Good Earth, The ~ Pearl Buck ~ September Book Club Online

[JoanP]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.

September Book Club Online  
 

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

Interest in Pearl Buck's  The Good Earth, continues with the news that her never-before published, final novel is coming out in October, forty years after her death.  The Good Earth is the poignant tale of a farmer and his family in old agrarian China, a  depiction of traditional Chinese culture in the early twentieth century before World War II.  Some critics say it should move readers to rediscover Buck as a source of insight into both revolutionary China and the United States’ interactions with it. Let's discover together why The Good Earth remained on the bestseller list for 21 months in 1931 and 1932, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.l As Buck delved deeply into the lives of the Chinese poor, she opposed  the religious fundamentalism, racial prejudice, gender oppression, sexual repression, and discrimination against the disabled. She  championed many of these causes when she returned from China to the US,  including woman’s rights, rights for physically and developmentally disabled persons, and racial inequalities.  Pearl won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first American woman to do so. Relevant Links: the Good Earth Timeline :

DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:
September 2-8	Chapters 1-8
September 9-15	Chapters 9-15
September 16-22	Chapters 16-21
September 23-29	Chapters 22-34

            
 

Some Topics for Discussion
Sept. 9-15 Chapters 9-15

1. Starving people eat human flesh to survive?  Members of one's own family?

2. Can you explain Wang's father's high spirits and confidence that he will be fed, and survive?

3. What are the illustrations on those  flyers handed to Wang when he learns of the coming revolution against "foreigners."  Who are these foreigners?

4.  How would you compare Wang and O-lan's moral and ethical standards for themselves and their children?

5.    Why did Wang decide to take all of the rich man's jewels, leaving him nothing to survive?  Was this out of character?

6.  Does Wang seem to believe burning incense before the neglected earth gods will assure future success on his land?
 

Contact:   JoanP  

[JoanP]

Jonathan - love your first impressions...and then to see them change, or at least develop once the story unfolds!  Wang's wife, while not a beauty, exceeded expectations of what a wife should be.  Wang proved himself a good provider - until the drought.  He went beyond providing for his wife, he showed the generous side - I can't forget those peaches he brought to her that first day.  It wasn't necessary - he'd already provided the earrings.  But it showed something more about him.
Did she ever disappoint him?  Never a word from her, even if he disappointed her.  Wasn't this an ideal wife?

"Some heart breaking things are mentioned"

 The author never dwells on the heartbreak.  It is what we've learned that was going on in her life as she wrote this story that is the real heartbreak!

[PatH]

Jonathan, I agree, O-lan didn't disappoint.  I can't find the passage now, but Wang Lung later thinks, relevant to the fact that the sons of the great house never violated her, that they didn't see what was there--the wonderful softness and beauty of her body.  And she surprised him in other ways.  She was able and willing to work very hard in the fields.  She cooked and kept house to a standard he didn't expect.

Did O-lan get a good bargain?  Yes.  Never mind our standards, Wang Lung is a considerate husband by the standards of his culture.  And he is hard-working and ambitious, will do the best he can for his wife and children.

[PatH]

The descriptions of Buck coming to terms with her daughter’s disabilities really hit home to me.  My oldest child, Joanie (named for JoanK) is 45, non-verbal, cannot feed herself or take care of her bodily needs without help.  She can walk only with assistance.  She recognizes me as a person who is part of her life, but I’m sure she has no idea I’m her mother, or even what a mother is.  Like Carol, and also Wang Lung’s daughter, she has a sweet smile, and also beautiful large brown eyes, which make people love her.  She also has a quality common in my family which I can best describe as the capacity for joy.  We tend to get great pleasure out of everything good we see or experience, and this is definitely true for her.  She is a sunny person, and enjoys her life.

Unlike Buck, I don’t have to win a Nobel Prize to take care of my daughter.  Maryland is a good state to live in if you are retarded, and Joanie shares an apartment with another woman, with 24/7 supervision, 25 minutes drive away from me.

So I know full well the emotions Buck was dealing with, both the ones I felt and the ones I avoided but saw in other parents.  I can’t fault her decisions, especially given the climate and resources then as compared to now.

[mabel1015j]

A definition of "cultural biography" - A cultural biography examines the impact that a surrounding culture had on a person, a group or even a product. The reason for creating cultural biographies is that nothing exists in a vacuum, which means that any person or thing can be seen as being largely the product of the society of which it is a part. Whether you are producing a cultural biography of a person, business or popular device, the approach you take will be about the same.


Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_6121457_write-cultural-biography.html#ixzz2eGLyz3sx

JoanIt sounds to me as though ANY GOOD bio would be a cultural biography!?! At least for me, a good bio has to include how the surrounding environment and events impacts the subject. You must remember that Peter Conn is an English professor at Penn (TIC). He may understand better than I how many different kinds if biographies thre may be.  

[PatH]

I would agree that any really good biography would have to fit the definition of Cultural Biography, but I guess a lot of bios don't.

[salan]

I finished the first section and several things left an impression on me.  One was the fact that in good times Wang Lung blessed the Gods & burned inscense and made them new clothes; but when times got hard he cursed & neglected the Gods.  It seemed to me that he should have tried to appease the Gods.  The second thing that made n impression on me was the care & support he gave his old father.  The father seemed to expect it as his due.  Neither man resented this situation; but just accepted it as a filial duty.

Wang Lung & Olan were good people.  They both felt that they were fortunate to have each other.

Sally

[PatH]

The second thing that made n impression on me was the care & support he gave his old father.  The father seemed to expect it as his due.  Neither man resented this situation; but just accepted it as a filial duty.

Sally

Indeed it was Wang Lung's duty; responsibility for care of aging parents is an important part of Chinese culture.  That's one thing that makes china's one child policy very hard for people.  In addition to caring for your parents, respect for other older people, especially relatives, was important.  When Wang Lung criticizes his uncle for his improvident ways, this is a huge breach of etiquette.

[JoanP]

Respect for other older people, especially relatives, was important.

.  Oh, I agree, both with both of you.   Wang's devotion to the gods seems non-existant.  When he burns incense, it seems like something he carries out for good luck - like hanging a horseshoe in the barn...but he doesn't really believe that the gods are looking out for him.  But care for  family elders, that's something he really believes in.  His father's uncle is family, which is the only reason he gives the man anything at all.  He has no respect for him, but feels he owes him because of the relationship. 

Pat - I was so moved by your story - you added a whole level of understanding to Pearl Buck's concern for this daughter who doesn't really know who she is.  Carol is happy where she is, she is cared for - it is the best (and only?) solution Pearl can come up with.  I was wondering how we'd be understanding this story if we didn't know of the author's emotional attachment and devotion to her daughter.  I found it interesting that O-lan  does not seem to be as concerned for the little fool as Wang was.    Just the opposite from the Buck's father-daughter relationship - or rather lack of a relationship.  Of course, there's a lot that goes on in O-lan's heart that we don't know about.  She keeps her feelings to herself.

[bellamarie]

Oh JoanP, Thank you so very much for that wonderful link, that helped me feel much better after getting a clearer view of Pearl's relationship with her daughter Carol.  I have a daughter who was diagnosed bipolar manic depressant and was a very difficult child/teen.  Although she is married, at some point we needed to bring her back home with us, because I refused to leave her in a mental state hospital to be cared for, which would have been the only solution since her husband could not afford to miss any work.  It was the best decision we could make for her and now after much therapy, classes and medication she has returned to live with her loving husband.  It will always be a struggle for her, him and us because this illness is managed only as best as possible by the person staying on their medication.  So my heart went out to Carol being away from her mother for three years.  But....after reading the link provided, I can tell Pearl loved her daughter and with the conditions of her marriage, income etc., she did what she felt was in the best interest of her daughter and then later on she did become involved with her once again.

PatH, Thank you for sharing your own personal story with your precious daughter.  I could feel the joy and love of your family and you all are very blessed.

JoanP. " I was wondering how we'd be understanding this story if we didn't know of the author's emotional attachment and devotion to her daughter. "

I do think reading the book and also knowing Pearl's own life, and now I am reading The Exile, about Pearl's mother it is heightening my senses of Wang and O-lan.

Jonathan - love your first impressions...and then to see them change, or at least develop once the story unfolds!

Yes, indeed!  I find my heartstrings being pulled in many directions just in the first 8 chapters of this book. I am off to read the next chapters, can't wait to see what unfolds next for this family.

Ciao for now~

[JoanP]

Drought and starvation bring about drastic changes in people - as we'll see in the next chapters.  Gone are the days of exuberant growth and plenty for Wang Lung and O-lan!     In the background we still have questions about female infants born in China.  I'd been wondering how the Chinese had viewed the birth of Pearl's daughter - and then see that she had adopted  Janice, in 1925 and brought her to live in China until 1935 when she divorced John and returned to US for good. . So I imagine Pearl wasn't disturbed by the way daughters were regarded.  Clearly in the story, they were viewed as burdens ...expendable, especially in times of drought and starvation.

