Even in His Rise to Power, Wang Lung Respected and Loved the Earth

“Now if the water had receded...Wang Lung would never have gone again to the great tea shop.”. “[He] might have forgotten the pointed face on the scroll.” (Buck 176) The waters not receding lead Wang to lust, this idleness lead to lust, and his lust lead to trouble at his home. The biggest problem, however, that Wang Lung contends with comes in chapter 13 when they have to live in the south. “Not food enough to feed savage hunger and not cloths enough to cover bone.”. “Wang Lung lived in the foundations of poverty.” (Buck 113). This was his biggest challenge because no food, no clothes, and horrible poverty as he had not previously known. In conclusion Wang Lung has faced dire hardships, but none compare to his time in the

The historical classic, “The Good Earth”, revolves around the life of Wang Lung, introducing the average Chinese farmer on his wedding day to the slave O-lan. Together, the newly married couple care for Wang Lung’s father and farm the land, prospering from the fruits of their labor. Their early life continues to bring great fortune when they are able to purchase land from the House of Hwang, who O-lan served, and when their first two children are born sons.

The earth is the foundation of the house, providing the family with shelter. From the earth, Wang Lung grows crops, such as rice, wheat and corn. Not only do these crops feed the Wang family, but Lung can sell them in the market to obtain money. With this money, Lung can buy other necessities, such as fabric for clothing. As time goes on, the earth continues to produce abundant amounts of crops, leading to Lung’s growth in wealth. Just like the earth, O-lan continually provides for the family. She does all of the cooking and cleaning in the house, even when severely ill. She goes above what is necessary and works in the fields with Lung to help cultivate and harvest crops. She bears many children, three of which are sons, for Wang Lung and cares for them all. The Wang family is reliant on what the earth supplies and O-lan’s actions to provide so their needs are

Wang Lung from “The Good Earth” and Okonkwo from “Things Fall Apart” are both very similar characters. They both have a similar story and beliefs, yet they are quite different in regards to how their stories play out and how they value their beliefs in the end. This paper will look at both of the characters traits and stories to examine how they compare and contrast and how it affect them.

When we are introduced to Wang Lung in the beginning of the novel, he owns an average sized amount of land already in his possession, the same land that his father had farmed in his own time. However, as he becomes more successful later in his life, the farmer begins to purchase more land from the House of Hwang and from other farmers in his area. In comparison to others, Wang Lung considers his land to have rich soil and be perfect for farming, a prime example presented when he contrasts his own land to his uncle’s, which he describes to have “soil like lime” (Page 52) because of his uncle’s careless farming techniques. With his great wealth, Wang Lung is able to hire workers to tend to his land when he is in his old age, and to rent his land

“The Good Earth” book describes the life of a Chinese farmer, Wang Lung, and the struggles he goes through during his life. In the beginning of the book, he marries a young slave named Olan. She is a devoted, selfless, hardworking wife. In my mind, she is the most admirable character in the novel.

In Pearl S. Buck’s novel, The Good Earth, the protagonist, Wang Lung, starts out as a very poor farmer in China. He marries a slave named O-lan and starts a family with her. Famine soon strikes the town and there is no food to be found anywhere. Wang Lung moves his family South in hopes of finding a job there. Eventually, a group of poor people raid the homes of the rich. Wang Lung and O-lan both join in, getting away with enough gold and valuables to get back to their land in the North. Wang Lung uses this stolen money to buy more land and hire laborers. He quickly becomes one of the richest men in his town. Wang Lung, however, does not know that with great wealth comes great responsibility. His wealth corrupts him and his moral judgements become blurred. Wang

