FORMALISM APPROACH ON THE NOVEL ​THE GOOD EARTH

A TERM PAPER ON WESTERN LITERATURE

Submitted to: Ph. D, Maria Rita C. Tuban

HADJIRAYYA A. BANGASIN

2018
INTRODUCTION

The novel ​The Good Earth takes place in China. After the overthrow of the Ching Dynasty of the

Manchus in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen and other dedicated intellectuals who envisioned a united and

democratic nation, developments did not go quite as well as the leaders has hoped.

Since China is one of the largest nations on earth, it is natural that its people are not necessarily

homogenous. Even though they are basically of the same race and write the same language,

there are at least a hundred spoken dialects, which means that a person from a certain

province may not easily understand what a person from another province is saying. However,

an educated person could read Chinese, be it written by a person from the extreme South or a

person from the extreme North, even though these two people would not understand each

other’s speech. As wang Lung notes in Chapter 12, “​But Anhwei is not Kiangsu. In Anhwei,

where Wang Lung was born, the language is slow and deep and it wells from the throat. But in

the Kiangsu city where they now lived, the people spoke in syllables which splintered from their

lips and from the ends of their tongues.”

By the late 1920s, the period which most resembles the period of this book, China was torn by

civil strife from Canton to Peking, from the India border to the Amur River on the border of

Russia. The lot of the Chinese peasant was not very good. Most of them were tenant farmers,

working the land for the rich landowners, who may have owned thousands of acres. But here

and there were small, independent farmers working their own plots, as does Wang Lung at the
beginning of the novel. These farmers were constantly at the prey of marauding bandits such as

Wang Lung’s uncle and the “red beards.”

The Author

Pearl S. Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. In 1930, she published her

first novel, ​East Wing​, ​West Wind​. Her next novel ​The Good Earth​, earned her a Pulitzer Prize in

1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American female Nobel laureate. Concurrent with her

writing career, she started the Pearl S. Buck’s Foundation, a humanitarian organization. She

died on March 6, 1973, in Danby, Vermont.

Summary

The Good Earth ​opens with Wang Lung, a poor Chinese farmer, making the preparations for his

wedding day. To mark the momentous change in his life, he bathes for the first time since the

New Year, dresses in his best clothes and buys extra food at the market. He goes to the House

of Hwang, where his new wife has worked as a slave, to collect her. Although his new wife,

O-lan, is not beautiful, and her feet have not been bound, he is pleased that she has neither

pockmarks nor a split lip. Back at his modest house he host a wedding feast, and she impresses

him with her cooking skills, making a meal more delicious that Wang has ever tasted.

Wang’s marriage brings good fortune. O-lan’s arrival restores order and comfort to the house;

she works hard in the fields and soon gives birth to a son. Wang’s crops are plentiful, and when

the New Year arrives, O-lan and Wang take their son to the Great House (The House of Hwang),

where 0-lan presents her healthy son to her former mistress. Because of their good fortune,
Wang has enough silver to buy lang from the Great House, which has fallen on hard times. For

several more years, Wang and O-lan thrive. O-lan brings a second son and a daughter into the

world, and Wang continues to by land from the increasingly decadent House of Hwang.

Their Luck turns, however, with the beginning of a severe drought. Starvation drives them to

desperate measures and set the villagers at each other’s throats. Finally Wang and his family

head south for the city, where there is the promise of food, using the last of their money to buy

railroad passage.

Life in the city brings little improvement – but at least there is food. Wang, his wife, his father,

and their three children live in a shack and buy their meals for pennies in the great public

kitchens of the city. Wang pulls a rickshaw, and O-lan and her children beg for money. Wang

dreams constantly of returning to the land. Finally a war breaks out in the city, the wealthy

families flee, and by breaks out in the city, the wealthy families flee, and by stealing from the

rich, Wang and O-lan are able to return to their land and rebuild their farm.

