The whiskey priest is not a perfect man. A man of many flaws, he is the last priest in a violent and forlorn land. And yet, throughout all of the struggles of life in Tabasco, Mexico he is still able to hear the word of God, and he becomes much more than a man to the people of Mexico. To them, he becomes a savior and a hero. In the novel The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene, the whiskey priest is not just the last priest left in a desert wasteland, he is the embodiment of Jesus Christ from the passion, trying to help the world for a cause that he truly believes in.
In the desolate land that is Tabasco, Mexico the priest is the only religious man left. The priest realizes that it his duty to bring religion to the oppressed people, despite knowing that even if he is caught he will be killed. Even though the easy choice would be to turn himself in, the priest's conviction prevails and he continues performing his priestly obligations, spreading the word of God throughout Mexico. Jesus spent his life trying to teach the word of God throughout the world, and stopping at nothing to get his message across, even after death. Jesus and the whiskey priest share many similarities, both are religious men in a dangerous part of the world, trying to teach Christianity to the rest of the population.
The similarities between the two are not just in their life, but also their death. The whiskey priest is led to his death while attempting to fulfill a dying man's wish, a confession. The priest is caught and executed on the jefe's orders. Jesus was captured under orders from Pontius Pilate and was crucified, rising on the third day. After the whiskey priest's execution, another priest arrives, resembling a resurrection of the whiskey priest, and of the Catholic church.
The man responsible for the whiskey priest's death, the mestizo, is a greedy and dishonest man. Out to collect the reward, he attempts to become the priest's friend and follower, similarly to how Judas was Jesus' apostle. The priest knows of the mestizo's intentions, even referring to him as a Judas-like figure, but the priest shows nothing but love for him. The first time they meet, the mestizo becomes sick, but the priest puts him on mule's back and leads him to a town. Even when the priest is knowingly being led to his capture, he doesn't punish the mestizo or attempt to harm him, but rather focuses on giving the man's confession. Jesus treats Judas in a similar manner, never punishing Judas for his actions.
Keeping in with the parallelism between the passion and The Power and the Glory, the man responsible for capturing the whiskey priest, the lieutenant, represents a character from the passion, Pontius Pilate. The lieutenant, upon meeting the priest, finds that he does not hate the whiskey priest. In fact, he views the whiskey priest as a bright and intelligent man, a man that is worth saving. On the eve of the whiskey priest's death, he shows great kindness to the priest, searching the town for somebody to give the priest confession, and giving him a bottle of brandy. Pontius Pilate views Jesus Christ in a similar manner in the passion. He is very reluctant to send Jesus to be crucified, as he does not see Jesus' actions as criminal ones, much in the way that the lieutenant respects the whiskey priest.
Although it is one of the most important events in Christianity, is hard to comprehend just how difficult some of the decisions Jesus made for the rest of the world so that the word of God wouldn't die. Graham Greene parallels the Jesus' choices using the whiskey priest, highlighting just how hard his life was, and how hard it would be to give your life for people who you will never meet, but people who will rely on you and follow your word.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Will to Survive
an essay response to the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Life is a struggle. The will to survive is what keeps people going every day. People make choices every day, although they are usually ones like what we’re going to eat for lunch or what to watch on TV, choices that are small and irrelevant in the greater scheme of life. Rarely are people ever thrust into situations where decisions are influenced by the will to survive, and the decisions they make today determine if there will ever be a tomorrow. Pi Patel is thrust into that situation, after he is deserted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without a way to contact any humans. The novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel shows that throughout the easiest parts of life, and the most trying struggles in life, one thing keeps us going, the will to survive.
As a boy living in India, Pi was a strict vegetarian. His Hindu religion taught him that animals were also God’s creatures and that they should be treated like human beings. Pi refused to meat and wouldn’t even eat bananas because the sound of it peeling sounded like an animal dying. The first few days aboard the boat, Pi tries to remain a vegetarian, by eating biscuits, but it becomes clear that he will have to eat meat to survive. Pi’s will to survive overcomes a lifelong practice and completely turns it around, turning Pi into a meat eater. Oftentimes, we adopt habits in the easy times of life that are considered acceptable, and in the hard times in life, we realize the impracticality of frivolous habits.
