The Good Earth Is O-Lan

In the book each of the Poh Poh’s are seen as old and wise but as well as have a deep sense of culture they are the heart of the home. Suk-Lung and Jung-Sum both had a relatively good relationship with their grandmother as they were cared for dearly”Suk-Lung and his illness. The concept of grandmother was seen throughout all three stories demonstrating their importance in Chinese culture as well as the characters lives.

“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.

At first Wang Lung and his family were fine, eating enough to keep them alive, but when he becomes so desperate to return home to his old life you see that his values change. From believing stealing wasn't right to stealing to get what he desired. The stolen jewels O-lan had, was the start of his prosperity in wealth. Slowly and slowly the richer Wang Lung gets, the more you see that he stops caring about his values and beliefs. He used to believe in hard work, doing everything on his own, but when his wealth gives him the possibility of getting people to do it for him, he changes, delegating to others what to do. Wang Lung for awhile becomes this whole other person, he doesn't care how much money he spends, he starts spending money buying things for Lotus his prostitute and even buying expensive clothes for himself. People start regarding him as a rich and important man. He forgets that not long ago he was a common person, who barely had enough money to eat and now with the wealth getting to him he starts to despise them. Enjoying the wealth and power, Wang Lung allows himself to buy land from the House of Hwang because he enjoys that it symbolizes wealth and power. After living most of his life unhappy at seventy years of age Wang Lung realizes that he wants to go back

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

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 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.

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,

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.

The main themes in this novel are family and friendship. For Liang it is the monkey man, for Jung it is Frank Yuen, and for Sekky it is his grandmother. For Chinese-Canadians in the 1930s and 40s, family is more than blood ties, close

This book started with Wang Lung introducing himself and how his life is like. He lived with his father mostly because his father was really sick and Wang Lung had to take care of him. His father was a traditional and moral man. He did not approve many things that went on in the house. Later on, he went to the house of the Huang’s and got a slave to be his wife. Her name was O-Lan. O-Lan was a slave and she was treated really terribly most of her life, even when she married Wang Lung. Together they had 5 children: three boys and two girls, each with very different characteristics.

Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart and Wang Lung from The Good Earth have many similarities and differences between them. They both have similar morals. They believed in working hard and did not believe in being lazy. They both have gone through times of hardship. Wang had worked hard to provide for his family and so did Okonkwo.

But this interval does not last long. In the early part of the story, when Wang Lung is penniless, he is content. His needs are all met by the earth that he lives close to. He is humble, honest, and loves to work his land. The first years of his life with O-lan are simple and primarily untroubled.

To begin with a cliché, good versus evil has always, and will always, exist in the world and it bleeds into literature. From Iago’s jealousy ruining lives in Othello to Hannibal Lector eating his victims, authors craft horrible characters to highlight the evil lurking in the world. Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, from first glance, follows the plight of Yeong-hye when horrible nightmares persuade her to adopt a vegan mindset and reject her family’s norms. Yeong-hye’s family sees her change as a disgrace, which only makes the woman’s discomfort amplify. Yet, mere pages into the novel, it becomes evident that the book only appears to focus on her. Throughout the entire novel, the woman shares little of what is on her mind, favoring a silent life

“Lotus for his toy and his pleasure and to satisfy his delight in beauty and in smallness and in the joy of her pure sex, and O-lan for his woman of work and the mother who has borne his sons and who kept his house and fed him and his father and his children” (pg.230). There are two very distinctive types of women in this novel. There is Lotus who lavishly enters into Wang Lung’s life, upon men’s shoulders in very elegant garb. Lotus is mainly present to give Wang Lung satisfaction, in his mind the satisfaction O-lan never gave him, and there is O-lan, a loving mother and hardworking wife who does not retrieve the correct gratification needed. O-lan is constantly being compared to Lotus, but it does not discourage her.

Turns into a stout, greedy man who pursues a life of complete idleness and luxury, being only interested in the facade of the rich life.