The Good Earth Core Values
The Good Earth was a fictional novel written about a poor Chinese farmer called Wang Lung. Despite the book being fiction it reflects 3 core values of Chinese society which include harmony, Confucianism, and a patriarchal society. These core values are described throughout the book and play a significant part in how the plot unfolds throughout the entire book.
One core value shown in the book is Harmony. The Chinese as a people based almost every aspect of their life around harmony. It is included in their religion Doaism, their culture, and their regard to nature. The most prime example of harmony in the book is Wang Lung transformation from a poor farmer to a rich landowner with multiple houses, wives, and workers. There is no specific page number for this though if one had to be chosen I would choose page #140 where Wang Lung takes the land. This shows harmony even in the plot of the book where he had everything taken from him by the famine and know luck as brought him enough money to go back to his land and rebuild his life. …show more content…
A second core value shown is Confucianism.
We see this clearly on page #62 where Wang Lung must hold his tongue from speaking against his Uncle because he is older than he, also he is forced to give his uncle money, on page #63, even though he knows it will be wasted on things like gambling and he knows his uncle is lying to him. On page #89 we get a strong sense of father and son bonds, where Wang Lung carries his father on his back. Even the fact that Wang Lung’s father lives with them is from the Confucian virtue which says a son must respect his father. Also the fact that he gives money to his greedy uncle can be derived from the values of
Confucius.
The third value we see portrayed in The Good Earth is a Patriarchal society. This is also seen throughout the book with Wang Lung’s constant talking down to O-Lan. This is specifically seen on page #169 where he becomes unhappy with O-Lan’s appearance now that he can afford it. He repeatedly insults her and then becomes angrier at her because he feels bad about what he said. Here we see that men can do almost anything to women. Another example of the Patriarchal society is on page #155 where he almost refuses to do business with a woman when he goes to buy more land. And the fact that she was a slave only makes matters worse. And lastly throughout the whole book he calls his retarded daughter “poor little fool,” even before he knew she was retarded. This is specifically seen on page #161.
In conclusion the 3 core values of Chinese society that are reflected in The Good Earth are Harmony which is seen in Wang Lung’s transformation from a poor farmer to a rich landowner, Confucianism which is seen in how Wang Lung treats his Uncle and Father, and a patriarchal household which is seen by how Wang lung looks down on the Women in his house and Women in general.
One core value shown in the book is Harmony. The Chinese as a people based almost every aspect of their life around harmony. It is included in their religion Doaism, their culture, and their regard to nature. The most prime example of harmony in the book is Wang Lung transformation from a poor farmer to a rich landowner with multiple houses, wives, and workers. There is no specific page number for this though if one had to be chosen I would choose page #140 where Wang Lung takes the land. This shows harmony even in the plot of the book where he had everything taken from him by the famine and know luck as brought him enough money to go back to his land and rebuild his life. …show more content…
A second core value shown is Confucianism.
We see this clearly on page #62 where Wang Lung must hold his tongue from speaking against his Uncle because he is older than he, also he is forced to give his uncle money, on page #63, even though he knows it will be wasted on things like gambling and he knows his uncle is lying to him. On page #89 we get a strong sense of father and son bonds, where Wang Lung carries his father on his back. Even the fact that Wang Lung’s father lives with them is from the Confucian virtue which says a son must respect his father. Also the fact that he gives money to his greedy uncle can be derived from the values of
Confucius.
The third value we see portrayed in The Good Earth is a Patriarchal society. This is also seen throughout the book with Wang Lung’s constant talking down to O-Lan. This is specifically seen on page #169 where he becomes unhappy with O-Lan’s appearance now that he can afford it. He repeatedly insults her and then becomes angrier at her because he feels bad about what he said. Here we see that men can do almost anything to women. Another example of the Patriarchal society is on page #155 where he almost refuses to do business with a woman when he goes to buy more land. And the fact that she was a slave only makes matters worse. And lastly throughout the whole book he calls his retarded daughter “poor little fool,” even before he knew she was retarded. This is specifically seen on page #161.
In conclusion the 3 core values of Chinese society that are reflected in The Good Earth are Harmony which is seen in Wang Lung’s transformation from a poor farmer to a rich landowner, Confucianism which is seen in how Wang Lung treats his Uncle and Father, and a patriarchal household which is seen by how Wang lung looks down on the Women in his house and Women in general.