Apart from changing his eating habits, Pi also has to perform acts which break all conventions and which bypass all of his religious teachings as a child. As Pi’s food situation deteriorates he realizes that to survive he will have to kill animals to survive. Pi’s religions have always taught that killing is bad, and children have it engrained in their head from a young age that killing is one of the worst things you can do. And yet, Pi understands all of this, and still makes the decision to kill for food. The first fish that Pi kills, a small flying fish, leaves a deep mark on Pi. After he finally snaps its neck, he cries and ends up praying for it for the rest of his life. Martel shows through this scene that the will to survive often drives us to desperate measures, but at the cost that we often regret our decisions later on.
At the conclusion of the novel, Martel presents us with an interesting story, in which the entire story was made up, and the animals were in fact people. In this version of the novel, all of the animals are given a human counterpart, including Richard Parker being Pi. If this version of the story is true, all of the atrocious acts that Richard Parker committed would actually be acts that Pi had performed. This would include acts of cold-blooded killing of other human beings and facing the greatest taboo of all: cannibalism. At the point where it’s just Pi and the sailor, the sailor comes to realize that the decisions he made to survive are so horrendous that life was not worth living anymore. Pi kills the sailor, but realizes that to survive, he must eat the sailor. Pi also experiences cannibalism later on in the novel when he meets the man on the lifeboat and Pi kills him and eats his remains.
Martel also shows the distance that living creatures will go to survive not just in Pi, but also in the other people in the boat. The story which Pi tells that involves the humans displays the acts that people are capable of to simply keep on surviving. The young sailor that breaks his leg from the jump to the lifeboat lives for days after having his leg amputated. Even when he is knocking at death’s door, he still fights to stay alive every second, despite the fact that they are stranded in the lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. After the sailor dies the cook understands that it is necessary to eat the sailor’s remains to stay alive. Pi’s normally calm mother attempts to fight off the cook, until he overwhelms her and kills her. Pi eventually kills the cook and becomes the lone survivor on the lifeboat.
Throughout his entire ordeal, Pi has very little to live for. His situation is dire and throughout the whole ordeal Pi realizes that there is little chance of him being found. And yet, Pi knows that even through all of the struggles and perils of life, the joyous moments and the happy moments make life a beautiful thing.
Life is a struggle. The will to survive is what keeps people going every day. People make choices every day, although they are usually ones like what we’re going to eat for lunch or what to watch on TV, choices that are small and irrelevant in the greater scheme of life. Rarely are people ever thrust into situations where decisions are influenced by the will to survive, and the decisions they make today determine if there will ever be a tomorrow. Pi Patel is thrust into that situation, after he is deserted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without a way to contact any humans. The novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel shows that throughout the easiest parts of life, and the most trying struggles in life, one thing keeps us going, the will to survive.
As a boy living in India, Pi was a strict vegetarian. His Hindu religion taught him that animals were also God’s creatures and that they should be treated like human beings. Pi refused to meat and wouldn’t even eat bananas because the sound of it peeling sounded like an animal dying. The first few days aboard the boat, Pi tries to remain a vegetarian, by eating biscuits, but it becomes clear that he will have to eat meat to survive. Pi’s will to survive overcomes a lifelong practice and completely turns it around, turning Pi into a meat eater. Oftentimes, we adopt habits in the easy times of life that are considered acceptable, and in the hard times in life, we realize the impracticality of frivolous habits.
Apart from changing his eating habits, Pi also has to perform acts which break all conventions and which bypass all of his religious teachings as a child. As Pi’s food situation deteriorates he realizes that to survive he will have to kill animals to survive. Pi’s religions have always taught that killing is bad, and children have it engrained in their head from a young age that killing is one of the worst things you can do. And yet, Pi understands all of this, and still makes the decision to kill for food. The first fish that Pi kills, a small flying fish, leaves a deep mark on Pi. After he finally snaps its neck, he cries and ends up praying for it for the rest of his life. Martel shows through this scene that the will to survive often drives us to desperate measures, but at the cost that we often regret our decisions later on.
