The other major theme that appears again and again in this novel is that of the common person being uprooted and pulled along based on grand, historical movements. Living in abject poverty, Wang Lung's family is nevertheless honorable to each other, but not a part of the culture of the city -- they neither speak with the same accent, nor have any friends or relatives to help them with emotional support. Just as it is almost unbelievable that a child would be killed, when Wang Lung unwillingly joins a food riot mob and gets the money from the rich man's house they are looting, he uses the money for a moral pursuit -- to return to the home, buy an ox, and farm tools. The sense of complete sacrifice is evident, and then the sadness when we realize that after all Wang Lung and O-Lan went through, the surviving children will likely sell the land as soon as he is dead.

One cannot help but compare many of these novels about peasant and rural China. In so many of the cases, family and...

But, China often says its greatest resource is its people, yet with so many, the teeming masses seem to be caught up in the ebb and flow of historical processes: invasion, warring factions, political issues, etc. Despite the fact that we get to know these characters, and even become fond of Wang Lung and O-Lan, we cannot help but feel that there is no reward for the individual. If the circumstances are positive, the family prospers; if, on the other hand, there is no money, then the family dies. And, for all the sacrifice of a generation; one can see why the political promises of the Maoists would resonate with the peasants who grew up during the early part of the 20th century.
REFERENCES

Buck, P. (2005). The Good Earth New York: Pocket Books Classics.

McNeill, W. (1998). A Democracy at War: America's Fight at Home and Abroad in World War II. Boston: Harvard…