Theme Of Wang In The Good Earth

His moral ambiguity is heavily influenced by outside forces in his life that changes his view upon the world. The most excusable action in the eyes of the readers is when he commits a crime because his family is struggling in the southern city. Other citizens stricken by poverty tell Wang Lung that the riches do not belong to the wealthy, but to the poor. This conflicts with his belief that God determines one’s fate and way in life. Wang Lung goes against his morals and commits robbery because of his influence from others and the situation he was thrust into. This action determines Wang Lung’s wealthy future, but also symbolizes overcoming an obstacle, in this case, overcoming his internal conflict with his morals. The audience begins to notice the shift in Wang Lung’s character which will continue to develop negatively as his values are no longer intact.

The Good Earth is a novel about China before it’s great revolution which ended the monarchy. The book was written by Pearl S. Buck, the first American woman to be so highly honored. This book has many interesting characters from peasants to lords, and many are very extraordinary, yet identical in various ways. In this response I will be comparing and contrasting the two wives of Wang Lung, O-lan and Lotus. There are many separating factors between the two, but there are also multiple similarities: O-lan was hard working and productive while Lotus was constantly idle, one was suitable for a farmer, unlike the other, which was made for a lord; however both wives were replaced by someone more beautiful in the end. First, let us bring out the what

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.

Both worked hard and bought a great amount of land so they could increase their fortune. To manage all that wealth Wang Lung had to be smart and never forget about his traditional values. Wang Lung was held in his wants and desires as he wasted all his family’s savings to buy more land. By this time in the novel Wang Lung was being a terrible example for his kids. He would make terrible decisions economically speaking, which could lead to very complex and bad situations. Speaking about bad situations the famine in the ancient china begun. "Hunger makes thief of any man." ( Page. 122) The quote above makes it clear that becoming a wealthy man didn’t change Wang Lung completely; he still obtained very important values. With those traditional values in mind he could understand that during the famine it was hard to survive and this could lead to various

A strong, intelligent, independent boy is what every traditional Chinese family wants. Unfortunately, Sek-Lung is not such an ideal child. In the novel, The Jade Peony, Sek-Lung is a marginal character. He is rejected by the dominant group, first being made to feel insignificant and second to feel uncomfortably visible.

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

However, their fortune is short-lived when bad omens rise because of Wang Lung’s insolent behavior towards his uncle’s family. Not only is their third child born a daughter, but a drought begins, preventing the land from cultivating and spreading both poverty and starvation through the North.

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.

“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

Soon after, the Hwang family, due to overspending, becomes much poorer. This leads to Wang Lung purchasing their fertile rice fields. Wang Lung endures prosperous times for a long period. Until, O-lan gives birth to a girl, their third child. After the birth of the 3rd child, their land produce little crops. Later, Wang Lung and his family have to leave town and relocate for the oncoming winter. While in the southern town, O-lan and the children beg for food and money. However, Wang Lung makes a living by pushing people on a rickshaw. The family earns barely any money. Wang Lung and a group of other destitute people raid a wealthy house. Wang Lung steals a satchel of gold. Now wealthy, Wang Lung returns home and buys nearly all of the land from the once wealthy Hwang's. Wang Lung hires workers to tend to and care for his land. Wang Lung once again endures prosperous times. Due to a flood, Wang Lung is forced to become much more

The novel begins with O-Lan, Wang Lung 's unattractive first wife, who he married while he was very poor. Wang Lung was looking forward to this marriage because his wife would take over the chore of boiling water in the morning and cooking for his father. A passage in the book stated, "Now father and son could rest. There was a woman coming to the house. Never again would Wang Lung have to rise summer and winter at dawn to light the fire. He could

The fact that Wang Lung is caring about a “slave”, as women were commonly referred to, shows that he deeply cares about his family. Even though Wang Lung loves his land, he cannot let go of his own. Wang Lung wants his sons and daughters to have happy

he author of “The good Earth” shows the readers that nothing can just become a reality through magic but that you have to work hard to make your dreams a reality. The author shows that nothing can just be handed to you easily out in the real world. Wang Lung and his family have to go through a lot of hard times to be able to get the the good ones. Wang Lung and his family's hard work and endless fighting would make them agree with Colin Powell who stated “A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”

In the beginning of the story, Wang Lung traveled to the House of Hwang, a mansion owned by a rich family, to receive the slave he was to marry. He had bought food to celebrate his “marriage” and wanted to keep it hidden from thieves. He was so mentally frantic that “it did not occur to him that all the world might not desire such delicacies as two pounds of pork and six ounces of beef and a small pond fish” (Buck 15). Since Wang Lung had come from the village, he was accustomed to thinking this way. His village was very poor compared to the city, and hence everything was valued much more. Throughout his life, he learned to be frugal with such delicacies, and this is shown when he safeguards the food he had bought. Growing up in the poor village had affected how Wang Lung perceived common luxuries. The idea of the environment affecting choices is also portrayed in the well-known speech made by John F. Kennedy, “We Choose to Go to the Moon”. The goal of this speech was to persuade the Americans to support the national effort of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely. Starting his speech, he says, “We meet at a college known for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength…” (Kennedy). Although it is at a larger scale, this is how their environment portrayed them. The way in which the environment perceived the organization, motivated them to do improve

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.