Critical Analysis of The Good Earth - Essay Example

Wung Lun marries O-lan as a slave from a rich family and lives a life that is faced with all manner of challenges from the family setting (Burk, 120). The story is characterized by the traditional approach to life as opposed to modernism which is displayed in the lives of Wung Lung and O-lan.

Women are considered mere materials that can be purchased to satisfy a man’s needs in the traditional Chinese community. O-lan is a slave from a rich family who was given for marriage due to a request from Wung Lun's father. This is portrayed as forced marriage in a modern culture context because a woman is given against her own will for marriage. A twist is seen where the two rather connect even without prior courtship (Burk, 189). Their marriage however faces a couple of challenges. Wung Lung chauvinism plays out when he is not pleased by the fact that his wife’s feet are not bound, a demeaning traditional practice that undermined women by binding women with tight formations to forcefully stunt their growth. Traditions appeared to have outshone modernism that was busy creeping in. modernism seemed to be embraced by the rich and traditionalism had held the poor hostage.

Interference is a factor noted in the book in pearl’s book. Traditional interference is hard to miss in Wung Lung's happy marriage to O-lan. One time Wung Lung makes a concubine because of the bound feet that his wife didn’t have which was a traditional practice (Burk, 200). Hwang's rich family faces its demise because of drug addiction and women's addiction which acts as interference to the financial status of the family making them sell their property. Modernism appears to be a threat to Chinese traditions because the traditionalists are less appealed by this modern trend that was slowly taking root in Chinese society.

The ‘Good Earth’ might be telling a story of successful harvest by the mentioned Chinese families at the end of a successful planting season characterized by financial success but the story’s plot echoes more about the challenges that are socially based (Burk, 300). Tradition is seen not to welcome modernism that favors women in some way, something that the male chauvinists are not happy with. Rich families appear to have embraced modernism quickly than the poor families who languish in emotional frustrations without knowing. A contrast is however seen where the poor families laced with traditionalism appear to be successful than the rich families. Read More