The Good Earth Essay~

The Good Earth written by Pearl Buck was written during a time of cruelty and unfairness. Families were nothing like they are now--men were practically only used for managing their fields and land that they owned, and for having enough money to buy food and put it on the table at supper. On the other hand, women were only used for producing sons that would grow up to become young men to over look their father's field when the father had passed. Wang’s life changes very greatly in this book and even though Wang might not notice it he changes as well.

"It was Wang Lung's marriage day" (pg. 1) He had not known what his life was to become after he married his new wife. It was his day to go the city and pick up this new part of his life from the House of Hwang-- the richest house in the city. Before he gone to pick up his wife he grew up as a farmer living in the country growing many great harvest. They were not wealthy but had enough money for things that were important to them. Wang had his money saved up for his wedding day for a very long time and now he was able to use it. When Wang had gone into town he felt that he had power with the money that he had brought with him to the city. While he was there he spent much more than usual. "He went to the market, then and bought two pounds of pork… then hesitating he bought also six ounces of beef.” (pg. 11) But Wang knew that it was worth it know that this was start if his new life. After Wang had made it through the entire city to the House of Hwang he was almost afraid or embarrassed to walk in with the few things in his hand—but he had to do it if he was going to really continue his life. So Wang did—he walked into the gates of the House of Hwang not knowing what to expect. When he was in and saw the Great Mistress she had know by his looks that he was there for the servant; the one that he was going to be getting married to. The mistress said only a few things to Wang; she had said “you see, she has a strong body and the square cheeks of her kind. She will work well for you in the field…she is not beautiful… [And] she had not beauty enough to tempt my sons and grandsons…” (Pg. 18) Knowing this, Wang expected that she would practically be “property” to him, property named O-lan, to give him sons and help in the kitchen and in the fields.

After his marriage feast and a celebration he was back to living his normal life just with another person in his household. O-lan only did as she was told and nothing else… She still did just as she did in the House of Hwang but more. She still cooked and clean for Wang, his father, and herself, but now in her new life as well she worked in the fields with Wang Lung just as the Old Mistress told him she would. She worked day and night with him until it was time for dinner when she would go in and prepared it. Then one day she while she was in the fields with Wang she told him “I am with child” (pg. 30) Wang Lung was shocked, and ecstatic all at the same time, he didn’t know what to say to him it was like she had just said… “I have brought you tea, or we can eat. I seemed as ordinary as that to her!” (pg. 30) During the time that she was with child, she still worked in the fields until the day of when she had to lay her hoe down and go in, but when Wang Lung had told her to get someone from the village or even the Great House to help all she said was “No… when I return to that house it will be with my son in my arms…” (pg. 33) So he did as he was told, he waited outside the room until her heard soft baby cries. He then found out that she had just given him a son that would grow up to be a great boy to over look his fields when he was old and couldn’t get over to his fields anymore. From that day on Wang knew that she would be good enough to give him sons and many of them.

After that point, after O-Lan birthed children for Wang, she became nothing more than a slave. The day after the child was born she was up to her usual routine again, except she did not go into the fields, but still did everything in the kitchen and house. Their life, as before, continued on as it had been just with another extra person in their house. That is how O-lan and Wang’s life continued for a long time, never even talking. Just work all the time through many years! Then the nightmare that had always worried Wang was when the drought happened. There started to become many people around the city hungry and starving. People had started to get angry, there started to be “gangs” of robbers coming into the city killing people, and stealing food and anything that they could find. Wang could not stand this; he knew something had to be done. So he packed up the family and told them “we are going to catch the fire wagon and ride to the south.” (Pg. 91) They did so… they caught the wagon and made tit there much faster than if they would have walked, especially in the drought.

As they arrived in the south their life changed again, but this time, much more dramatically than the last. In the south it was almost as if there were rules; you could only live in the gates if you had money and lots of it. Then there were the people who were just like Wang Lung used to be—farmers who made just enough money to feed their families and sell there harvests’ at the market every week. Lastly were the people that Wang and his family had just become… poorest of the village, and known as the “beggars”. When Wang had gotten to the city he had gotten information that he was to build a house of mats along the great wall, that way the “beggars” will get money—from the wealthier. So “Wang Lung observed the huts and began to shape his own mats” (pg. 97) They soon had another place to live although this time not as nice. The moment after they all got situated in their little house they were all sent to the curb starting this new part of their life except Wang Lung; he was sent to the city to see if there were any jobs available there and sure enough there was—a rickshaw puller. His job was to pull people around the city and get money for doing so. On his first day he didn’t know anything except that in the south they called people like Wang “country bumpkins” and what he was to do for his job. He had no clue that people who knew that someone was from the farm or “outside” paid lower than if they were paying someone from their own city. Wang went through a whole day of carrying around people up, down an across the town and ended up with a lot of money for him; but he didn’t know that he was to pay for the rented rickshaw and that people ripped him off so really in the end he had just enough money so that his entire family could get a bowl of rice each from the free rice shop. That is how their life continued the entire time that Wang’s family lived in the south. Begging everyday, pulling people around the city, and getting food from the free rice shop almost everyday. Wang’s life has already changed greatly from him living in his nice village and then having to move to the south, the thing he doesn’t’ realize it that his life is still going to change and by change I mean dramatically.

Wang Lung and his family lived their lives like that for a long time. The same routine everyday—get up, beg, eat rice, go to bed, and do the same thing the next morning. Then they made a plan to rob the great house, and they did exactly as they planned. They robbed it and had gotten enough money to go back to their small village when they found out that everything there was all better. When they got home Wang had soon found out that while in the great house O-lan had gotten pearls, jewels, and gold’s. He asked how she had gotten those and she had answered…” I saw a loosened brick in the wall and I slipped there carelessly so no other soul could see and demand a share. I pulled the brick away, caught the shining, and put them into my sleeve.” (pg. 148) Wang Lung did not understand how a person who used to be so poor knew about the loosened brick and he asked her and again she only answered with a few sentences… “[Wang asked] how did you know… she answered…The rich are always afraid… I saw robbers in a bad year once… [People] ran hither and thither... Therefore I knew the meaning of a loosened brick.” (pg. 148) Wang was in shock that she actually knew that and to top it off remembering that, but this is when his life started to change. Now with the money that he had stolen and the pearls and gems that he had he felt that he had had the most money in the entire land when he found out that many in the House of Hwang were dying or they were getting poorer everyday. He went back to ignoring O-lan even when she constantly said “my vitals are on fire.” He started going to town almost everyday, he got workers to man his fields, he bought new clothes and he even started seeing another woman named Lotus. This continued for a long time until he finally decided to remodel his house and made Lotus his second wife and let her move into their house with them. O-lan didn’t speak to her, Lotus didn’t speak to O-lan—really no one ever talked in that house. Wang felt so rich that he didn’t speak to anyone nor cared for anyone else anymore except for his new wife Lotus. He was a man soon known around the city; he had bought land that was on the House of Hwang’s property, and he even made his house look like a small mansion.

He started thinking that life was supposed to go all around him and nobody else. Everything that he did was for him. He married almost all of his kids off on purpose—so he could have peace. Again something he did just for himself. He gave his uncles son money to go off to the war so that maybe he would be killed and he wouldn’t have to pay attention to him anymore. One day when his life was just so great—to him—he decided that he was going to buy the great House of Hwang. He was going to live a luxurious life there—he bought slave, gave each of his sons and their families their own courts and gave O-lan and Lotus their own courts as well. Although Wang did not get one thing that he wanted, he could only rent his part of the house, the other part not as wealthy people rented; they all lived in the same area. When Wang walked past them and even his kids walked past them the stuck their noses to the sky and acted as though they were disgusted with what those people were. Wang’s family didn’t respect anyone less wealthy as them. Wang did not notice something very important that had changed. He used to be those people; he may not remember it but he was, he was even poorer than some of the people who lived in the outer courts. He used to beg just to keep his family and himself alive and he doesn’t even remember and the sad part is that he taught his children to be disgusted with them as well and they were that too. Wang’s entire life has changes for the worse. The sad part of this all was that this was exactly how the Hwang’s started to fall apart; their family started to fall apart because they spent too much money just like Wang’s family was starting to do and they didn’t even know that this was happening to them.

Wang Lung changed greatly throughout the novel The Good Earth by Pearl Buck, but not in good way. He changed for the worse. He was a man who was always selfless and never thought about himself but for others around him and mostly his land, and now he has become some one that no one ever wants to become—a man of selfishness. Many people change for many different reasons but this was some thing that was changed for a bad reason.