The document provides a summary of John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl". It describes that the book is about a poor family living in Mexico in 1947. The family's son gets stung by a scorpion and they cannot afford the doctor's care, but then the father finds a large pearl that brings them wealth. However, others in the community become greedy and threaten the family, so they ultimately escape. The document also gives background on the author, setting, main characters, and includes sections on scorpions and pearls.