The family’s fortunes improve and more children are born. Despite a flood that submerges his

field, Wang’s financial power increases. He grows restless and dissatisfied with his wife and falls

under the spell of a woman called Lotus Flower, who becomes his concubine. But Lotus Flower

does not bring him happiness, and Wang is plagued by turmoil in his household. Both O-lan and

his father dies, and his sons lack interest in the rural empire he has built. In the end, it is clear

that his obsession with the land will not outlive him, and all he has worked to build will

disappear after his death.

Characters
Wang Lung - The protagonist of The Good Earth. He begins life as a poor farmer and marries

O-lan, a slave owned by the Hwang family. Wang Lung maintains a fierce attachment to the

land. However, he is also extremely ambitious and envies the material success of the wealthy

Hwangs. He is increasingly drawn to the Hwangs’ decadent lifestyle, and in the end, his piety

and love of the land is only partially successful in helping him maintain his good character and

moral standing.

O-lan - Wang Lung's wife. Previously, she had served for ten years as a servant in the House of

Hwang, as a kitchen slave. She is plain, which causes her much shame and hurt throughout her

life. Her feet are large and thus considered unattractive. However, despite these superficial

flaws, O-lan has a rich inner life and continually exhibits resourcefulness, practicality, loyalty

and patience. She embodies the giving qualities of the earth. She is also primarily responsible

for Wang Lung's wealth, a fact that he never fully acknowledges.

Wang Lung’s father – An infirm old man who wants nothing more than to have a cup of hot

water in the morning and the grandsons to warm his heart, Wang Lung’s father has few

responsibilities. He refuses to beg in the great city, and he does not help in the farm work. He

greatly disapprove of his son’s having taken a concubine.

Wang Lung's uncle - The epitome of greed, Wang Lung's uncle parasitically lives off of his

hard-working brother and nephew. He often asks Wang Lung for money, and when his nephew

gets rich he moves his family into Wang Lung's house. He causes Wang Lung much grief, inciting

a mob to raid his farm at the beginning of the novel. At the same time, he keeps Wang Lung

"safe" since he is one of the heads of an infamous band of robbers, the Red Beards. These
criminals leave Wang Lung alone because of his presence in the house. To end his mischief,

Wang Lung turns his uncle into an opium addict.

The wife of Wang Lung’s uncle – The opposite of O-lan, Wang Lung’s aunt possesses no

domestic skills and allows her children to run wild. She helps arrange for Lotus Flower to move

into Wang Lung’s house. Like her husband, she succumbs to opium.

The son of Wang Lung’s uncle​ - A wasteful, disrespectful scoundrel, and a sexual predator.

Lotus – Dainty and withholding, Lotus Flower works as a prostitute in a teahouse, where she

casts a spell over Wang Lung. Later she becomes his much-spoiled concubine..

Wang Lung’s first son (Nun Eng) - Extravagant, arrogant, and obsessed with appearances, Wang

Lung’s first son grows up spoiled and rejects the values that made his father rich.

Wang Lung’s second son (Nun Weng) - Crafty, enterprising, and miserly, Wang Lung’s second

son is more responsible than the first son, but he also rejects his father’s traditional values as

outmoded.

The wife of Wang Lung’s first son - The daughter of a local grain merchant, Liu. She grew up in

a wealthy family, so she urges her husband to spend money on luxury items; she is spoiled and

reckless. Like many women from wealthy families, she has bound feet.

The wife of Wang Lung’s second son - The daughter of a modest landowning village family. She

becomes enemies with the wife of Wang Lung’s first son.

Wang Lung’s third son - The twin of Wang Lung’s second daughter. He dreams of glory and

becomes a soldier against his father’s wishes.

Wang Lung’s first daughter (Poor Fool) - Suffers from severe malnutrition as an infant during a

famine year. She is retarded and never learns to speak. Wang Lung develops a strong

attachment to her and worries about what will become of her after his death.

Wang Lung’s second daughter - The twin of Wang Lung’s third son. After Wang Lung begins to

criticize O-lan’s appearance cruelly, especially her big feet, O-lan decides to bind the little girl’s

feet. Wang Lung promises her in marriage to Liu’s son.

