Lun Essay : The Good Earth, Pearl Buck

Again O-lan proves her work by making a nice little hut. Then throughout the rest of the chapter Wang Lung and his family are getting accustomed to their new life style. Wang Lung is also cheated of his money and only gets

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.

Olan is introduced into the novel when Wang Lung purchases her to become his wife. Olan takes care of Wang Lung and his father. She prepares food for them and does the chores around the house that need to be done. It is obviously shown that “day after day she did one thing after another,

Before Wang Lung got O-Lan as his wife, O-Lan was a slave owned by a big house called the Hwang house. She was bought when she was 10 years old and she worked there until she married Wang Lung. She was a respectful, hardworking women and mother of five children. She really respected her husband even though she gets replaced later on in the book.

Determination is when a person is willing to give up everything to accomplish their goal, or they are so confident in doing something that they never give up. That is one of the reasons I think the theme “Never Give Up” is the best possible theme. In the “Marble Champ” and “The 13th Goldfish,” the plot mostly

“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 and O-lan had a very close connection to their land. He builds this connection to earth of how the earth has done everything for him. And once his life is over he will be part of the earth and he will provide for the next generation.

Firstly for Wang Lung, as farmer, the land is like a supreme being because it controls his wealth. It is what keeps the family from starving and grants them luxuries. The silver he earns is so precious

At first, Wang Lung struggles to take care of him and his father. His father sets an arranged marriage with a slave girl from the House of Hwang named O-Lan, they get along fine. O-Lan doesn’t speak much, but when she

Many times in the novel, the reader sees Wang Lung and his family struggle with the ever-changing weather. The first encounter occurs when the family experiences a drought. The drought leaves their town in shambles and there is little to no food. During this time O-lan is pregnant and gives birth to a girl. She is forced, by their harsh living conditions and the idea of going to the south for food, to kill the newborn. This is a time where the reader has sympathy for Wang Lung. Between his family starving and his wife having to kill the newborn daughter, the reader feels bad for the family. Despite the novel’s setting, many readers can identify some of Wang Lung’s struggles of being a parent. Some other situations that people can relate to or identify with are having bad luck and struggling to connect with others. After Wang Lung and his uncle brawl using words, Wang Lung begins to see crows and many other bad omens begin to occur. Following the argument, a drought transpires and his crops begin to fail. O-lan, who was pregnant at the time, gives birth to Wang Lung's first daughter. While an abounding amount of readers can identify these points of recognition, some cannot empathize with him during this time. His bad luck can be seen, but not too many people have actually gone through a situation like Wang Lung’s. After Wang Lung invites Lotus into his house, he becomes very

This is important to the book because it is what brought Wang Lung and Lotus together.

Wang Lung is proud of O-lan for giving him a son. After Wang Lung and O-lan get married, they start planting crops because it is the way they earn money. Even after O-lan gives birth, she goes out to the fields because she knows they need to earn a living. After the family’s New Year’s day visit to the House of Hwang, Wang Lung goes

The second half of The Good Earth largely contrasts to the first half of the book. Wang Lung now has a large amount of wealth, and has laborers to take care of all of his prior duties on his land. The character Lotus is presented and becomes a large part of the story, being Wang Lung’s concubine. It is sad that Wang Lung gives all of his affection and love to Lotus, as opposed to his wife, O-lan. In Chinese culture, it was normal for wealthy men to buy additional wives for themselves. This culture was the reason that O-lan, although pained by being replaced for Lotus, continued to act as a obedient Chinese wife. Wang Lung does eventually become less interested in Lotus and he returns to work. While O-lan lies sick for months awaiting

Due to the fact that women weren’t viewed as equals during that time period, Wang Lung treats his wife, O-Lan, like a slave more than anything else. Regardless of this fact, O-lan endures the hardships of being a farmer’s wife and living as a poor woman in early 20th century China. That was one of the more important messages that this book was trying to convey. Pearl Buck wrote this book at the tail end of the First-Wave American Feminism movement and O-lan was a strong female character designed to support the idea that women are equals and really should be treated thusly. A prime example of this is when O-Lan is dying and cannot move from her bed, Wang Lung admits that he would sell his land to keep her healthy, even though for the majority of the book he does not treat her well.

Another dictionary defines determination as firmness of purpose (thefreedictionary.com). When one is determined, they are ready for what life throws at them, because no matter how obscure the path may be, they always have a clear view of their final destination. To be determined means to always know