Examples Of Traditions In The Good Earth

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

The beginning of the story starts with Sek-Lung remembering some moments with her. “Being the youngest, I had spent nearly all my time with her and could not imagine that we would ever be parted.” Sek-Lung making this statement shows his youth and how he did not fully understand the workings of the world. Along with that, it shows the strength of his relationship with his grandmother. Along with his memories of being with her he remembers how he idolized her, always following her example, while his other siblings were embarrassed by her and “in a scientific, logical world”. Instead of being embarrassed along with his siblings, he would always take in his Chinese culture and keep to the traditional Chinese ways.

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

“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

Tradition is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious practice or a social custom)”. The role of tradition plays an important part in Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth as it the characters live their life around the customs. It especially shapes Wang Lung’s life as he followed certain practices, but defied others that he did not feel were so important to him. This influenced the way he related to his father and uncle and it played a part in his daily life. He tried to stick to his family rituals of working on the land, wearing a braid, and respecting his elders. Even though he strayed away from these values as he got older, he mostly found his way back.

The actions Wang Lung takes in the southern city of Kiangsu show how desperation can manipulate anyone’s actions and corrupt their values. In the beginning of the story, Wang Lung has a set of strong morals-- he detests stealing, prizes hard work, and respects his elders. However, due to a famine, Wang Lung and his family are forced to move to Kiangsu. In this great, ostentatious city with “...food spilling out of the markets, ... the streets of the silk shops flying brilliant banners of black and red and orange silk to announce their wares, …[and] rich men clothed in satin and velvet…” (Buck 120), Wang Lung, who comes from a poor farming village, feels like a foreigner.

Quote #1: "He had no articulate thought of anything; there was only this perfect sympathy of movement, of turning this earth of theirs over and over to the sun, this earth which formed their home and fed their bodies and made their gods (36). " The land Wang Lung worked was what he lived off, all the money that he earned was from all his hard-earned work. Constant sweating and labor to keep his farm running, it kept him and his family feed. What is so significant about this quote is that Wang Lung talks about how there was a perfect sympathy of movement showing that he had been doing it for so long that it just because another thing to him.

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’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

Buck highlights a number of ways in which Wang Lung’s sons lose touch with their roots and traditions as a result of having been raised in a privileged environment. Wang Lung’s sons are born into their father’s wealth, an environment where their every wish was granted by the family’s money. The sons are raised differently from their father in many ways, such as rejecting filial piety, and not worshipping the gods Lung had done, or having a deep connection to the Earth. The sons having been born into a comfortable life and never knowing hardship leads to much unhappiness and conflict within the family. The unhappiness of the Wang family at the end of the novel supports a statement by Alexandre Dumas, the author of the Count of Monte Cristo: “Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair

Depending on the mood of the land, Wang Lung's life fluctuates. Namely, when the land is in a good mood, Wang Lung's life is put in great prosperity. The fertile soil gives him great harvest and allows his family to live in comfort. But when the land is in a bad mood, it's an utterly different story. For example, when a great drought falls on Wang Lung's village, "... the fields, although Wang Lung cultivated them desperately, dried and cracked ... when they found nothing coming from the soil or the sky for them, ceased their growing and stood motionless..." (70). This shows that the land controls Wang Lung life because this drought causes Wang Lung and his family to move to the South. In conclusion, the land could make Wang Lung live a resplendent life or half starved. This shows that in the novel, the land is like a supreme being because it affects a man's life so severely that it is much like an immortal

This is easily the most tragic event that happens to Wang Lung throughout the story, and although the sorrow of O-lan’s death grieves him, the one thing that saddens Wang Lung the most is his regrets over his coldness towards his wife due to his affair with Lotus. This is shown in the quote, “And out of his heaviness there stood out strangely but one clear thought and it was a pain to him, and it was this, that he wished he had not taken the two pearls from O-lan that day when she was washing his clothes at the pool, and he would never bear to see Lotus put them in her ears again.” As can be seen in this quote, one thing that greatly pains Wang Lung after his wife’s death, even standing out over his grief over losing her, is his regrets over his cruelty to her. This event in Wang Lung’s life is one that has occured in the lives of people everywhere in the world thoughout the ages, and is relatable to people across the globe.

O-lan and Wang Lung demonstrate to the readers consistent acts of faithfulness, proving their virtues. The couple’s diligence moves them higher in social status, which brings honor to their lives and family. Unlike Lung’s Uncle and Cousin, who’s habitual dishonesty prove their vice and laziness. These characteristics result in dishonor, and the pair’s unfulfilling lives. Rewards in life, come from hard work, slowly and consistently working towards a goal, if there is no work there is no reward. Israelmore Ayivor, the inspirational author, said it best,“Leaders get to tall heights by taking short steps. Being faithful, diligent and consistent with little steps is the secret to mounting greater heights.”

11. Wang Lung went a little money crazy when he was rich. Wang Lung worked very hard for his money alongside O’Lan. When he meets a woman named lotus he wants her to be with him for life, but she has a hefty price. He gives her many things the most important being the two pearl from O’Lan. The two pearls he gives Lotus he regrets giving her greatly when O’Lan dies.

However, the wealth Wang acquired lead to a transition in his values and behaviors. He stopped working on the land, started