Cuckoo - A slave who worked in the House of Hwang at the same time as O-lan. Cuckoo was

beautiful in her youth, so the Old Master took her as his concubine while O-lan worked as a

kitchen slave. Arrogant and bad-tempered, she insulted and berated O-lan constantly.

Ching - Wang Lung’s neighbor in the village and, later, Wang Lung’s capable, faithful, valued

servant.

Pear Blossom – A young girl whom Wang Lung buys as a slave to wait on Lotus Flower. She

becomes his concubine at the end of the novel because she prefers the quiet devotion of old

men to the fiery passions of young men.

Liu​ - A grain merchant in town and a relative of Wang Lung’s by marriage.

Old Mistress Hwang​ - The opium-addicted matriarch of the great Hwang family.

Old Master Hwang - The patriarch of the great Hwang family when Wang Lung is a poor farmer.

He spends money extravagantly and drains his coffers by taking a succession of concubines.

THEMES
The Importance of Land

“​Rice grew on earth as weed grow where they are not wanted.” (pg. 58) The simile shows how

the land was providing more than enough. Moreover, the importance of land is one of the

strong recurring themes of the novel. It shows the relationship of land and life. Throughout the

novel, a connection to the land is associated with moral piety, good sense, respect for nature,

and a strong work ethic, while alienation from the land is associated with decadence and

corruption. Buck’s novel situates this universal theme within the context of traditional Chinese

culture. Wang Lung, a farmer, has an intimate relationship with the earth because he produces

his harvest through his own labor. In contrast, the local Hwang family is estranged from the

earth because their wealth and harvests are produced by hired labor.

Wealth as a Destroyer of Traditional Values

The basic narrative form of The Good Earth has an upward route: as Wang Lung’s fortunes rise,

he becomes more decadent and more similar to the amoral Hwang family, whose fall parallels

his own rise. It is the wealth of the Hwangs that enables them to loosen their ties to the land,

hire laborers and spend their own days in idleness and leisure. In this climate, vice takes root

and thrives, as the Old Master becomes obsessed with wickedness and the Old Mistress

becomes addicted to opium. As Wang Lung becomes wealthier, he too is able to hire laborers,

and he becomes obsessed with women such as Lotus. He begins to fund his uncle’s opium

addiction, and at last he buys the house of the Hwangs and moves into it. As Wang Lung’s

children grow older, it becomes clear that being raised in the lap of luxury has severely worn
their own sense of duty to their father, their respect for the land, and the religious observances

on which Wang Lung and his father base their lives.

The Importance of Persistent Patience

In the book, Wang Lung is forced to leave his home when a drought hits northern China. In

southern China, his life is very different and all he wants to do is go back to his land. However,

he can’t do that because he lacks the resources, so he must have patience with his new life.

Another examples of this patience is Wang Lung’s uncle. ​“He was weeping violently and his

anger went out of him as suddenly as a wind.” (pg. 87) Wang lung had to endure his uncle’s

mistakes and misdemeanors with persistent patience or his uncle and his band of robbers

would come kill Wang Lung. Lastly, the patience showed by O-lan when Wang Lung treats her

like a mere slave after Lotus moves in to the house. Wang Lung did not hear any comments

from O-lan instead she goes on with her life, caring the children, serving her husband until her

last breath.

Women’s inferiority towards men in Chinese Culture

“She was, after all, only a woman.” (pg. 29) this quote suggests the idea of how women are

being treated unequally. Primarily through the character of O-lan, Buck explores the position of

women in traditional Chinese culture, focusing on the hardships and limitations faced by

women, from abuse in childhood to servitude in adulthood. In addition, women only had places

in the house, as seen on page 214: “So these two women took their place in his house: Lotus for

his toy and his pleasure….and O-lan for his woman of work.” Moreover, when O-lan gives birth
to her third child, a girl, saying “It is only slave this time, not worth mentioning.” (pg. 65) This

line clearly shows that women are considered bad luck and a mere slaves.

CONFLICT

There are four conflicts present in the story: Man vs. Environment, Man vs. Society, Man vs.

Man and Man vs. Himself.

Man vs. Environment

This conflict happened during the drought and famine. It can be seen on page 68​, “It was true

that all their lives depended on the earth.”

Man vs. Society

Throughout the novel, there are signs of rebellion against Chinese society and culture. As seen

on page 115, ​“And later when they were fully men….the scattered anger of their youth settled

into a revolt too deep for mere words.”

Man vs. Man

This conflict is mainly between Wang Lung and his uncle. Mostly this conflict arise when his

uncle makes unannounced random visits only when Wang Lung was wealthy. (pg. 187) “​They

have small fights, but nothing huge.”

Man vs. Himself

During the famine, Wang Lung debates with himself whether or not he should sell his daughter.

“​Wang Lung knows his family needs the money for food and to get back to the land, but he also
doesn’t want to subject his mentally disabled daughter to a life of Abuse as O-lan described.”

(pg. 119, 127-129)

After his daughter says that Wang Lung doesn’t love her mother, Wang Lung is at war with

himself if he loves her or not. This conflict increases when O-lan was on her deathbed and even

after O-lan’s death.

SYMBOLS

The House of Hwang

The House of Hwang is a symbol of wealth, extravagance, decadence, and downfall throughout

the novel, a constant reminder of wealth’s corrosive effect on morality and long-term success.

As the site of the Old Mistress’s opium addiction, the Old Master’s whoring, and the young

lords’ abuse of slaves, the house is a palpable sign of disconnection from the land and of

narcissistic self-absorption. When Wang Lung buys the House of Hwang after O-lan’s death, the

transaction is a grim symbol of his own family’s fall from grace, represented by his children’s

decision to sell his land and live in splendor in the Hwangs’ house.

O-lan’s Pearls

The pearls, which O-lan steals in the revolt in Chapter 14 and which Wang Lung allows O-lan to

keep, are an important symbol of the love and respect Wang Lung affords his wife. Though

O-lan does not say so, it is clear that she treasures the pearls as proof of her husband’s regard

for her. When Wang Lung takes the pearls away from her and gives them to the prostitute

Lotus, it is as though he is taking away his love and respect. O-lan is inwardly devastated, and
the incident symbolizes the extent to which wealth and idleness have corrupted the once

admirable Wang Lung.

Lotus feet

Lotus feet symbolizes many things to the Chinese men. To Wang Lung, it symbolizes, among

other things, the aristocratic society from which he was excluded. In the novel, when Wang

Lung first sees O-lan, he immediately notes that her feet are not bound; later, he has O-lan bind

his daughter’s feet.

Concubine

As depicted in the novel, having a concubine symbolizes the social status of a person. For Wang

Lung, it serves as his pride for obtaining concubines because only those who are in the higher

ranks are able to obtain one.

LEIT MOTIF

Land/Earth- ​As Wang Lung said, “Land is one’s flesh and blood.” Wang lung, the central

character of the novel, feels a deep respect for the earth. His house is made of earth and even

his gods before whom he places incense are also made of earth. Thus he gains his food, his

shelter, and his religion from the Earth.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

​ r ​like.​
Simile- ​comparison of two unlike things using the words ​as o
In Chapter 28, Lotus asks for a delicate little girl as a servant because another one is too coarse,

she ​“smells like goat’s meat.” When Wang Lung’s grandson was born, Wang Lung is delighted

and tells the servant that he has been sitting “​like a man with his own first son coming.”

Another is in chapter 29. Wang Lung’s old servant Ching “​grew old and withered and lean as a

weed.” When Wang Lung takes his hand it was “​as light and dry and small as a withered oak

leaf.”

In addition to the similes, Wang Lung tells his son about being wasteful. In the lines, ​“Why are

you so wasteful? Tea is like eating silver.” (pg. 4) This quote elaborates on how everything that

comes from the earth is especial. It is a tradition in China to save every last drop.

