Lotus was an orphan who had been sold into prostitution because she was beautiful, and O-lan had been sold as a kitchen slave because she was plain. Wang Lung feels guilty, but still cannot love her as he did Lotus. As O-lan dies, she bemoans her lack of beauty and says she is too ugly to be loved. After O-lan steals the jewels, do they function as a bad omen or good luck? Why does O-lan want to keep the two pearls? Why is Wang Lung so astonished by this? What do the pearls signify?ġ0. When Wang Lung becomes swept up with the mob and enters the rich man's house, is the gold he receives there a curse or a blessing? Do you feel any pity for the rich man? What do you think the author intended you to feel?ĩ. How does a new self-awareness come to manifest itself?Ĩ. The poor laborers in the city lack knowledge even of what they look like, a fact illustrated by the man who mocks himself in a mirror. Discuss the emotionally complex relationship Wang Lung develops with the city.ħ.

The abundance of food in the city contrasts with the characters impoverished lives. As the family works and begs in the city, what do they think of the foreigners they encounter? What purpose does the author serve in including these descriptions?Ħ. How does he come to regard this girl, who grows up to become a fool?ĥ. Wang Lung considers the birth of his daughter to be a bad omen. 'And so this parcel of land became to Wang Lung a sign and a symbol.' What does the author mean by this?Ĥ.

Why does Wang Lung feel compelled to purchase the rice field from the House of Hwang? Why does he at first regret it?ģ. What might this water imagery foreshadow?Ģ. The novel begins with Wang Lung's expectation of rain, the daily boiling of water for his father, and his bathing for his wedding. Questions from the Publisher's Reading Guide:ġ.

Pearl buck's the good earth