The Good Earth; Importance of the Setting

The Good Earth In the book The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, the setting is very essential, as it is with most all books. The setting shapes the entire book, and it could not have been set in a different time or place and still have had the same effect. Throughout the book there are hardships as well as times of prosperity, but there is no validity that the city is a “bad” place and the country a “good” place, for both good and bad happenings fall upon the people from both places. Without the setting, or with a different setting, the book The Good Earth would be an entirely different story. The Good Earth has a setting that sets the hardships that Northern China faced; drought, flood, famine, cold, heat, and war. The setting also creates character by putting important obstacles in the paths of the characters in the book. How each character deals with these obstacles shows what kind of character they are, and helps to create the plot of the book itself. The themes of the book are also created by the setting. The setting especially effects Wang Lung, for conflicts influenced by the setting proves one of the themes that “the land has control of the life of a farmer”. A different time or setting would completely change the story, and it wouldn’t of had the same effect. Wang Lung’s love for the earth is the main driving force in his life. The only thing Wang Lung loves with consistency is the earth, because the earth is consistent as well. He always returns to the land and yearns for it