At the conclusion of the novel, Martel presents us with an interesting story, in which the entire story was made up, and the animals were in fact people. In this version of the novel, all of the animals are given a human counterpart, including Richard Parker being Pi. If this version of the story is true, all of the atrocious acts that Richard Parker committed would actually be acts that Pi had performed. This would include acts of cold-blooded killing of other human beings and facing the greatest taboo of all: cannibalism. At the point where it’s just Pi and the sailor, the sailor comes to realize that the decisions he made to survive are so horrendous that life was not worth living anymore. Pi kills the sailor, but realizes that to survive, he must eat the sailor. Pi also experiences cannibalism later on in the novel when he meets the man on the lifeboat and Pi kills him and eats his remains.
Martel also shows the distance that living creatures will go to survive not just in Pi, but also in the other people in the boat. The story which Pi tells that involves the humans displays the acts that people are capable of to simply keep on surviving. The young sailor that breaks his leg from the jump to the lifeboat lives for days after having his leg amputated. Even when he is knocking at death’s door, he still fights to stay alive every second, despite the fact that they are stranded in the lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. After the sailor dies the cook understands that it is necessary to eat the sailor’s remains to stay alive. Pi’s normally calm mother attempts to fight off the cook, until he overwhelms her and kills her. Pi eventually kills the cook and becomes the lone survivor on the lifeboat.
Throughout his entire ordeal, Pi has very little to live for. His situation is dire and throughout the whole ordeal Pi realizes that there is little chance of him being found. And yet, Pi knows that even through all of the struggles and perils of life, the joyous moments and the happy moments make life a beautiful thing.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Fahrenheit 451 Project
The year is 2028. Russia, North Korea, and China have banded together to form an alliance devoted to eradicate democracy and freedom in the world. They finally decide to start their attack, and launch nuclear missiles and send ground troops over the border from Russia to attack several countries, Poland, Latvia, and Lithunia. You are the general of the army, and you must come up with any solution possible to destroy the nuclear missiles and protect the earth from global nuclear war. The solutions you come up with will be forwarded to the president who will make the final decision on how to handle this crisis.
My solution takes the form of a letter to the president from the general of the army.
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, a nuclear bomb dropped by America’s enemies completely destroys the city that Montag had lived in. Throughout the novel, nuclear war had constantly been hinted at, whether it be a radio transmission, or if it was just a casual talk and war was just talked about as a far away event. Eventually, nuclear war does happen, and vaporizes Montag’s home city within seconds. The way that nuclear war is treated in the book is kind of like in real life. While never directly at the center of attention, the threat and possibility of nuclear war always is omnipresent in the novel hanging like a cloud on a sunny day. In real life, it’s a little bit like that, though not mentioned as often. Every once in a while though, there will be reports of a nuclear missile test going off in a different country, or a country that has just developed a nuclear power site claiming it’s for energy, and they’re small steps towards the awful possibility of global nuclear war. In 1947, the bulletin of atomic scientists started a doomsday clock, a clock that measures how close the world is to nuclear war. The closest it’s been was in 1952, when the United States and Russia tested nukes within two months of each other, right around the time that this book was published. I think that the tense times between Russia and America influenced the outcome of this novel.
My solution takes the form of a letter to the president from the general of the army.
