Free Essays - A Difference in Values in The Good Earth

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A Difference in Values
The House of Wang Lung rose in one generation from a family of poor farmers to a wealthy respected house in the novel The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. The dramatic change in social status causes the sons of Wang Lung to have different views and values from their father. His different treatment of each son also shapes each character. Although part of the same family the charachters demonstrate a difference in values. The father values the land, the youngest son values regognition, the middle son values wealth, and the eldest son values respect.
As a result of his impoverished upbringing, Wang Lung values the land more than anything else. His obsession with the land causes him to neglect his family. The youngest son receives no attention and Wang Lung's plan to have him work the land disturbs him and makes him feel like a peasant. He feels that he has to prove that he is as great as his brothers and leaves the family to join the army. The middle son watches as his inheritance passes from his father's hand into the hand of his eldest son, and complains that his share is always too small. He wants to save the families money. The eldest son receives more attention and is given more than the other two sons and wants to be respected as a great family.

The eldest son receives more attention and is given more than the other two sons and wants to be respected as a great family.
Wang Lung is proud of his first born son, Nung En, and gives him more than his other two sons. One example is when Wang Lung becomes distressed because he cannot read the contracts he is signing and does not want to sign a bad deal. He hopes that sending the elder son to school to learn how to read will solve this problem. The elder son is no longer needed in the fields, because Wang Lung can now afford men to work the land. However, he ignores sending his other children to school until later.
The eldest son's greatest desire is to have his family viewed as a great house. His wife, the daughter of the grain merchant Lui,
Boggs 2 grew up in a rich house, she is accustomed to wealth and respect from others, and contributes to her husband's desire. He takes Wang Lung's silver bit by bit to mend up the old House of Hwang.

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