My daughter read John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl” for her 7th Grade ELA class, and was assigned to write a talk show script that identified the book’s central conflict. She got a perfect score on the assignment. I thought the work was so good, I decided to share it with you. So, from my guest poster, Cameran: here’s the Cameran’s Camera script.
Me: Hello fans, and welcome to my show! My name is Cameran, and this is Cameran’s Camera!
Me: Today we are doing a special segment on the world’s favorite piece of green paper: money, and how it can make people do the most unbelievable things. The show will be called “When Money Turns Other Types of Issues Green.” Here on the show with me today are various characters from the book The Pearl. Right now, I am going to bring out Kino, and he knows better than anyone how money can ruin your life. So here he is ladies and gentleman, Kino!
Me: Kino! Hi, how are you today?
Kino: Very well, thank you for having me.
Me: No problem, have a seat.
Me: So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? You know better than most people how badly you can screw up your life when money gets involved in the picture don’t you?
Me: Oh c’mon! Tell us the story!
Kino: Umm…Well it all started when my wife and I were fishing on the Gulf, and found the Pearl of the World.
Me: The Pearl of the World? That sounds intense, explain what you mean by that.
Me: You keep talking about this in the past tense, what happened to you and this pearl?
Kino: That thing destroyed my life! It hurt my family, it hurt me, and it killed my baby! In the end, there was nothing left to do except throw it back into the sea where it belonged.
Kino: Don’t be stupid, of course it did not do all of this itself. I became its slave. I did all those things to my family because I was trying to save the pearl so that I could give my family a better life.
Me: Wow, kind of ironic huh? You destroy your family by protecting the thing you think is going to save you, and then you end up just throwing it away in the end.
Kino: I know…and now my own wife will not even talk to me! As soon as we got back to our village, she left me! She said that I needed to know what I wanted before she could consider being with me again. She said that I needed to learn what was important in my life.
Me: If you could speak to her again, what would you say?
Kino: I would apologize for what happened to our son, I would tell her I loved her!
Me: Well today is your lucky day because tonight, I have her here, backstage in the studio, waiting to talk to you. Come on out Juana!
Me: Hello Juana, have a seat!
Juana: This is a waste of my time.
Me: Okay then…Kino, why don’t you say to Juana what you said to me just now.
Juana: Save it, do not waste your breath. There is nothing you can say to me now that will change my decision about leaving you!
Kino: But Juana, I love you!
Juana: How could you?! Why did you do what you did?! How could you!?
Kino: I only did it to save us! I thought that by doing whatever necessary to save the pearl, it would prove to you and to myself that I was worth it, and that we all deserved it!
Juana: But you know that I do not need all the material possessions to make me happy Kino! Why do you not understand that? I loved you Kino, and I still do, but you have always wanted so much more than what is right in front of you…Why couldn’t you just accept what we had?
Kino: We had nothing Juana! We barely had enough for the both of us, let alone…Coyotito…I am a man! And as a man, it is my job to make sure my family has everything!
Me: Wow, this is intense…if you do not mind me asking, why can’t you just go back to the way things were before?
Juana: I cannot just go back to the way things were!!!!!! Do you know what it is like to want to lose so much when all you wanted is a little more??
Me: I know what it is like to want, and not get it…and that is what happened to you guys right?
Me: To slightly alter the topic, I hear that there were some other people involved with the pearl. Is that true?
Me: So I take that as a yes right?
Kino: Sort of. The doctor “cured” Coyotito right after he found out we had the pearl, and said we could repay him when we got the money from it.
Me: That’s funny, because I have the doctor with me right now! Come on out doctor!
Me: Hello doctor, why don’t you take a seat?
Me: You do remember the Pearl of the World right?
Doctor: Of course I do! I was supposed to receive some of the money that was made from it, but Kino still cannot pay me back for my duties.
Kino: I could not sell the pearl, and I could not continue living with the evil it brought to my family and me.
Doctor: Not to worry, it is still the most prized possession in the village.
Me: Still? I thought Kino and Juana disposed of it?
Doctor: They may have thrown it back into the water, but they did not get rid of it. It only took a few weeks for the word to spread that you two were no longer in the possession of the pearl, and it only took a few more weeks after that for me to find where it was.
Juana: How…I do not understand, how could you have found it!?
Doctor: I have already explained this to you, I had my men search for it.
Kino: Why have you brought this to me!? Why have you brought back the evil to us!?
Doctor: I am willing to split the money with you and your family, if you agree to come back to the village and be my personal pearl diver. You and your family would be able to stay in my mansion, and live the very luxurious life that I have. What do you think?
Juana: NO! Absolutely NOT! There is no way I am having anything to do with that pearl Kino! Let him have it, let him live in hell until he gets rid of it, and realizes that no amount of money in the world is worth sacrificing sanity.
Doctor: I think Kino does not fully agree with you Juana, look at him! He is eyeing the pearl the way starving children admire food.
Juana: No, Kino!!!! NO!! This is exactly what I was talking about Kino, you always want more, ALWAYS! You are willing to give up being with me just so you can have a little extra money!
Juana: No Kino, You know that is not possible. It is either the money and the pearl, or me!
Kino: I need my brother! I need him to tell me what to do!
Me: Well you’re in luck, because he is here with us today! Come on out Juan Thomás!
Kino: BOTHER!!! Oh how I miss you!
Me: Hello! Why don’t you have a seat right next to Kino.
Me: If you have been tuning in to our show this past hour, many things have been going on. Now Kino has a decision to make, and he wants you to tell him what to do.
Juan Thomás: Kino, I cannot tell you what to do with your life, for in the end, you are the one making the decision. However, before you leave for wealth and riches, take a look at the people here with you today. Your old friends, old townspeople, fellow pearl divers, they are all here tonight to support you! Is the money worth giving up all of this?
Kino: But I don’t want to give it up! I want to have both! Why can I not have both?
Juan Thomás: Kino, you know that is not possible. The last time you tried to have both, you lost everything. You lost your son, Kino. If there is any reason for you not to go, it should be for him! Don’t do it for Coyotito!
Doctor: Fine! I was offering you wealth and happiness, but if you don’t want it, more for me! Go back to being poor and worthless!
Kino: Doctor, you are mistaken. I am not poor, nor was I ever poor, because I have all the wealth and worth I could ever ask for right here, in my family.
Me: Well that concludes our time for today, so be here next time for our special surprise guest! Bye!
I smile as I leave, knowing that I have just changed someone’s life forever.