Pearl Bucks The Good Earth - Book Report/Review Example

Review of Pearl Buck’s ‘The Good Earth’ Pearl buck in her book ‘The Good Earth’ captures the story of a young man, Wang Lung, who struggles through hard labour on his farm in some remote area in China to make ends meet. Land has high value and just as depicted by Wang and how he is attached to his farm, traditional people used to feel a sense of belonging if they owned land and many generations have farmed and left. Buck writes that, “the earth lay rich and dark and fell apart lightly under the points of their hoes. Sometimes they turned up a bit of brick, a splinter of wood. It was nothing. Sometimes, in some age, bodies of men and women had been buried there; houses had stood there, had fallen, and gone back to the earth. So would also their house, some time, return to the earth, their bodies also. Each had his turn at this land. They worked on, moving together --- together --- producing the fruit of this earth --- speechless in their movement together” (30). The story revolves around Wang, portrayed as a multifaceted man who enjoys an excellent relationship with his family members, that is his father, wife and children. He has also established good connections and affiliations with the villagers. Buck brings out Wang as a man so determined to achieve in life, who puts more value on land, and just like any peasant, it is what he is worth. The setting of the story is in ancient Chinese times where Buck vividly captures the injustices peasants had to go through in their endeavors to make ends meet. Traditionally, a man used to marry or get a wife so that she could bear children and cook for him. This is evident in the story as the narrative starts with Wang, a young man in search of a woman to fulfil those traditional requirements. Set in the era when slavery was still popular, Wang meets O-lan, a slave from a wealthy household whom he could then marry. They led a traditional life in line with traditional ways enjoying their marriage, although each had their reason for being in that union. Wang is grateful just as any other man would be, in that he sees a potential woman in O-lan. A woman who can raise a family with him, and fulfill the domestic needs of the family. Traditionally, society did not regard women highly. So is the case with Wang, who considers his wife as a slave who is supposed to meet his demands without any question. Women were meant to be submissive, and it was the trend all over. O-lan is not different as she portrays the character an obedient traditional woman, and considers her husband to be kind. The kind of life she leads is at least better compared to when she was a slave and that is the reason she contends with what she is getting. O-lan gives birth to five children in Wang's name, and they work very hard on their farm. The realities surrounding traditional marriage life in China were very unpleasant and unethical. They portrayed a woman as a possession of a man that he could use in any way, and their work was mainly procreation and serving household requirements. Buck writes of O-lan that, “she was like a faithful, speechless serving maid, which is only a serving maid and nothing more and it was not to meet that he should say to her, ‘why do you not speak?’ it should be enough that she fulfilled her duties” (29). Women were seen to be submissive and acted as slaves to their authoritarian husbands. Boys were highly regarded and giving birth to one was a noble thing. There were stereotypes concerning birth of girls as they were treated as objects. In times of difficulties, girls used to be sold as slaves, and the trend was not only in China, but was something evident even in other traditional societies. Some even went to extremities of giving out their young girls to be married so that they could receive wealth. The girl child has been oppressed for a long time, and there has been a lot of injustices against her; for this reason, the present fight for gender balance is justified. The author brings out the admirable life that these folks live, but then she is sympathetic to the conditions the women find themselves in. O-lan’s husband shows some unexpected tendency of liberalism, but tradition is still rooted in him as he cannot openly show love or care for his wife. Buck portrays women as individuals who are strong willed and hardworking and who can make any sacrifices for their families. O-lan works hard to improve Wang's life although she gets no appreciation. He shows her cruelty when she gets pregnant with their second child as he selfishly thinks that it will keep her from working in the fields. O-lan defies logic, and she is seen to work even up to the time she gives birth and after. Patience and perseverance are virtues that women are gifted with, and O-lan holds to them through torrid moments that she goes through mother and wife though. She knows her roles and makes hard decisions, for instance smothering her infant daughter during the height of the famine, due to a limited possibility of adequate care. Women experience a lot of pain, but most of the time, they keep it to themselves, and they do not show anger. On their wedding night, O-lan flinches away from Wang suggesting that she got abused in the house of Hwang as a slave. She undergoes a lot of pain and suffering, but she is brave and has the courage to be strong and firm. Generational difference brings out the different sides of Wang and his oldest son on how both view life challenges. The father may be thirsty of acquiring wealth and respectability in society, while the son wants to study and become a scholar and live splendidly. Wang’s upbringing in poor conditions could be the driving factor behind his obsession, and he uses every penny he has to acquire land, because he attaches more value to it. He even sells his wife's jewelry to invest it in the land. His son's generation is one where things have changed, and education is the primary factor to success. New generations are detached from their families as Wang's son is portrayed as someone who does not care, unlike his father. In Wang's time, the filial love to parents was deep in that Wang cared for his father even after he migrated to the south during the famine. This is seen from the fact that he went with him. Life is so dynamic that conditions seem to change from time to time. As Buck describes, after the famine the Wang family went through a lot and the strength of character may be down to them coming out the difficult situations they faced. They became destitute to a point of being beggars in the town. Wang could have sold their land to cater for the needs of his family, but his sturdy character could not permit. He attaches so much value to the property and in the end, he smiles as there is a boom in the economy. In the second part of Buck’s book, China is experiencing a cycle of prosperity, and Wang returns to his land from the south. He becomes a wealthy land owner that he at some stage wished he could become. His sons start to assert themselves as individuals, and they waiver away from tradition, something that Wang used to be scared of. O-lan's life has a miserable ending since although she has dedicated her entire life to ensure Wang becomes successful, she dies of cancer without Wang's love. Pearl shows how life can sometimes disappoint us, even if we work so hard to give our best. Wang's family disintegrates and they become distant from the land and the value it once stood for. Among Wang's four sons, only one could commit to farming with the youngest becoming a soldier and the first and second born not seeing the value of land as they are determined to sell it. Sometimes people do not have to work so hard without knowing that all has to pass someday. The author concludes with a touching sympathetic note "then Wang Lung was humbled and anxious, and he was submissive and he was sorry......." every race indeed has an ending. Works Cited Buck, Pearl. The Good Earth. New York: Washington Square Press, Oprah's Book Club edition, 2004. Print. Read More