The overriding theme of the novel, “The Good Earth”, by Pearl S. Buck, is the nourishing power of the land. The book takes place during the early 1900s in China. The main character, Wang Lung who starts out as a poor farmer, has an intimate relationship with the earth because he produces his harvest through his own labor. Wang Lung and his wife O-lan have many children and together cultivate a bountiful and profitable harvest from their land. Wang Lung’s relationship with the earth is exhibited through his religious devotion to the earth, he is unhappy when separated from it, and the restorative qualities that the land provides when Wang returns to it.
The harvest’s beginning and end is compared to birth and death. As the seasons change, great families come and go, and fortunes rise and fall. Wang Lung's family, who works hard and loves the land, is entering its springtime, while the Hwang family, who is materialistic and extravagant, is entering its autumn, and nothing......
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Approximate Word Count: 1099
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |