The Good Earth :: Essays Papers

The Good EarthI was in a manage daze after reading Pearl S. Bucks remarkable novel, The Good Earth. It was any(prenominal)what hard not to stop what I was doing afterwards and stress to frame up myself in the characters shoes and visualize everything that happened in the keep back. I was so taken by the plot that I remember not wanting to put down the book till I knew what happened next in one of the conflicts in the story. Considering my reaction to it when I first got the book and my reaction to it now, you would rightfully destine its ironic. First of all I wasnt quite happy when I found out about the reading we had to do and obviously not looking forward to reading having to squeeze it in my hectic after school schedule. I remember when I was at the bookstore and saw how two-ply of a book it was I thought to myself, Great...heres another long boring book. But after reading it I eventually proved myself wrongly and found out it was well worth reading it all the way thr ough the last page. Pearl S. Buck did an outstanding job on the books vivid description of the characters, emphasizing the importance of Wang Lungs land, and its sense of dramatic reality.The way the characters are described in the book you can really picture in your mind who they are. Its very important to be able to visualize them because it helps you get to know them better as characters and have a better understanding of the book. One vivid description is O-lans, Wang Lungs wife. Wang Lung turned to the woman and looked at her for the first time. She had a square, honest face, a short, broad obtrude with large black nostrils, and her mouth was wide as a gash in her face. Her eyes were small and of a dull black color, and were filled with some sadness that was not clearly expressed. It was a face that seemed habitually silent and unspeaking, as though it could not speak if it would. (p.19) As I was reading this I got the impression that O-lan would be a faithful wife to Wang Lun g and it turned out I was right. The fact that she wasnt beautiful didnt matter at all. She served her family well. some other meaningful description is Lotus, Wang Lungs first mistress, which has an irony to it if you compare it to O-lans.