Reflection on the Good Earth

Media Analysis-<The Good Earth>

<The Good Earth> is a book written by Pearl S. Buck in 1930's, and it was published in the year of 1931. It was the first book, which gives Americans the first impression of how Chinese spend their time everyday before World War II. It started with Wang Lung's wedding until his death. It has been written through his whole life time which is a tough time from being poor to buy land from landlord until he has became a landlord as well. This book contains history background, politics, truly descriptions of Chinese life in 1930's, and a changing progress of an ordinary farmer to a greedy selfish landlord. As the result, the “ land” is not what a man should always concern or slaved by; moreover, it shows the poor sake of an ordinary man at that time in China.

As I read through this book as my senior year independent study book in high school, it attracted me with its specific description of each character's thoughts in their mind. It was not only a book, which tells readers a story by author, but also a sight from Wang Lung as a first person attitude. When I was reading this book, I did sometimes treat myself as Wang Lung and imagine the surroundings in my mind, and even got stressed when the landlord was asking Wang Lung about the rent gold when he was not able to pay. At the same time, the sentences would drag me out of the imaginary world of Wang Lung; otherwise, to stand out as a reviewer to observe his mental activities and changes. Furthermore, this book combines history, politics, and an appeal to people to start thinking about them as what type of person in society. As Wang Lung's characteristic in the book, he is the man who only cares about “how could I get more land to till”. In the end, because of his abundant land, his sons get jealous about it. They planed to divide his land but not telling him. He was slaved by land, worshiped