Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth

The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck is about Wang Lung, a homely farmer. Wang Lung finds O-Lan, a servant to the Great House of Hwang. In the beginning, he is not in love with her, he just needs a wife to have many sons with. Despite their differences, they live happily together at first, even though they are poor. Since Wang Lung is a farmer that knows his stuff and O-Lan knows how to save money, cook, and make pots and pans, they then slowly become rich. But when a drought occurs, they board up their small house, grab their two sons and newborn daughter and move South. Later, when things get better, they move back up to the North again, where O-Lan now has twins, a boy and girl.

After O-lan’s twins are born, Wang Lung gets his old farm back and the Great House of Hwang farm land. He becomes a selfish, stingy, greedy, rich man. While that is happening, Wang Lung visits a place called Tea Shop, where he has an affair with a young lady called Lotus.

Lotus finally moves into Wang Lung’s grand house, where slaves, servants and two scholars and a merchant (his

Buck was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia on June 26,1892. Her maiden name is Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker, but when she got married she changed her name to Pearl Sydenstricker Buck. But at the age of 3 months, she and her family moved to China. She had two siblings that survived until adulthood and they are Edgar Sydenstricker and Grace Sydenstricker. When she was in China, she married John Lossing Buck and moved to Suzhou, Anhui Province. The Good Earth is based on Suzhou, Anhui Province. Pearl was also a civil rights activist and a women’s right activist. The Boxer Uprising affected the family, their Chinese friends deserted them, and visitors from the west decreased. Her father stayed behind, while the rest of her family moved to Shanghai for safety.She was a daughter of Chinese missionaries and her Chinese name is Sai Zhenzhu. Pearl died March 6, 1973, age 80, in Danby,