In The Good Earth, main character Wang Lung is bound to his uncle because of filial piety. Wang Lung’s uncle is a lazy and imposed upon Wang Lung and his family throughout the novel, continuously using Wang Lung’s duty of filial piety to silence him. This passage from the novel sums up Wang Lung’s experience with his uncle. Wang Lung's Uncle began at this time to become the trouble which Wang Lung had surmised from the beginning that he might be. This uncle was the younger brother of Wang Lung's father, and by all the claims of relationship he might depend upon Wang Lung if he had not enough for himself and his family” (59). As his father’s brother, and his elder, Wang Lung must respect his uncle and listen to his wishes. Wang Lung’s obligation to respect the older generation leads to his uncle continuously exploiting him, in his poverty and his wealth. Wang Lung’s uncle is

“Now Wang Lung had chosen a good place in his fields under a date tree upon a hill to set the graves, and Ching had the graves dug and ready and a wall of earth made about the graves, and there was space within the walls for the body of Wang Lung and for each of his sons and their wives, and there was space for sons' sons, also. This land Wang Lung did not begrudge, even though it was high land and good for wheat, because it was a sign of the establishment of his family upon their own land. Dead and alive they would rest upon their own land” (267). Again the novel compares the earth to human life. Very much like the seasons the lives of humans are always cyclical. After the death of O-Lan and Ching there will be another set of people in Wang Lung’s family and this will go on for generations much like the seasons of the

Wang Lung’s close bond with Earth comes out in this quote because he is saying how if they sell the land the family will become corrupt and they will lose everything. The land has done too much for them and you can’t just get rid of it. He continuously tells them that it will end their

To combat landlordism, he employed various strategies such as heavy taxation on the largest landowners of Jiang-nan (Brook, p. 79). However, these attempts were not enough to undermine the gentry’s landholding power (Brook, p. 79). With his late-Ming perspective, Zhang Tao would later write, “the rich get richer and the poor, poorer” (Brook, p. 79). This reflection would further gain relevance and legitimacy as the Ming dynasty advanced.

“Well, and I suppose that means you do not want to work on the land and I shall not have a son on my own land, and I with sons and to spare.’ This he said with bitterness, but the boy said nothing” This conversation between him and his son made him finally realize that they wouldn’t carry on their father’s great values, and that is because during the time he was rich he left some traditions behind. Wang lung valued his land and above all he had faith in his gods once again. Traditional values were forgotten by the result of wealthy living, the kids not caring about the farmlands and not understanding the earth gods prove that wealth destroyed ancient traditions.

The mist in opening scene and overall color tone of grey suggests that Wang is paddling into a world of dullness. With his houseboat- his only sanctuary- Wang travels around to make a living by performing Bianlian in return of donation from people who appreciate his art on the street. Desperation and poverty are not only accompanying people in the slave market but also Wang: his wife left him after the death of his son; his only companion is not a human but a monkey. Master Liang’s confession that “ we all have our own sorrows” reflects the folk artists fate of twists and turns and bitterness. During one performance, Wang is intimidated and oppressed by soldiers, but he can only chant woefully “The dragon in the shallows is toyed with by the shrimp”. Many proverbs like this in the film convey to audiences his hardship and helplessness. Government corruption is also disclosed in the movie when Wang is falsely charged of all kidnap cases and imprisoned. In his quest for an heir, Wang visits Buddhist temple to pray and buys a Buddha to worship in the hope that it may gift him a son. All Wang’s spiritual sustenance is on the Buddha body. This showed Wang’s inner weakness and helplessness towards his own destiny.

In our course book, Van Gogh was the father of expression. He expressed, “Painting things not as they are but as they feel.” (Lewis & Lewis, p. 391). I found in observing the many painting he made. Van Gogh was a very tortured soul. I was not impressed by the dark colored paintings. They were telling me he was a depressed, troubled man and made me feel depressed. The Vincent Van Gogh painting I have chosen is an oil canvas he made in Arles, France: June 1888. Van Gogh called it “Fishing Boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries. (Van Gogh Gallery, 2015). I felt by looking at this painting it was different from the others. The fishing boats on the beach seemed to be clearer and detailed to my eyes. The colors he used seemed to be on an even and bright

Before analyzing the status of girls and women in ancient China, we need to understand the fundamental principles of morality that dominated in the society in that time period.