User:Acmunoz14/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate Wikipedia: Article Evaluation of The Pearl (novel), by John Steinbeck

Evaluation of Content Quality

On first reading the article,The Pearl (novel), by John Steinbeck, I found the article to be exceptionally easy to follow. The layout is simple, and you need only read through the information once or twice to see how thoughtfully the editors have organized the information. I see a brief description of the book and author, when it was first published, and it describes the inspiration and setting for the story. I believe a great book summary should include the basics and not jump directly into abstract arguments or controversies. It should simply say exactly what it is, and allow the reader to investigate other topics further down on the page.

We see an image for the book title, which is very clear and it has a summary describing the cover artist, publisher, languages, ISBN number and the OCLC for library use. This is very helpful for those wanting to find the original book and not a commentary on the book. There is an image of the first title page from the first edition of the book, so collectors will know if they have a first edition. Also, there is a map showing the exact location where the book takes place. The map is beneficial since the article describes that this is used for high school courses, and this book has been used for studies in Spanish reading and composition.

Evaluation of Proper Tone

The summary is not too complicated to understand and it highlights the various conflicts the characters will face in the story. Editors have also included a "Setting" section to describe the origins of the story and includes a smooth progression into other works which have been inspired by this story. The transition into other works shouldn't be the main event of this article, and the editors have done a nice job of informing the reader of other works while keeping other works very low-key. If you wanted to read all about the other articles and topics, you certainly can.

The article is very well formatted with a section including "Themes." I searched another article for The Alchemist (novel), by Paulo Coelho, and there wasn't any description for "Themes" which would have been nice since it's an allegorical story. Themes is imporant if you are particulary interested in the topic of family, the balance of good and evil, and the various paradoxes discussed throughout the story.

Another topic called "Characters" which was missing from the article about The Alchemist, offers editors more areas to contribute and gives another area for readers and researchers to focus their references and side-topics. If there were similar characters mentioned in another book that follows, this would be the place for mentioning the other books.

The topic "Reception and Analysis," seems to be an afterthought. There is a note that the section needs expansion. I see some possible over-reaching ideas that may be biased, and other than the mention that he may have been influenced by Carl Jung, the whole section could be scrapped and added to the next section titled "Influences." There were several songs influenced by The Pearl, and yet there isn't any audio on the link, and an unavailable link to one of the composers. The chance to hear a song inspired by the story sparked my interest, but I wasn't able to hear it, so that seems like a missed opportunity.

Evaluation of Related Sources

The "References" section is expansive and diverse, especially since there are so many various sources to use for such a well known writer's work. Sources are from reputable works or documents, with proper citations and I see that quotations have been properly noted when mentioned. Several of the sources come from critical analyses of Steinbeck's work and all seem to be written or published within the last thirty years.

Relevant Question for Article on Talk Page

This brings me to my question for the Talk page. Could there be more information that is missing from what I'll call "the lost years" between 1947 when the book was originally written, and 1989 when the first reference is dated from the topic "References" on the Wikipedia article?