Personification- ​The attribution of human qualities to inanimate things.

The most recurring personification in the novel is the title itself, ​The Good Earth​. It personifies a

human quality which is “good” and it serves as the carrier of sustenance and the giver of life.

Buck continues this use of personification with the weather as she writes the “​the winter wore

away as spring came with blustering winds and torn clouds of rain” as spring arrives for Wang

Lung to walk over his beloved land. Further, Buck employs personification again as “​the spring

grew into summer.”

Another personification present in the novel is when winter came, ​“Wang Lung’s rice lay dead

ripe for gathering into sheaves.” (pg.56) Buck uses death to personify how the rice crops were

destroyed which gives a sense of struggle in Wang’s life.

Later in the novel, Buck uses another personification when Wang Lung’s nephew tells Wang

Lung that he will go off to the war in the North, ​“Wang Lung’s heart leaped with pleasure.”
Metaphor​- An unstated comparison.

“​Land is one’s flesh and blood.”​ This metaphor emphasizes the importance of land in the novel.

Later in the novel, when Wang Lung’s nephew move into Wang Lung’s house, Wang Lung’s son

despise him and calls him “​a lustful dog.” In this phrase, Wang Lung’s nephew is describe as a

lustful dog because the way he looks at women is like a lustful dog ready to attack anytime.

Hyperbole- ​Exaggeration of language.

When Wang Lung heard the news that he was going to have a child, “​his heart swelled and

stopped as though it met a sudden confines.” This exaggeration shows how happy and excited

Wang Lung was to have a child.

“If you sell the land, it is the end.” ​(pg. 357) This quote emphasizes the importance of the land

and shows just how important it is and how it can make or break a family.

HISTORICAL ALLUSION

Foot Binding

The Chinese custom of binding a young girl's feet plays an important role in The Good Earth.

When Wang Lung first sees O-lan, he immediately notes that her feet are not bound; later, he

has O-lan bind his daughter's feet. He becomes disgusted with O-lan's feet and is attracted to

Lotus partly because of her bound feet. The practice of foot-binding symbolized many things to
the Chinese man. To Wang Lung, it symbolizes, among other things, the aristocratic society

from which he was excluded.

There are many stories concerning the origin of this custom, and perhaps part of each story has

some element of truth. Most authorities claim that the practice started during the T'ang

dynasty (618-907 A.D.). One of the earliest stories asserts that bound feet originally came from

the practice of wearing bow-shoes, which were small shoes with upturned toes and were worn

by royal dancers in the royal court. A poet-king (Li Yu) thought fancifully that the dancers would

dance more gracefully if their feet were bound in cloth. Consequently, he made his favorite

dancer dance with her feet bound in cloth, which was then decorated with pearls and precious

stones so as to resemble lotus flowers. The poet-king then wrote verses about the beauty of

the dancer's feet, calling them "little golden lotus flowers" or, sometimes, "little golden lilies."

Thus because of the beautiful verses written by the king, binding of the feet became a popular

and fashionable thing throughout the kingdom. "Lotus" was often another name for bound feet

and, thus, Wang Lung's concubine is appropriately named "Lotus."

Another story concerns another king in the T'ang dynasty. This king's concubine decided to

have her feet bound in order to make herself more desirable in the king's eyes. The king was so

pleased with her attempts to please him and with the beauty of her small feet that the other

ladies of the court soon followed the concubine's example in order to please the king.
A third story involves an empress (Tak-ki) during the Shang dynasty. She had club feet and was

very ashamed of them and was also jealous of the other women in the court. Consequently, she

forced all other women to bind their feet so that they too would become deformed.

