Loyalty In Wang Lung's The Good Earth

The Good Earth is set in pre-revolutionary China in the early 1900s, and is centered around one character named Wang Lung who cares for his family and land. During this time period, women were usually discerned as inferior while the elders were held with the utmost respect. Those did not exercise filial piety were considered outcasts. The people of that time worshipped gods that rewarded certain actions that glorified the earth. They also believed that the gods would reward a good person, and punish, or curse a bad one. Throughout the story, Wang Lung goes from a poor, simple farmer to a wealthy landowner. It is evident that the main character’s financial status is a result of a strong work ethic as well as honesty. In The Good Earth hard work and virtue are rewarded, while idleness and vice are not.

Wang Lung, and O-lan, the main characters of the novel, are rewarded because of their diligence and

For example, in the novel when it talks about how lazy of a farmer the uncle is by explaining that he was always having to sell his grain before it was well ripened. The novel also mentions how he had to sell his grain while standing in the field to save himself the trouble of “harvesting and threshing to get a little ready cash.” It is seen that laziness is not rewarded through the fact that during this time in the book, the uncle and his family are suffering greatly because they are very poor. Indecency is looked down upon in this novel just as much as laziness is. For instance, in the novel, the uncle essentially attempts to incite a mob against him. During the famine, the uncle walks the streets whispering to other people about rumors of Wang Lung having food in his house. Eventually, a mob forms and they all get poles and beat on Wang's door. In the end, the uncle’s immoral behaviour is punished because he never finds peace. Also, he never is happy with what he