English Reaction Paper
The Roles and Images of Women in “The Good Earth”
In the novel, The Good Earth, one of the images of women here is an unattractive wife who is only but a servant to his husband. This can be seen in the character of O-Lan. She was his wife and she did nothing but to serve him and his grandfather faithfully. She prepared food for them everyday. She helped Wang Lung with the field. She bore him sons. After she bore his first son alone, she immediately returned to Wang Lung to help him in the field. All this she did in silence. Wang Lung was a little annoyed at this but he also thought that it was just right for her not to say anything. After all, she was just his wife and he need not be concerned about her. Since O-Lan was not a beautiful woman, Wang Lung did not pay much attention to her. He was also not satisfied with her so he looked for another woman.
Another image of women here is that they were worthless as daughters. Daughters were raised only to be sold as slaves or to be married to a man and given to another family. In the birth of his third child, he had hoped that it was a son, but it was not. He saw this as a beginning of bad fortune for his family. Also, his wife said that the birth of their first daughter was not worth mentioning. Wang Lung's first daughter, during the famine, he almost sold in order to return to his land, but seeing her smile, he did not. At this, he thought of himself as a good father since some families killed their child right after birth if it was a girl.
A role of women, specifically the fair ones, was pleasure for men. When Wang Lung grew idle, he sought something to keep him occupied. He eventually found Lotus. The wife he had, O-Lan, was not beautiful, but this one was. She had more feminine features. Wang Lung enjoyed every night he spent with her and was addicted to it. He came to the point where he bought her so that he owned her and that he can be with her anytime he wanted to.
The image of women in their
In the novel, The Good Earth, one of the images of women here is an unattractive wife who is only but a servant to his husband. This can be seen in the character of O-Lan. She was his wife and she did nothing but to serve him and his grandfather faithfully. She prepared food for them everyday. She helped Wang Lung with the field. She bore him sons. After she bore his first son alone, she immediately returned to Wang Lung to help him in the field. All this she did in silence. Wang Lung was a little annoyed at this but he also thought that it was just right for her not to say anything. After all, she was just his wife and he need not be concerned about her. Since O-Lan was not a beautiful woman, Wang Lung did not pay much attention to her. He was also not satisfied with her so he looked for another woman.
Another image of women here is that they were worthless as daughters. Daughters were raised only to be sold as slaves or to be married to a man and given to another family. In the birth of his third child, he had hoped that it was a son, but it was not. He saw this as a beginning of bad fortune for his family. Also, his wife said that the birth of their first daughter was not worth mentioning. Wang Lung's first daughter, during the famine, he almost sold in order to return to his land, but seeing her smile, he did not. At this, he thought of himself as a good father since some families killed their child right after birth if it was a girl.
A role of women, specifically the fair ones, was pleasure for men. When Wang Lung grew idle, he sought something to keep him occupied. He eventually found Lotus. The wife he had, O-Lan, was not beautiful, but this one was. She had more feminine features. Wang Lung enjoyed every night he spent with her and was addicted to it. He came to the point where he bought her so that he owned her and that he can be with her anytime he wanted to.
The image of women in their