Pearl Sydenstricker Buck became famous throughout the world for her second novel, The Good Earth, which basically tackles about the struggles of a peasant farmer in China, 100 to 200 years ago. The said novel narrates how Wang Lung (the main character) and his family rise from poverty to unimaginable wealth. It has many key morals. However, the most important is that money can’t buy happiness. Wang Lung and his family had a good sense of values. They were down-to-earth kind of people, and loved each other and their land. On the other hand, when a Chinese palace was raided, and Wang Lung stumbles across a large amount of gold, the table starts to turn. It all begins with additions to their room, a three-room house rather. Then he starts buying more land and before long, he owns hundreds of acres of land, has hundreds of servants, and lives in a palace. Soon, the wealth spreads discord among the family members. Wang Lung’s children (now grown-ups) start fighting for money and inheritance. Wang Lung falls in love with another woman and pays her to come live with him at his house. Surpassing clashes and sudden twists, tired old Wang Lung returns to the earthen house of his land to die. Material prosperity brings him superficial social satisfaction, but only his land can provide peace and security. Even in his final days he felt troubled, when he overhears his two older sons planning to sell the land as soon as he dies. Thus, the book presents the moving story of the joys and tragedies, and the ups and downs, of the Chinese peasant farmer and his family. The novel’s film version, released in 1937, was seen by over twenty million people around the world. It really deserves to win the Pulitzer Prize and the William Dean Howells medal.
Authored by Pearl S. Buck
The Good Earth takes place in a small earthen brick house in Northern China between 1900’s and 1920’s. Wang Lung is really a poor farmer who has just married O-lan. To support the family, they work extremely hard in the fields under the fiery hot sun. But then, his luck changes. One day, he is swept along by a mob that breaks into a rich man’s house. He suddenly comes face to face with the owner, and when the man offers him money to spare his life, he gets everything the man has. Our main character eventually climbs from poverty to paradise. He also changes from a nice, hardworking man to a man of bad personality. His life becomes miserable after his helpful and diligent spouse, O-lan, dies.
Buck’s novel doesn’t just have a strong, interesting and fascinating plot; it also centers on Chinese literature. Though she is American, her masterpiece gives a better understanding for readers. It gives us an idea of what the Chinese do during weddings, birth of a new child and certain holidays. I strongly recommend it to people interested in Chinese literature and traditions.
The novel’s theme makes me realize being rich is not that important, rather joy and the family around me, supporting what every step I take, are the most important necessities in life.
The characters being referred to in the novel are mostly on the 3rd person omniscient point of view. The main character resembles that of a Chinese farmer, about the decade of ages 20 to 30 years old, probably a long-lived adult. He is an ordinary person caught in events. He is hard-edged and mostly serious with occasional humor, with regards to its sense of humor. He is smarter than most other characters – having an average intelligence. And his physique may include bulging muscles – very athletic. The main adversary is a female at the age about 20 to 30. And Buck could have intended to make her a prostitute. What a terrific character!
The Good Earth is one big hit. A reader like me can give a hundred thousand folds for this award-winning novel. It’s so fabulous, that no reader can defy its inner core. It’s filled with lots of excitement, mistaken love, occasional romance, sudden deaths, and a lot more. The description of Pearl Buck is so exemplary, and it depicts the truth beyond having wealth and continuing the struggles in life with or without love. I can say that it’s an extremely good book and is really worth the time. Fantastic, so read it…
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