1. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1931)
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2. About the author – Pearl S. Buck
Buck was born in West Virginia, but spent much of her childhood in China with her parents, who did missionary work there
After college in America, Buck married and moved to China
Buck and her husband lived in Suzhou, Anhui Province, a small town on the Huai River

3. About the author – Pearl S. Buck
These years spent in Suzhou, a poor and rural area, served as the basis for the impoverished area and lifestyle described in The Good Earth
Tried to create a faithful representation of the Chinese people
Realism: the attempt to portray life as it is

4. Setting China, late 1890s/early 1900s
1st and 3rd parts of the book are set in small, rural areas
Middle part of the book is set in large city – very “worldly”
Hostility toward Westerners and Western customs

5. Chinese customs/traditions
The color red
Foot-binding
Women and their families took pride in small, perfectly shaped feet
Appealing to men for “beauty” and the sociological symbol and restrictions this put on women
Religious practices/spirit world
Luck, karma
Family structure
Culture biased towards male children

6. Main characters
Wang Lung – protagonist, a poor farmer living alone with his father
O-Lan – Wang Lung’s wife (former servant in the House of Hwang)
Wang Lung’s relatives: father, uncle, cousin
Children

7. Essential Questions How should we treat our families?
Is productive work a component of happiness?
What are the repercussions of
excessive greed?
How do the values and traditions of the past conflict with modern values?
What role does the earth/land play in the lives of the characters? Why is it such an important motif in the novel at every step of the way?
***What is the theme/message the author is trying to convey about the above subjects?***

8. Big Ideas to Track tradition family/respect for elders
*Motif = a reoccurring symbol, image, or idea used purposefully by the author
 tradition
family/respect for elders
loyalty/disloyalty
the effects of wealth/poverty
the earth/the land
color red