The Good Earth In the early 1900s, China could be a setting where one prospers, or a place where one is poor and living on the streets with no food. If people are willing to work diligently enough to have a successful life even under difficult conditions, they can succeed. In The Good Earth, the protagonist, Wang Lung, has to put up with arduous situations. Although Lung has to deal with these situations, he demonstrates his work ethic, which is one of his many virtues. However, Lung still has his faults. Wang Lung continues to be the character with whom readers identify and sympathize. Throughout the novel, The Good Earth, Wang Lung demonstrates his faults as well as his virtues. In chapter 20, Lung illustrates his impulsiveness when he goes to the coffee shop and purchases a woman from upstairs named Lotus. When he purchases Lotus, he is also displaying his greediness. For the most part, he buys Lotus for himself because he visits her eminently and soon becomes obsessed with her. Back in this time, it was completely customary to have another wife. Also, it was acceptable to realize one didn’t like their wife, so she could just be thrown aside like she was never there. This worries O-lan because she is aware that he has …show more content…
Imperfections are what make people unique and different. Lung displays that he too, is human and illustrates his imperfections throughout the novel. Lung demonstrates how every ones faults show different sides of them. Being perfect is an unattainable goal of all humans. Being perfect is just not a realistic objective. However, everybody can strive to be the best person they can be, which is what Wang Lung did throughout The Good Earth. Although Lung does have his virtues, it is probable that Lung would agree with Wisconsin teacher and author, Liza M. Wiemer who once said, “For whatever it's worth, I believe we're born imperfect, and perfection, whatever that may be, is unattainable by us mere
Character development is the most crucial element of a story, as it urges the reader to analyse the motives or the emotions that character may convey, therefore making the story immensely impactful. Wayson Choy effortlessly and deftly develops the character of Sek-Lung in his renowned short story, “The Jade Peony.” Sek-Lung, who is also the narrator in this story, is six years old and he’s struggling dreadfully to cope with his grandma’s upcoming death. The protagonist’s affectionate yet sorrowful feelings during this emotional crisis are clearly delivered, “Her palm felt plush and warm...
A review of Eric Lius', The Accidental Asian, and his search for self-discovery. Looking at how his experiences growing up relate to current and future generations of students who are trying to find where they belong in this ethnically structured society. Through Liu’s experiences, we can understand the struggle of identity and help students find their own. Finding that we do not have to have a strong connection to our heritage to have a strong identity and looking for our roots does not make us any less of the person we are now. Breaking stereotypes and understanding others is how we can help students in the future.
Xiong uses battles, executions, assassinations, and scandals to appeal to readers of any genre. Once a reader gets into the book they are hooked in the epic events of the book and the deep look into the ruling class. Unfortunately, Xiong’s novel might somewhat difficult to get into for many readers with no experience in Chinese history. Xiong also attempts to utilize dialogue that often comes off as underdeveloped or simplistic.
He becomes unhappy with his farmer lifestyle and turns to a materialistic life to satisfy him. He purchases a concubine, Lotus, and spends all his time with her. He spends money carelessly, giving Lotus whatever she desires, and ignores his own family to satisfy his selfish whims. O-Lan crumbles into depression, and spends the rest of her life in jealousy and despair. He sends his two oldest sons off to be scholars, and his youngest son is left in the dust.
Thomas Edison, famous inventor and hard working problem solver, is an amazing example of someone who has lived by this proverb. Thomas went from a nobody who thought he could
In the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham we see a society who values conformity and perfections over everything, failing to realize the imperfections they all contain. Some have hidden imperfections, which once found out are seen as mutant abilities. Others have such messed up, and horrid morals and beliefs, ones which are far from perfect. Then if you try to compare the people of Waknuk to the Sealand people you notice that they will always find imperfections in the other. This novel shows that although they may only notice visible mutations and imperfections you can find something imperfect in everyone.
Nobody is perfect and no one ever will be. This theme shows up often in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Birthmark. In this story, a scientist named Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing a hand-shaped birthmark from his wife’s, Georgiana, visage. After a series of tests, he is successful, but Georgiana becomes perfect and can no longer stay in the mortal world, so she dies. The Birthmark demonstrates how foolish it is to strive for perfection and this is revealed throughout the story using narration.
Instead, caught between my fingers, was the small, round firmness of the jade peony. In my mind's eye, I saw Grandmama smile and heard, softly the pink center beat like a beautiful cramped heart.” (p.209) This quote from The Jade Peony relates to the theme of love and death. Sek-Lung is feeling sad about the death of the person whom he felt the closest to.
In American Born Chinese, Jin Wang changes immensely from the beginning to the end of the story. At the beginning of the story, Jin Wang wants to fit in and break apart from his Chinese Heritage. By the end of the story, because of various external and internal conflicts, Jin has learned to accept his Chinese heritage. He has also experienced anger, happiness, regret, and guilt that all got him to the point where he learned to accept his heritage.
Jiacheng Liu Final paper (a)summary Citizen Barlow a young African-American, arrives in Pittsburgh and is part of the freed slaves. While working at the local mill, Citizen steals a can of nails. Another man is accused and choose suicide rather than face arrest and a life in which it is unfairly identified as a thief. Citizen wants to redeem his guilt for causing the death of one person and looking at Aunt Ester, whose healing powers are legendary. A 285-year-old aunt Esther lives in a house with Eli, his friend and protector, and Black Maria, a young woman wearing the clothes for a living and who Aunt Esther hopes to pass his powers.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.
Zheng He’s voyages have been a constant source of controversy in the historical world because of the differing opinions on whether they should be celebrated or not. In July of 1405, Zheng He was given a task to lead a fleet of ships for exploration. This task was assigned to him by Emperor Yongle of China’s Ming Dynasty. Zheng He went on seven separate voyages over the next twenty eight years through the Indian and Pacific Oceans with the largest fleet of wooden ships in history. He navigated his massive fleet from Nanjing along the Chinese coast and through these oceans to explore new lands and bring prosperity to China.
Family by Pa Chin is a captivating novel that describes what life in China was like in the twentieth century. Confucianism, a big religion in China at the time, was heavily focused on filial piety. Filial piety is the relationship of obedience, in which the elders are to be respected by the younger generation (Wu, lecture notes, 2015). This religion was one of the main structures on how the society was ran. Chin represents how the younger generation was upset with how the old traditions of the Confucian system were ran and that they were ready to change it.
One of the more unusual cultural aspects that is discussed in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is the existence of an ogbanje. According to a study of Igbo culture conducted by researcher Bertram I. N. Osuagwu, an ogbanje is “an evil spirt causing people to die suddenly” (Osuagwu 36). Some believe that the ogbanje are deities that enter the world and become human beings, but because of a promise that they made to the spirit world, they die early in their lives (Osuagwu 36). In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s wife Ekwefi believes that she has been cursed by an ogbanje because of the abnormally high mortality rate of her children. Early in the novel, Achebe describes the hardship that Ekwefi has endured, stating “Ekwefi had suffered a good
She reassures Sek-Lung multiple times throughout the story, “[Sek-Lung] [falls] against her and [cries], and there in [his] crying [Sek-Lung] [knows] that she would die. [He] can still remember the touch of her hand on [his] head, and the smell of her thick woolen sweater pressed against [his] face. “I will always be with you, Little Sek-Lung, but in a different way . . . you’ll see.” Another example is, “I can’t last forever,” she [declares], when she [lets] me in on the secret of this one.