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, a nuclear bomb dropped by America’s enemies completely destroys the city that Montag had lived in. Throughout the novel, nuclear war had constantly been hinted at, whether it be a radio transmission, or if it was just a casual talk and war was just talked about as a far away event. Eventually, nuclear war does happen, and vaporizes Montag’s home city within seconds. The way that nuclear war is treated in the book is kind of like in real life. While never directly at the center of attention, the threat and possibility of nuclear war always is omnipresent in the novel hanging like a cloud on a sunny day. In real life, it’s a little bit like that, though not mentioned as often. Every once in a while though, there will be reports of a nuclear missile test going off in a different country, or a country that has just developed a nuclear power site claiming it’s for energy, and they’re small steps towards the awful possibility of global nuclear war. In 1947, the bulletin of atomic scientists started a doomsday clock, a clock that measures how close the world is to nuclear war. The closest it’s been was in 1952, when the United States and Russia tested nukes within two months of each other, right around the time that this book was published. I think that the tense times between Russia and America influenced the outcome of this novel.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Great Expectations Essay
Life in Victorian times was hard for most people, but it was extremely brutal for blacksmiths. Toiling away for hours a day in a hot forge pounding hot metal into shape is a job that anyone would cringe at, but in Victorian times, it also put you near the bottom of the social ladder. Most people would be worried about much money they had, and completely forget the people they love in life, or completely forget about trying to be happy in life. In Charles Dickens’s classic novel Great Expectations, Joe is the embodiment of the main theme, love, and how beneficial it is to love everybody around.
Joe’ relationship with Pip is a long and winding one. Joe and Pip first meet at a very young after Pip’s parents died and he has to live with his sister and her husband. Initially, Joe’s love for Pip is more like a brotherly love, a relationship filled with jokes and eating contests. Joe also stands up for Pip if his sister is being too strict with Pip. As they both grow older, Joe finally starts acting like a father figure to Pip. When Mr. Jaggers first approaches Pip and Joe about Pip’s windfall, Joe does the mature thing in letting Pip choose, instead of just forcing a decision on him. After Pip moves to London, he begins to realize how much Joe really did to him. Whenever Joe visits, Pip cherishes it, but Joe is always intimidated by his newfound wealth and always acts as if he’s below him. However, as Pip becomes an adult Joe realizes what an effect his love had on Pip, and they once again become best friends.
Joe not only has love for Pip, but for others in his life. Joe’s first wife, Pip’s sister, is not quite the perfect person. She is often cold towards Pip, despite him being her brother, and she is described as being tall and unattractive. Yet, Joe still loves her with all his heart, showing that Joe doesn’t care about surface appearances and can still find something to love in her. After Mrs. Joe’s accident, she is left unable to walk and speak, and barely living. Throughout, this time Joe still remains faithful to her, though she can barely do anything, up until her death. After she dies, Joe’s love becomes focused on Biddy and they eventually get married. Biddy resembles Joe, in that she is always loving and caring. Biddy was one of Pip’s first teachers and has a fondness for him, always trying to do what’s best for him. As Pip is about to leave for London, he tells Biddy about how he loves Estella. Biddy tries to warn him that she will just hurt him, but Pip is too angry to listen to her advice. After Biddy and Joe get married, they have a child, naming it Pip.
Throughout the novel, Joe is one of the only characters who consistently loves others around him and is truly happy in life. Though this is a tragic novel, and there are many dark characters and events in it, Joe appears as a sliver of light in a dark world.
Joe’ relationship with Pip is a long and winding one. Joe and Pip first meet at a very young after Pip’s parents died and he has to live with his sister and her husband. Initially, Joe’s love for Pip is more like a brotherly love, a relationship filled with jokes and eating contests. Joe also stands up for Pip if his sister is being too strict with Pip. As they both grow older, Joe finally starts acting like a father figure to Pip. When Mr. Jaggers first approaches Pip and Joe about Pip’s windfall, Joe does the mature thing in letting Pip choose, instead of just forcing a decision on him. After Pip moves to London, he begins to realize how much Joe really did to him. Whenever Joe visits, Pip cherishes it, but Joe is always intimidated by his newfound wealth and always acts as if he’s below him. However, as Pip becomes an adult Joe realizes what an effect his love had on Pip, and they once again become best friends.