A final story deals with political power. An emperor had trouble keeping his wife out of political

matters. To keep her from interfering in matters of state, he had her feet and the feet of her

followers bound so that she was forced to remain in her quarters. This final story conforms with

the Chinese male's suppression of his woman. Because the woman could walk only a very short

distance, she was confined primarily to her household. It would therefore be a disgrace for a

woman to show her face beyond the doors of her home. Of course, with her feet bound, the

woman was quite content to remain at home because, in addition to the pain of walking on

them, she could not balance herself for a long period of time; consequently, she had no desire

to do anything that would take an extra amount of energy.

All of the above stories have one thing in common — each deals with royalty. Thus it is safe to

assume that the practice actually did start with someone of royal blood. The practice can then

be related to royalty, sophistication, and social prestige. To do what the king did would elevate

the average Chinese man's estimate of himself.

The binding of feet, if done properly, was started when the girl was five or six years old. The

feet were bound by yards of cloth that would not stretch. To start the process, the foot was

extended at the ankle, and the fleshy part of the heel was pushed down and forward under the

foot. The foot was then carefully wound up with the material. The tight binding primarily cut

the circulation, and this retarded the growth of the foot. It is easy to see that the toes would
become bent under the pressure and would not spread out to their normal width. The binding

would force the foot to become narrow and tapering. After a while, the toes would stay curled

under, even when the bandages were removed for cleaning and changing.

In Wang Lung's case, it was a mere indulgence to have a woman with bound feet. She was

almost useless; she could not work in the fields or carry heavy loads, as O-lan did. She was kept

as a "toy" to show other men that the master of the house could feed a mouth that did not

work for its pay. The possession of Lotus by Wang Lung causes the villagers to respect him

more. It shows that he is rich enough to afford his pleasures; he does not worry where his next

meal is coming from.

Thus as Wang Lung becomes wealthier, foot-binding takes on more significance to him. Even

though he noted on their first meeting that O-lan had big feet, yet during the years of work, this

fact did not bother him. When he has more money and leisure, however, he looks at O-lan, and

"she was altogether hideous, but the most hideous of all were her big feet in their loose cotton

cloth shoes." Now that he has money, Wang Lung begins to realize that something is lacking in

his life. It is then that he discovers the concubine Lotus, and his attraction for her is based, in

part, on her small feet.

When Wang Lung moves Lotus into his house and builds her own separate court, she never

goes out. One reason for this is simply that she cannot walk very far on her bound feet. She is

kept like a toy or a pet, one who is expected to serve no other function than being a sex object.

Wang Lung's change in attitude is also shown in his view of his daughter. He makes O-lan bind

the girl's feet so that they can enable her to find a good husband. Thus even Wang Lung,
basically a mere farmer, represents the Chinese's long tradition of considering small feet to be

associated with elegance and royalty.

Concubinage

In the novel, possessing a concubine is introduced to the readers by the house of Hwang in

which master Hwang, the head of the family had a concubine named Cuckoo and later in the

novel, Wang Lung possessed 2 concubines named Lotus and Pear Blossom. This idea of

concubinage dates back to at least the time of Confucius (551-478 B.C.), who was the father of

the religion of ancestor worship and who emphasized in his teachings the importance of male

descendants. Consequently, if the wife did not bear male descendants, the man must look to

other sources or else violate one of the concepts of Confucianism. Later Confucian scholars

expressed the desirability of marrying a wife for her virtues and then taking a concubine for her

beauty. Because of the practice of the family’s arranging marriages (Wang Lung’s father

arranges for Wang Lung’s marriage) and because the Chinese man could not see his bride until

the wedding day, the later possession of a concubine was a common practice. If his wife

happened to be beautiful, the man could congratulate himself, but if this were not the case,

then he could turn elsewhere.

In most households, there were two types or kinds of concubines. The first was acquired

through legal formalities and occupied a position from responsibility. The second type was

purchased from a tea house, as was Lotus Flower. In either case, as with Wang Lung, the

possession of concubine was a sign that a man had wealth and enough money to devote
himself to some of the finer refinements and joys of life. Thus the possession of concubine

brought Wang Lung prestige and respect.

In conclusion, a wife was expected to bear male children while the concubine was expected

only to please her master.