The Good Earth ~ch 17

Pg 166

"... And he carried a blue kerchief flled with fresh eggs and these eggs he gave to the old teacher when he arrived... 'Sir, here are my two worthless sons. If anythingcan be driven into their thick brass skulls, it is only by eating them, and therfore if you wish to pelase me, beat them to make them learn.'"

OLan had cleverly taken some jewels from the rich man's house before coming back to her home land with Wang Leng. All of a sudden, after the poor life he had been living, Wang Lung became a rich man, and along with the riches, came fear. It was the fear that somebody will find out about the jewels he has in his house and will kill O Lan and himself to steal those jewels. Wang Leng's life style changed drastically with the wealth that he suddenly held. He owned so much land that he had to hire other men to help him work in his fields. He had the money to hire men to work his fields, so he did not permit O Lan to come work with him. O Lan bought cloth and made new clothes for each family member, including the newly arrived twins. Wang Leng also bought some pigs and foul for his farm and enlarged his house for his family and the workers. Wang Leng now no longer works the earth as much, being held busy with the marketing of his products. One day he learns that his illiteracy is a very big pull back for him, and decides to send his oldest son to school. Being farm boys, both sons are extremely excited about going to school and are eager to get started. Page 166 shows a lot of the culture in that area, with the school and the teacher. Wang Leng feels a new pride- the pride of being a father of two sons who are attending school. He compares his sons to the other students in the classroom and boasts (to himself) that "among all the lads in the room, there were none equal to his two lads for tallness and robustness and bright brown faces." Parents of students believe that a teacher is a good teacher if he beats his students. One surprising fact that is revealed in this page is that Wang Leng's sons did not have names. They were simply called "Older" and "Younger." After attending school, the teacher gives them new names, "Nung En" and "Nung Wen." (The word Nung signifies one whose wealth is from the earth.) Wang Leng's life seems to be going good, with his two oldest sons in school and land enough to produce grain that is more than enough for food. This leads the reader to think that some unlucky happening will take place soon.

The Good Earth ~ch 15

Pg 124

"They talked, these men, always and forever of money... every day the talk ended with this: 'And if I had the gold that he has and the silver in my hand that he wears every day in his girdle and if I had the pearls his concubines wear and the rubies his wife wears...' And listening to all these things they would do if they had these things, Wang Lung heard only of how much they would eat and sleep, and of what dainties they would eat that they had never yet tasted, and of how they would gamble in this great tea shop and in that, and of what pretty women they would buy for their lust, and above all, how none would ever work again, even as the rich man behind the wall never worked. Then Wang Lung cried out suddenly, ' If I had the gold and the silver and the jewels, I would buy land with it, good land, and I would bring forth harvests from the land!' At this they united in turning on him and in rebuking him..."

Wang Lung and his family traveled south in order to avoid starvation and found that the people in this region are very different from themselves. Wang Lung is willing to work. He is eager to get back to his land so that he could work. His entire purpose for working and begging to raise money in this place is in order to travel back north, buy an ox, some seeds, and other necessities for farming so that he could work on his own land again. However, on the other hand, the men who are living with the rich people and beg them for money are very much similar to them. They have the same desires, just not the money. These men believe that to be rich means that you do not have to work. They think that anyone who works is in a lower class than those who don't. In their dreams, working is not even an option. Both sides think the other is a fool for wanting to spend the money on such things, and that they are "more worthy to have the riches" (pg 124).

This shows the cultural and background differences between the two people from two regions, in the same country. It describes the dissimilarities between the factors that motivate the men to beg on the dirty streets and to haul those heavy carts, doing the jobs that are meant for the lowly.

The Good Earth ~ch 12

Pg 68

"It was true that all their lives depended upon the earth."

This book is about a hard working man named Wang Lung, a farmer in China. The story begins on his wedding day. The writer introduces the book by first introducing the reader to some Chinese culture. Similar to the book Things Fall Apart, the author paints the reader's mind with chinese colors through the life of the main character which in this case, is a farmer. To farmers, the earth/ soil is extremely important to their lives. It controls a farmer's life. Wang Lung who once had a stash of silver has now left his home to travel south to avoid starvation. His family has become beggars, all due to the dry earth.

In this book I really admire O Lan. Her life before marrying Wang Lung has not been revealed yet, but she was a slave at a wealthy house when she got married. O Lan is currently no more than twenty years old. Although the author does not directly mention what she has lived through, the character of O Lan shows that through her experiences, she has matured into a very selfless, dedicated, and strong woman. She is able to stay completely calm under confusion and she never shows frustration nor complaint. In the setting of this book, woman are very looked down upon. They have very little rights, especially in O Lan's case, a slave. The man is the strong, head of the household and the male over female belief. However, the author shows in several sections of the first twelve chapters that O Lan is in some ways, stronger than Wang Lung. For example, every time she gives birth to every child (so far three times), she does it all alone in her room, refusing anyone's presence. Also, in page 87, when Wang Lung is shrieking and weeping at the three men who have come to buy his land, O Lan comes and talks to the three men with "some calmness in her voice which carried more strength tahn all Wang Lung's anger..."

I am interested to find out how this story of Wang Lung's life will end.