Joe not only has love for Pip, but for others in his life. Joe’s first wife, Pip’s sister, is not quite the perfect person. She is often cold towards Pip, despite him being her brother, and she is described as being tall and unattractive. Yet, Joe still loves her with all his heart, showing that Joe doesn’t care about surface appearances and can still find something to love in her. After Mrs. Joe’s accident, she is left unable to walk and speak, and barely living. Throughout, this time Joe still remains faithful to her, though she can barely do anything, up until her death. After she dies, Joe’s love becomes focused on Biddy and they eventually get married. Biddy resembles Joe, in that she is always loving and caring. Biddy was one of Pip’s first teachers and has a fondness for him, always trying to do what’s best for him. As Pip is about to leave for London, he tells Biddy about how he loves Estella. Biddy tries to warn him that she will just hurt him, but Pip is too angry to listen to her advice. After Biddy and Joe get married, they have a child, naming it Pip.
Throughout the novel, Joe is one of the only characters who consistently loves others around him and is truly happy in life. Though this is a tragic novel, and there are many dark characters and events in it, Joe appears as a sliver of light in a dark world.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Veteran's Essay
The right time to honor American’s veterans is every day. While we do have designated holidays of remembrance, those days are few and far between to honor those who put their life on the line for our country. Those who are truly American and patriotic will honor our veterans every day, as they so reasonably deserve.
Every day, we go to school or work as part of our daily routine, and every night we sleep safely because there are always the men and women who watch and protect us at all time. And at what cost to them? They risk their lives doing their daily routine, whether it be fighting in Iraq, or patrolling the border for illegal immigrants. They voluntarily relinquish years of their lives, years that they’ll never get back, and put off starting a family and getting an education so that they can protect us. And many of them make the ultimate sacrifice, and give their lives to protect us, the people of the United States of America. It takes a special kind of person to willingly give their life for someone who may be a total stranger to them, and yet sometimes, once they are back in civilian life, they are treated with less respect than others because they fought in a war that may have been unpopular.
Veterans do deserve our attention, not only because of their actions and sacrifices, but also because of the high rate at which we are losing veterans. While it may be somber to think of, over 1,000 WWII veterans are dying every day, which equals one veteran every one and half minutes. The amount of knowledge and untold stories we lose as these veterans pass on is staggering and that’s only from WWII veterans. Right now in the U.S. we have veterans from more wars then we have ever had in our history. We have veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf war, and now the Iraq war. With so many veterans in America, now is the time to honor the veterans with the respect that they have earned with the defense of our country for over 200 years.
So when is the right time to honor our veterans? Every day we should think about our veterans and the sacrifices they made to protect our country. They deserve our honor and respect, for we shall always be in debt to the service they have done to make our country one of the greatest and strongest on Earth.
Every day, we go to school or work as part of our daily routine, and every night we sleep safely because there are always the men and women who watch and protect us at all time. And at what cost to them? They risk their lives doing their daily routine, whether it be fighting in Iraq, or patrolling the border for illegal immigrants. They voluntarily relinquish years of their lives, years that they’ll never get back, and put off starting a family and getting an education so that they can protect us. And many of them make the ultimate sacrifice, and give their lives to protect us, the people of the United States of America. It takes a special kind of person to willingly give their life for someone who may be a total stranger to them, and yet sometimes, once they are back in civilian life, they are treated with less respect than others because they fought in a war that may have been unpopular.
Veterans do deserve our attention, not only because of their actions and sacrifices, but also because of the high rate at which we are losing veterans. While it may be somber to think of, over 1,000 WWII veterans are dying every day, which equals one veteran every one and half minutes. The amount of knowledge and untold stories we lose as these veterans pass on is staggering and that’s only from WWII veterans. Right now in the U.S. we have veterans from more wars then we have ever had in our history. We have veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf war, and now the Iraq war. With so many veterans in America, now is the time to honor the veterans with the respect that they have earned with the defense of our country for over 200 years.
