The Good Earth

The Good Earth

As time passes by, people’s view of the world is constantly changing. Around the late 1800s and late 1900s, this type of change was occurring in China. The majority of the people in China were farmers, and during the revolution, this allowed the majority to move up the social pyramid. However, once families started moving up socially, it allowed each families traditions and culture to begin to alter. For example, a family primarily in the farming business might start a new family tradition of becoming merchants. The book The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a good example of how important culture and tradition was, and just how easily it can change once your life has changed for the better. In comparison to my own culture, Greek American, the two cultures couldn’t be any more different. The culture of Wang Lung, the main character in the story, and his family compared to my own culture and other modern-day culture is a good depiction of how people’s views in life can change from generation to generation. When new advancements allow our lives to become easier and less challenging, our lives can either change for the better or for the worse.

From the very beginning of the story, Wang Lung comes across as a person who is very respectful to his elders, as well as a hardworking individual. He passes on this way of life to his sons and daughters, and they are able to grow up knowing to show their respect to others and to work hard no matter what, just how his own father and mother passed this on to him. Although Wang Lung might have passed on this custom to his children differently than how parents nowadays do, the same message comes across. From the day that I was born, my parents made sure that I was not only respectful to them, but also to my grandparents, my siblings, and even strangers on the street. My mother always made me study for tests a week before and to do my homework once I got home. She made it very clear to me that it’s...