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.