So when is the right time to honor our veterans? Every day we should think about our veterans and the sacrifices they made to protect our country. They deserve our honor and respect, for we shall always be in debt to the service they have done to make our country one of the greatest and strongest on Earth.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Good Earth Essay
Imagine living as a poor peasant who has to work day after day without rest and have no comforts except a house and some land. With that upbringing, now imagine yourself with riches that few have and a power few will ever know. What choices would you make with your newfound riches, and who might you hurt with your decisions? Author Pearl S. Buck presents us with this and many other questions in her novel, The Good Earth, a masterful tale that weaves Chinese and Western influences together to create a tragic story that shows just how easily it is to become what you have hated your entire life with the influence of money and power.
The beginning of this novel is an extremely odd one. Wang Lung is a poor farmer who has nothing to his name except a small piece of land, and a small house. As is tradition in his family, Wang Lung is to be married to a slave from the House of Hwang, an tremendously rich and powerful family that resides in the city. When Wang Lung goes to the House of Hwang to fetch his bride, he is treated without respect from everybody there, including the gateman and some of the slaves. This moment is the world in conflict moment as there are people who should be above others in importance, and yet they are being treated like dogs, while those who are way above everyone else do nothing but stand by and watch. Up until this point, Wang Lung had looked at the House of Hwang with awe, but after this incident he now views them with contempt.
The wife Wang Lung obtains from the House of Hwang, unbeknownst to Wang Lung will play a role in Wang Lung’s rise to power, and eventually his tragic fall. O-lan is a quiet and hardworking woman, who worked as a kitchen slave in the House of Hwang. The first few months that Wang is married to O-lan he treats her more like a property instead of like a wife, thing that would be peculiar in America, but normal in China. However, as time passes, Wang Lung really starts to consider O-lan as not only a woman, but as an equal and wife. She keeps a cool head throughout everything that happens to them, and always manages to make the best decisions for their family. With O-lan, Wang begins to start making profits off his land, and he even has to start saving money so he will not spend it foolishly. He even begins to buy land from the great House of Hwang. “Wang Lung was conscious that he had more money than he need spend, and when he walked among his fellows he walked at ease with himself and with all.”(pg. 45)
“Across the pale, oyster- colored sky of twilight a flock of crows flew, sharply black, and whirred over him cawing loudly. He watched them disappear like a cloud into the trees above his house, and he ran at them, shouting and shaking his hoe. They rose again slowly, circling and re-circling over his head, mocking him with their cries, and they flew at last into the darkening sky. He groaned aloud. It was an evil omen.”(pg. 66)Despite the fact that Wang Lung’s life has reached a high point, his situation quickly takes a turn for the worse. A disastrous flood comes that floods all of Wang Lung’s land and destroys all of the crops. Their predicament becomes so bad that they are forced to kill one of their own children at birth, just to save the money and food it would require to feed her. Wang and O-lan eventually make the tough decision to move to a city in the south, where it is easier to make a living. Wang Lung and his family eventually make it to the city, dirt poor and nearly dead from starvation.
While in the city, Wang Lung’s life hits a low. He’s stuck in a city with no money, no way to make money, and no knowledge of how to make money. O-lan again proves her worth in the city, as she learned how to beg from her mother. While O-lan, the kids, and the old man beg, Wang Lung learns to pull a rickshaw. While in the city, Wang Lung really realizes his love for the land and his passion for farming.”But Wang Lung thought of his land and pondered this way and that, with the sickened heart of deferred hope, how he could get back to it. He belonged, not to this scum which clung to the wall of a rich man’s house; nor did he belong to the rich man’s house. He belonged to the land and he could not live with any fullness until he felt the land under his feet followed a plow in the springtime and bore a scythe in his hand at harvest.”(pg. 123) Luckily for Wang Lung, he manages to get in with a band of other poor as they ransack a house of the rich. Wang Lung manages to escape with a box of gold, and O-lan, once again, used her previous knowledge to find a box filled with jewels hidden within a wall. With his newfound wealth Wang Lung makes the easy decision to go back to his land. Amidst all of the poverty and hard times that Wang Lung experienced in the city, the end of his time in the city, and the time immediately afterwards is Wang Lung’s rise to power. He has a healthy family, a large piece of land, and most importantly, he is now extremely wealthy.
