to try. And others, like William, do a little of both. By that I mean that they stay away from their fears for years, then they face them. William was so scared, he did stay away from water. This affected his life in many ways. He couldn’t go swimming, or fishing, or do anything that had to do with water, just because he was too scared. Fears can sneak up on you, which can come faster than you think.


For William, he didn’t really fear anything at the moment, but then out of nowhere someone made him drown. After almost dying, after a long, long time of almost dying, he finally realized that water is okay to swim in, and to canoe in. He ended up being a very fast swimmer. Also, he ended up loving water. This can really help people who read this because they could realize how some of their fears can be solved easily.


The short story, ”Deep Water” by William O. Douglas is truly a example about how to face your fears, or helps you face your fears. Also, it could help someone think more about their actions because they might end up injure someone really bad. You can learn many lessons from this story, but the main one is to face your fears and try your hardest to succeed.

the Pearl

What would you do if your baby was dying? You wouldn’t just sit there and let it happen. Wouldn’t you fight for your baby to live? In the story, “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, that’s what the two main characters do (Kino and Juana). Through the book, many tragic things happen. This is why the story is a tragedy. Not an irony, not a romance. A tragedy.


The plot line for tragedy starts with the world in conflict. In the beginning of the book, Coyotito get’s stung by a scorpion. Then there’s rise to power for Kino when he finds the pearl. Next there’s a tragic flaw when none of the pearl dealers wouldn’t buy his pearl because “it was fake”. Now everything starts to fall apart. Kino “accidently” kills a man, beats Juana, and they have to hide otherwise they will be killed. At the end there was death. The baby dies of being shot in the head. The story fits the whole plotline. So, clearly it’s a tragedy.


There wasn’t much symbolism for tragedy, but there was some. Like, usually it was dark or night time when they were outside. Also, in the beginning of the story, a dog went up to Kino and begged for food. Another thing would be that there were very harsh winds when they were walking to the capital. That night when they were in the cave, there was a wolf howling in the distance. There’s one more when Kino saw those guys on horses looking for him and his family. So, I guess there kind of was a lot, but not at the same time. You’re never really sure what the mode of literature books are.


In the story, “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, there are many bad things that happen. It teaches you a lesson of how you shouldn’t be so greedy or superstitious, like Kino and Juana, or bad things might happen. Basically the meaning of this book is to listen to what people have to say and don’t ignore them. They might seem like a bad idea at the time, but at the end you realize you should’ve listened to them. And you’ll realize that you made a big mistake. It’s also just taught the readers a moral lesson. As you can see, this book is truly a tragedy. You can tell by just looking at the plot line, the symbolism, and just using common sense.

The Pearl(reflection) for the whole book

I'm about to cry! Not really but that was so sad. I can't believe those guys actually shot off Coyotiyo's head! I think it's just wrong.I mean people now don't go around trying to kill someone that found a pearl, OR go around killing babies! At the end of the chapter, it was so confusing! The author didn't do a good job giving details because I didn't know if Kino stole the gun or if that guy still had it. So I was so confused because I thought Kino shot the baby in the head, but he didn't. I think that before in the book when Juana said that the pearl was giving them evil, Kino should have listened to her. Look where he ended up.
(My first paragraph is all about the last chapter because that's what I thought we were supposed to to sorry)


The book "The Pearl", is so boring in the beginning! It was one of the worst books I've ever read. But, when I got further in the book, it got better. I'm not saying I loved it, but I thought it was okay. Anyway, one of my favorite parts was probably the part when someone showed up in their house when they were sleeping. I like that part because it was when the book started being good. It confused me, but many things confuse me. Even though I don't think it was my fault I was confused, it was the authors.


I would not recommend this book to anyone because for me it was just irritating and boring. I just really don't like the parts where he explains way to much about things! IT TAKES UP TWO WHOLE PAGES!Which bores me. :)

Journal reflection for the pearl

Chapter 3 was really scary. It kinda made me think that the book became much better and more interesting. It was scary when he was sleeping, but then heard that noise in the corner. I was confused because I didn't know if the thing in the corner was an animal or a person. I was also confused if the blood on the knife was his or the thing that was there. Plus, how did he get cut on his head? Very confusing.
In the beginning of the book, I really didn't like it at all. It was so boring, but it keeps getting a little bit better. Even though it gets me confused. I think the doctor was rude in the beginning, then acted nice so he could get Kino's money which was really wrong. The person that was in there is definitely not him because he would be too lazy to do it.

Journal response for the pearl(chapter3)

The reason why Juana thinks the pearl will tear them apart. It makes sense that she thinks that because it seems like Kino keeps getting more closer to the pearl. By hugging it close to his chest, staring into it every now and then. She thinks someone will steal it and Kino would be crushed. That's why she wanted to crush it. Another possible reason is that maybe she liked everything how it was before, when they idn't have the pearl. She probably just misses having a normal family.