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.