As the years pass, Wang Lung’s power and wealth steadily grow until they eclipsed even the House of Hwang, which by now has faded into a shadow of its former self, and the great house now stands empty, waiting for another owner. As Wang Lung becomes richer and richer, he becomes less and less content with what he already has. The land, which he had once been so proud to own, now becomes just a fraction of what he what wants. The house, which he had been born in and spent his entire life in, appears to him now as just a mud shack that only the poor should live in. His wife, who has always been there for him and provided him with children, is now nothing but a maid that isn’t worthy of someone of Wang Lung’s importance. Wang Lung’s morals also start to become very different from what they used to be. As a man who previously loved to work and farm the land, Wang Lung now becomes lazy and fat and rarely goes out on to his own land like the old lord from the House of Hwang.
Wang’s tragic fall occurs at the same time that all of these changes are taking place. Wang is in town one day, at his usual tea shop, when it suddenly struck him that he was above such a tea shop. Wang decides to go the new tea shop, where the rich go. While his first time in the tea shop was uneventful, his behavior after he visits it is soon becomes very different. Despite the fact that Wang Lung claims that he is a man of the land and a man of the people, he begins to think that his lifestyle is too rugged for someone of his stature. As he begins to visit the tea shop more frequently, he starts to fall in love with a woman named Lotus. Before long, Wang decides that he wants this woman to be his wife, and he takes her in as his concubine, yet another step towards becoming like the House of Hwang. Wang Lung’s life now rapidly becomes a downward spiral of women and money. Wang Lung leaves O-lan and his earlier life behind and embraces his new life as the House of Wang. Even when O-lan dies, he never thinks of what he could have done to love her more until the day she is buried. “It is not meet for a man to love his wife with a foolish and overweening love, as though she were a harlot.”(pg. 289)Wang Lung just keeps on getting richer and richer, while his life keeps on getting more and more hollow. The death symbolism in this novel is Wang Lung’s transformation from being a farmer to being the House of Hwang. “Well even great families are from the land and rooted in the land.”(pg. 313)
Buck’s masterful novel shows that money and power can transform even the simplest people into greedy lords who care about nothing except for their money. The Good Earth warns us all of the damage that can happen when the amount of power you wield exceeds your ability to control yourself.
The beginning of this novel is an extremely odd one. Wang Lung is a poor farmer who has nothing to his name except a small piece of land, and a small house. As is tradition in his family, Wang Lung is to be married to a slave from the House of Hwang, an tremendously rich and powerful family that resides in the city. When Wang Lung goes to the House of Hwang to fetch his bride, he is treated without respect from everybody there, including the gateman and some of the slaves. This moment is the world in conflict moment as there are people who should be above others in importance, and yet they are being treated like dogs, while those who are way above everyone else do nothing but stand by and watch. Up until this point, Wang Lung had looked at the House of Hwang with awe, but after this incident he now views them with contempt.
The wife Wang Lung obtains from the House of Hwang, unbeknownst to Wang Lung will play a role in Wang Lung’s rise to power, and eventually his tragic fall. O-lan is a quiet and hardworking woman, who worked as a kitchen slave in the House of Hwang. The first few months that Wang is married to O-lan he treats her more like a property instead of like a wife, thing that would be peculiar in America, but normal in China. However, as time passes, Wang Lung really starts to consider O-lan as not only a woman, but as an equal and wife. She keeps a cool head throughout everything that happens to them, and always manages to make the best decisions for their family. With O-lan, Wang begins to start making profits off his land, and he even has to start saving money so he will not spend it foolishly. He even begins to buy land from the great House of Hwang. “Wang Lung was conscious that he had more money than he need spend, and when he walked among his fellows he walked at ease with himself and with all.”(pg. 45)
“Across the pale, oyster- colored sky of twilight a flock of crows flew, sharply black, and whirred over him cawing loudly. He watched them disappear like a cloud into the trees above his house, and he ran at them, shouting and shaking his hoe. They rose again slowly, circling and re-circling over his head, mocking him with their cries, and they flew at last into the darkening sky. He groaned aloud. It was an evil omen.”(pg. 66)Despite the fact that Wang Lung’s life has reached a high point, his situation quickly takes a turn for the worse. A disastrous flood comes that floods all of Wang Lung’s land and destroys all of the crops. Their predicament becomes so bad that they are forced to kill one of their own children at birth, just to save the money and food it would require to feed her. Wang and O-lan eventually make the tough decision to move to a city in the south, where it is easier to make a living. Wang Lung and his family eventually make it to the city, dirt poor and nearly dead from starvation.