I see the drought as something that would have occurred even if the third child had been a boy or if Wang had paid proper respect to those little earth gods in the temple in thanks for his good fortune.  I wonder if Wang sees it that way or  if he considers  the drought punishment in some way.  I loved him for loving his "little fool" - though I do fear for her when I read of those eating human flesh in order to survive.  She seems to be ...well, I can't even say it.  And what of the next child O-lan bears?  What happened to her?

[bellamarie]

Oh my where to begin...Chapter 9 is so heart wrenching.

pg. 59 "There was such anger in him (Wang) now as he often could not express.  At times it seized him like a frenzy so that he rushed out upon his barren threshing floor and shook his arms at the foolish sky that shone above him, eternally blue and clear and cold and cloudless.  "Oh you are too wicked you Old Man in Heaven!"  he would cry recklessly.  And if for an instant he were afraid he would the next instant cry sullenly, "And what can happen to me worse that that which has happened!"  Once he walked, dragging one foot after another in his famished weakness, to the temple of the earth, and deliberately he spat upon the face of the small, imperturbable god who sat there with his goddess."

I can feel his anger, disappointment, hopelessness, despair, and loss of faith.   He is a hard working man, now he is not able to not only work his land, but he can not provide a single thing for his famished family.   O-lan is yet again with child, and has the baby girl.  It was so touching when I read:

pg. 59   "Poor fool- poor little fool__" And once when she essayed a weak smile with her toothless gums showing, he broke into tears..." 
  I found myself tearing up, seeing how much Wang loves this little baby girl.

I am just appalled at this uncle who is the most despicable man created.  I can't even imagine he eating his own children.  Really?  Then to come to cheat Wang out of their land.  O-lan once again speaks up and says NO!  So now they must move on to the South to try to save their lives.  How does one find the strength to even move, let alone set out to walk hundreds of miles.  This reminded me of the Exodus.  So can we agree, their God has not forsaken them, if He has given them the wisdom and strength to move on?

Ciao for now~

[waafer]

I really wish they had given 'poor little fool' a name but at least she had someone that cared about her.  When I started to read about the families having to eat female children, I just wondered if i could go on reading. Cannot help but feel for Wang as land he had worked so hard to acquire and to farm is not now returning food for his family.

[JoanP]

I wish a better name for the little girl too, waafer.  Let's refer to her as "Poor little"  and forget calling her a fool.  

I know what you mean about the uncle and his little girls, Bellamarie.  The sad fact was that in times of extreme famine and hunger, this was a common practice. To us, it sounds impossible -

If you google the practice, you will be sickened - even more so than you are after reading what Pearl Buck has written. As a child, Pearl grew up in China, burning the infant remains she found while playing in the countryside.  She wouldn't have been as shocked as we are today - it was a common practice, it seems.  Here are some facts of female infanticide, minus the cannibalism.

"Female infanticide became more prevalent in the 1900’s[/b]. It was considered a disappointment to a family to have a baby girl. The most common method before the discovery of abortion was drowning the girls. This was done by plunging the baby headfirst into a pot of water until the baby died from suffocation. Another method was to suffocate a child in ashes or by covering her mouth with a paper soaked with vinegar to cut off oxygen to the body. Other methods included crushing the child and starving the child to death. In the 1900’s, infanticide was already illegal. In rural areas girls were killed soon after birth and passed off as stillbirths so that the government would not find out (Mungello). The truth is hard to believe. But girls were killed for a reason. Some girls were killed for physical defects. Most of the time, however, girls were killed because of economic and cultural reasons

Female infanticide began in China as early as 1650 but became a major issue after the One-Child Policy in 1979.  http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/340553.html

I can see, though I hate to say this - if a girl baby had been plunged into boiling water, and the family had nothing at all to eat...no, I can't type out the rest of the thought...but I can understand, sort of...

Bella commented on how much Wang loved this little daughter. Wasn't she a fortunate little girl to have such a father?  What of the next baby O-lan bore - another girl?  Did Wang know what really happened to her?

[bellamarie]

I am certain Wang knew of O-lan killing their baby girl. 

Pg 62 " It would be merciful if there were no breath," he muttered and then he heard the feeble cry_how feeble a cry!_hang for an instant upon the stillness.  "But there is no mercy of any kind in these days," he finished bitterly, and he sat listening.  There was no second cry, and over the house the stillness became impenetrable." 

