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The Scorpion
Passed down through three generations, the canoe symbolizes for Kino the tradition and culture of his ancestors. Its importance to him demonstrates how much Kino values both his ancestry and the ability to provide for his family.
Kino’s Canoe Quotes in The Pearl
The The Pearl quotes below all refer to the symbol of Kino’s Canoe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
Every year Kino refinished his canoe with the hard shell-like plaster by the secret method that had also come to him from his father. Now he came to the canoe and touched the bow tenderly as he always did.
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Chapter 5
Quotes
The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal.
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Kino’s Canoe Symbol Timeline in The Pearl
The timeline below shows where the symbol Kino’s Canoe appears in The Pearl. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Kino and Juana walk to the beach, in the direction of their canoe. Kino had inherited the canoe from his father, who inherited it from his own father....
(full context)
Kino and Juana take off in the canoe, and look down at the oyster bed, which, it’s suggested, funded the power and wars...
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Kino reaches the water’s surface and places that final oyster at the bottom of the canoe. Both Kino and Juana try not to get too attached or dwell on Kino’s apparent...
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Chapter 5
...Juana to get Coyotito from the house while he brings the corn and prepares the canoe. But as he approaches the boat, he sees that someone has damaged it with a...
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...the pearl contains a devil and that it must be gotten rid of. Without house, canoe, or a virtuous track record, Kino despairs, and begs that Juan allow them to hide...
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Chapter 6
They reach the Gulf shore, not looking towards the ruined canoe, and Kino lays down the rifle and takes out the pearl, offering it to Juana....
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