Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth

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Perspectives of Wealth in Pearl S. Buck's “The Good Earth”
Every person has their own definition of success. While many people think of money as success, people living with traditional values have their own perspective of prosperity. In Pearl S. Buck’s “The Good Earth”, a farmer undergoes difficult times as he becomes someone he is not. One character is Wang Lung who is initially described as innocent, humble, and “poor” (Buck 14). As he alienates himself from his initial environment, he appears to develop into a character completely opposite of what he was.
Scholars Rochmat Budi Santosa and Richard Jean So show how much Wang Lung cherishes his land. So describes Wang Lung’s upbringing as being devoted to the land (101). He reminds the reader …show more content…

Unlike his uncle who enjoys gambling, Wang Lung thinks land is an essence of life (Santosa 128). Although technology and modernization has impacted a country like China, Wang Lung differs and he would rather physically work and live off the land (Santosa 120). When considering China as a “homogenous” society, Wang Lung’s travel to the south allows him to realize his own place in society and that there is much more than “the people of black hair and black eyes” (So 100). So interprets that when Wang Lung meets the “white woman”, it serves as the modern existence of “racial, class, and social differences” and realizes his own place in society (100). Santosa states that Wang Lung doesn’t feel a sense of belonging in the southern city, and would get more land than earn money (130). However, when returning to the land Wang Lung’s character changes and ironically becomes someone he originally was not (Santosa 131). Wang Lung questions his wife’s beauty, becomes materialistic and possessive over his lands (Santosa 134). Spencer states when he “embraces wealth and materialism he loses his moral bearings” (129). From being perceived as a poor farmer, Wang Lung is “literally able to boss his former boss” (Spencer 129). The land has become his own meaning of wealth and negatively impacts his well-being (Santosa

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