Wang Lung Theme

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

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.

Jin Wang is embarrassed to even be apart of his family by the way he acts and how he represents their culture. He now can see how hard it is to fit in.

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.

I was always hopeful for Li, and felt lucky that my son, out of all other promising students in Qindao, had been chosen to dance for Chairman Mao. Although the luck of the Cunxin family had changed, it was difficult to adjust to life in the commune without Li’s presence as a guiding light, or a helping hand. Having 7 sons while living our

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.

Despite the multiple decisions that Wang Lung chooses to make, the reader still observes that Wang Lung is a human. This makes it possible to understand Wang Lung’s faults are just him being humanly imperfect. Even if Wang Lung had generated more sound resolutions, perfection would still be unattainable by him. A quote from Liza M. Wiemer states, “For whatever it’s worth, I believe we’re born imperfect, and perfection, whatever that may be, is unattainable by us mere humans.” Wang Lung is comparable to all other mere humans in the idea that no one is perfect and all people make mistakes.

When talking to O-lan, Wang Lung implies that she is ugly. He exclaims, “Now anyone looking at you would say you were the wife of a common fellow and never of one who has land which he hires men to plow!” (pg.168) This statement is clearly disrespectful to O-lan and it likely stems from Wang Lung’s wealth. Wang Lung then cheats on O-lan with another woman (Lotus) from the tea shop. The narrator says, “Every day he went to the tea shop; every evening he waited until she would receive him, and every night he went into her” (pg.181). This suggests that Wang Lung now prefers another woman over O-lan. As if he hadn’t done enough damage already, Wang Lung brings Lotus into his house to stay there permanently. He says, “Tell [Lotus] she shall do no work of any kind in my house but she shall wear only silken garments and eat shark’s fins every day” (pg.192). This is very disrespectful to O-lan not only due to the fact that she is his wife, but also because while she is doing housework, Lotus is being treated like a royal guest. It is evinced that Wang Lung’s wealth causes him to disrespect

Lindo’s upbringing was significant because her family was very traditional. As a result of her family abiding by tradition, Lindo was betrothed to Tyan-yu as a young girl. Lindo’s family treated her as if she was from a different family. When Lindo’s family lost everything in a flood, her father decided to move the family to Wushi. Lindo was old enough to move in with Tyan-yu’s family, so her family left her in Taiyuan with her future in-laws. When Lindo moved in with her new in-laws, Huang Taitai immediately put Lindo to work cooking, cleaning, and sewing. Lindo not only lost her family by moving in with the Huangs; she also lost her childhood innocence since she was forced to abandon playing with other children so she could be put to work. As a child, Lindo faced adversity due to her lack of American opportunities and therefore matured quickly.

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.

Lee's chinese immigration and background greatly affected the upbringing of the twins. Lee was a mother like figure to the boys after Cathy left. He took this role by feeding, bathing, and clothing them. When Samuel

Wang is fall between his past and current culture. He is in a struggle to find a place among the American counterparts. However, just like Monkey King, he is also perceived as an outsider, and he does not fit with the American heritage (Yang 21). His place in the community becomes clear when a new student from Taiwan named Wei Chen enrolls in the school and everyone associating him with Wing Wang. It is clear that people know where to place him and the people to associate him with despite his struggle to belong to the American community

All through time, successive generations have rebelled against the values and traditions of their elders. In all countries, including China, new generations have sought to find a different path than that of their past leaders. Traditional values become outdated and are replaced with what the younger society deems as significant. Family concentrates on this very subject. In the novel, three brothers struggle against the outdated Confucian values of their elders. Alike in their dislike of the traditional Confucian system of their grandfather, yet very different in their interactions with him and others, begin to reach beyond the ancient values of Confucianism and strive for a breath of freedom. Their struggles against the old values

Wang remains level-headed and alert in all scenes but other characters subscribe to ideals too strongly and pay the price, all stemming from the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Liu highlights the dangers of subscribing and holding on to an idea too tightly, resulting in a lapse of judgment and definitive consequences.

Another contributor to the conflicts in these relationships is history. Both Lindo and Suyuan had remarkably different childhoods without most the opportunities their daughters have. The circumstances in which they grew up were much different yea their children have a difficult time understanding that.