While in the city, Wang Lung’s life hits a low. He’s stuck in a city with no money, no way to make money, and no knowledge of how to make money. O-lan again proves her worth in the city, as she learned how to beg from her mother. While O-lan, the kids, and the old man beg, Wang Lung learns to pull a rickshaw. While in the city, Wang Lung really realizes his love for the land and his passion for farming.”But Wang Lung thought of his land and pondered this way and that, with the sickened heart of deferred hope, how he could get back to it. He belonged, not to this scum which clung to the wall of a rich man’s house; nor did he belong to the rich man’s house. He belonged to the land and he could not live with any fullness until he felt the land under his feet followed a plow in the springtime and bore a scythe in his hand at harvest.”(pg. 123) Luckily for Wang Lung, he manages to get in with a band of other poor as they ransack a house of the rich. Wang Lung manages to escape with a box of gold, and O-lan, once again, used her previous knowledge to find a box filled with jewels hidden within a wall. With his newfound wealth Wang Lung makes the easy decision to go back to his land. Amidst all of the poverty and hard times that Wang Lung experienced in the city, the end of his time in the city, and the time immediately afterwards is Wang Lung’s rise to power. He has a healthy family, a large piece of land, and most importantly, he is now extremely wealthy.
As the years pass, Wang Lung’s power and wealth steadily grow until they eclipsed even the House of Hwang, which by now has faded into a shadow of its former self, and the great house now stands empty, waiting for another owner. As Wang Lung becomes richer and richer, he becomes less and less content with what he already has. The land, which he had once been so proud to own, now becomes just a fraction of what he what wants. The house, which he had been born in and spent his entire life in, appears to him now as just a mud shack that only the poor should live in. His wife, who has always been there for him and provided him with children, is now nothing but a maid that isn’t worthy of someone of Wang Lung’s importance. Wang Lung’s morals also start to become very different from what they used to be. As a man who previously loved to work and farm the land, Wang Lung now becomes lazy and fat and rarely goes out on to his own land like the old lord from the House of Hwang.
Wang’s tragic fall occurs at the same time that all of these changes are taking place. Wang is in town one day, at his usual tea shop, when it suddenly struck him that he was above such a tea shop. Wang decides to go the new tea shop, where the rich go. While his first time in the tea shop was uneventful, his behavior after he visits it is soon becomes very different. Despite the fact that Wang Lung claims that he is a man of the land and a man of the people, he begins to think that his lifestyle is too rugged for someone of his stature. As he begins to visit the tea shop more frequently, he starts to fall in love with a woman named Lotus. Before long, Wang decides that he wants this woman to be his wife, and he takes her in as his concubine, yet another step towards becoming like the House of Hwang. Wang Lung’s life now rapidly becomes a downward spiral of women and money. Wang Lung leaves O-lan and his earlier life behind and embraces his new life as the House of Wang. Even when O-lan dies, he never thinks of what he could have done to love her more until the day she is buried. “It is not meet for a man to love his wife with a foolish and overweening love, as though she were a harlot.”(pg. 289)Wang Lung just keeps on getting richer and richer, while his life keeps on getting more and more hollow. The death symbolism in this novel is Wang Lung’s transformation from being a farmer to being the House of Hwang. “Well even great families are from the land and rooted in the land.”(pg. 313)
Buck’s masterful novel shows that money and power can transform even the simplest people into greedy lords who care about nothing except for their money. The Good Earth warns us all of the damage that can happen when the amount of power you wield exceeds your ability to control yourself.
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