Pg 63 "He (Wang) said nothing, but he took the dead child into the other room laid it upon the earthen floor and searched until he found a bit of broken mat and this he wrapped about it.  The round head dropped this way and that and upon the neck he saw two dark, bruised spots, but he finished what he had to do.

This is such a sad part to read. I don't even want to allow my mind to wander to the details of eating their own.  God in heaven what cannibals.

How did China intend for babies to be born, and generations to continue, if they practiced killing off the female babies?  Were there only certain families who were allowed to have girls/slaves?  Again, how do generations continue with the one child family law and obviously it would be a boy allowed to live. 

Have to go busy myself with happier thoughts, this is just a bit too grueling for me so early in the morning.  Ughhh...

Ciao for now~

[PatH]

What a tumultuous section!  From the low point of almost dying, finally crawling away to the city, eking out a living until their fortunes change, then the climb back up.

Poor O-lan, herself starving, with the added burden of a child growing inside her.  Did Wang know what really happened to the baby after she was born?  He suspected, though there wasn't really proof.  He didn't pursue the question, though; he didn't really want to know, and it's unlikely the child would have survived anyway--born sickly and malnourished, with a mother too starved to be able to produce enough milk.  That's a heartbreaking section.

[PatH]

Bellamarie, we were posting at the same time.

[JoanP]

As you pointed out before, Wang Lung is the narrator and we don't get into O-lan's head - or heart.  I'm really trying to understand her - and I guess all the Chinese mothers who went through this heart-wrenching period.  How do they stand it?  I would believe that the maternal instinct is the same, no matter what part of the world. or the circumstances.  
PatH -

"it's unlikely the child would have survived anyway--born sickly and malnourished, with a mother too starved to be able to produce enough milk."

 Ok, I can understand that - a mercy killing.  But let's say for the sake of the discussion, what if the child was born healthy enough...a boy?  Or even a healthy enough baby girl?

[bellamarie]

Yes, PatH, indeed it was a tumultuous section!   

Good point JoanP, what if it had been a healthy enough, boy or girl.  I personally do not believe in mercy killings.  I would have let God decide the fate of the baby, regardless of it's health or the health of the mother.  I know my faith says to save the mother in the situation of which one during the birth.  But in this case the baby was already born, and even though O-lan like all the others was sickly and starving, she did manage to get up and walk many miles the next day, carrying her other daughter.  I'm not judging, only pointing out their situation did change quiet quickly.  It makes me wonder if killing the infant daughter made Wang even more attached to their "poor little" and when O-lan considered selling her to help them make their journey back to their land, Wang would not hear of it.

From my observation, Wang allows his emotions to factor into his decisions.  O-lan from her experiences from her childhood, seeing what she witnessed how the slave children were treated and what she has already lived through, she seems a bit detached from her emotions.  She makes decisions without even conferring with her husband.  It's as though she knows what she believes HAS to be done and without hesitation does it.  I'm not saying she does not love her husband or children, I just think she does not allow her emotions to factor into life choices.  Are emotions a luxury in situations like these, and so others must separate from theirs to do what is necessary, because those who allow their emotions to get in the way of making the decisions are incapable?  Like the ruthless uncle, who is capable of eating his own? 

A lot to ponder in this section......Ciao for now~  

[PatH]

If it had been a boy, I doubt O-lan would have killed it, maybe not if it had been a healthy girl.  I don't like to judge her too harshly--she was weak and starving, had just gone through the strain of childbirth, probably wasn't altogether rational.  But I like to hope I would have made a different decision.

That's a good character analysis, Bellamarie.  We are learning more of O-lan's past life now, and it's clear that she's a dogged, stubborn survivor.  She does what she has to, and she's had to do a lot in her time.  The arts of begging and street survival are no mystery to her, and beatings were her normal routine.

O-lan and Wang have standards.  They won't abandon his father, they would not have eaten children, and when Wang's son starts to steal, he knows he has to do something.

I don't think the uncle survived by eating children; there are hints he has some other, unsavory source of income.

[salan]

Oh my goodness, I never realized that some families ate their children during these times! It's hard to imagine.  Remember how horrified we were with the tales of the Donner party?
 They seemed to think they would have no trouble selling Poor Little in spite of her condition.  Who would have bought her & would she have brought in much money?   

