Literature Help: The Good Earth

By Students' Academy

The story presents the life of a family in a Chinese village before the First World War. Even today, the book remains a steady favorite.

It is noticeable that “The Good Earth” once again made it to the bestseller list in the year 2004. The list was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Book Club.

The book had its political influence on the Americans to prepare themselves in the 1930s considering the Chinese as their allies in their war against Japan.

The book was also adapted for stage in the same year of its publication. The stage version was produced by the Theatre Guild. However, the play was not very well received by the critics. The play ran only 56 shows.

Literature Help: The Good Earth
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Aug 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311654373

Students' Academy

Easy study guides for the students of English literature.

Book preview

Literature Help: The Good Earth

Students' Academy

Copyright

Literature Help: The Good Earth

Students' Academy

Copyright@2014 Students' Academy

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Chapter One: Introduction

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck was first published in 1931. The novel won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in the year 1932.

It was very well received by both readers and critics. The book was the bestseller in 1931 and 1932 in the United States.

Eventually, Buck won the coveted Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. It is often said that The Good Earth was an influential factor in Buck’s winning the Prize.

The Good Earth is the first book in a trilogy written by Buck. The other two books in that trilogy are Son and A House Divided, published in 1932 and 1935 respectively.

The story presents the life of a family in a Chinese village before the First World War. Even today, the book remains a steady favorite.

It is noticeable that The Good Earth once again made it to the bestseller list in the year 2004. The list was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Book Club.

The book had its political influence on the Americans to prepare themselves in the 1930s considering the Chinese as their allies in their war against Japan.

The book was also adapted for stage in the same year of its publication. The stage version was produced by the Theatre Guild. However, the play was not very well received by the critics. The play ran only 56 shows.

In the year 1937, a film named The Good Earth was made and it was based on the stage version of the novel. The film proved to be highly successful.

It is said that some Chinese critics did not like the portrayal of China in The Good Earth.

The book is very popular in academic circles and it has also been included in the curriculum of literature at several schools and colleges around the world.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

As the novel opens we are introduced to Wang Lung. It is his wedding day. The story follows his rise and fall of fortunes.

There is a very wealthy family of landowners called The House of Hwang living in the nearby town. It transpires that Wang Lung’s future wife, O-Lan, lives there as a slave.

On one hand the fortune of the House of Hwang begins to decline slowly. The use of opium, frequent spending, and uncontrolled borrowing etc. are some of the reasons for the decline of their fortune. On the other hand, Wang Lung and his hard working skilled wife keep on earning money and slowly accumulate enough to buy land from the Hwang family.

Wang Lung and O-Lan have three sons and three daughters. Their first daughter is mentally retarded. It had happened because of malnutrition which was caused by a severe famine one year.

Wang Lung pities her and calls her ‘Poor Fool.’ Throughout her life this name remains with her.

O-Lan kills her second daughter because in those hard times she does not want her daughter to grow up in poverty and malnourishment. She wants to give the other members of the family a better chance to survive.

When the famine strikes the village, Wang Lung and his wife and their children flee to a large city. They hope to find work in that city in the South of the country.

Wang Lung has an evil uncle. The uncle offers to buy his land and his possessions. The money he tries to give is significantly less than the value of the goods and land.

Except for the land and the house, Wang sells everything. They begin their journey south. He is worried because he does not believe that