Sally

[ANNIE]

I am reading the bio by Hilary Spurling along with the book.  I must confess to reading way too far into the book.  Just couldn't stop!  Won't mention anything further than we are supposed to read.
I find that Pearl's reaction to her daughter, Carol and her needs something very difficult to read but understandable.  In the biography, I see the horrow of knowing you are going to leave your daughter in another country while you go on without seeing her for 3 years.  Although the doctors in China tell her she won't get proper care for Carol unless she takes her back to the United States.  At that, Pearl is so reluctant to accept what they have told her, she spends a whole year attempting to teach Carol simple things, like coloring, reading, dressing herself.  Finally she sees that this is not helping the girl and she sees that her marriage is failing and she will be the only one to take care of this child, born in a country where girls are at the bottom of the list.  So, she makes the trip to eastern part of the U.S. and is horrified by the care offered to the retarded children in our country. 
They are made to sit all day just waiting to go back to sleep.  They are not helpful places at all just repositories for these misfits.  And finally she finds the place where Carol will be honored and taught whatever she can learn. 
Later in the bio, we hear that Pearl was a good mother but a cool one.  She made a promise to herself never get too involved with her children's lives as they grew.  Unusual decision, but I think she was afraid that she had held Carol back by keeping her 9 years as her constant companion.  And she didn't want to cause them to depend too much one her. 
China was living in the dark ages compared to the rest of the world at that time.  Pear's book, Good Earth, plus her following novels, brought China predicaments to the public eye. 

[ANNIE]

In our book, we see the family deciding to travel down to South China to save themselves from the drought, but, O-lang tells them to wait until the following day so that she can give birth to yet another child.  They are in such horrible physical condition that Wang goes to his neighbor, Ching, and asks for just any kind of food for his wife, to save her life as she goes through her ordeal.  The description of the family's failing health from starving is just more than one wants to read.  The author really is graphic.  I don't think any of us has any idea of how horrible their lives have become due to the drought.         

[bellamarie]

Annie,   "So, she makes the trip to eastern part of the U.S. and is horrified by the care offered to the retarded children in our country. 
They are made to sit all day just waiting to go back to sleep.  They are not helpful places at all just repositories for these misfits.

This does not surprise me in the least.  We have many places such as this one still ready to accept the mentally ill, or even elderly.  My sister in law has been placed in a facility that advertises great care, medication monitored, activities, interaction with others etc., yet now we are learning she is sitting in her room all day by herself with her Bible, not taking her meds and not coming down to eat.  How do places feel it's humane to allow this, as long as they are fed and bathed I suppose they think that's enough.  Ughhh...

I am very impressed how O-lan knows just when to speak up in helping Wang make life decisions.  When the uncle brings the men to cheat Wang out of his land O-lan says, pg. 67 "The land we will not sell, surely,"  she said "else when we return from the south we shall have nothing to feed us.  But we will sell the table and the two beds and the bedding and the four benches and even the cauldron from the stove.  But the rakes and the hoe and the plow we will not sell, nor the land."  There was some calmness in her voice which carried more strength than all Wang Lung's anger..."

O-lan is certain they will return, and she knows that even now when they are at their most desperate point in life, they must hold on to the land if they are to have a future.  I sense this land will make them rich one day.

Sally, Yes, I thought the same thing about selling "poor little," who would want a child/slave with challenges, and how could she be of use to anyone, and what would she be worth? 

PatH, I was impressed when Wang took his son and corrected him for stealing.  They do indeed have standards, yet I feel O-lan is willing to overlook some values, such as stealing for the sake of feeding their empty stomachs. 

I remember stories my family told me about my Dad who was killed in a train accident when I was only 2 yrs old.  Before I was born he had been building our home, we were very poor, so he would steal what ever materials he could to help build the house.  He was a very proud man, and had strong Christian values, but then he also had children and a wife to build shelter for and so I suppose in times like these, you do what you can to provide.  That house still stands and when my Mom died we girls remodeled it and sold it for a very good price.  I am sure my Mom & Dad looked down from Heaven smiling at how we girls learned the sills to use a hammer, saw, and tools to do this ourselves. 

Ciao for now~

[JoanP]

It's difficult for us to understand the Chinese, a totally different culture, set of values - governed by the need to survive in near impossible situations, isn't it?  Pearl Buck grew up among the Chinese women, listening to their painful stories of survival.  Understanding them was probably not as difficult for her to understand as it is for us.  Can we compare the decisions these people are called upon to make with what we ourselves would do in the same situation?

 "It's as though she  knows what she believes HAS to be done and without hesitation does it."  Bellamarie, do you think O-lan makes her decisions for Wang Lung?  She knows he wants to begin the walk the next day - she knows she will be unable to comply with an ailing infant...  Did she make the decision - for him?

"I feel O-lan is willing to overlook some values, such as stealing for the sake of feeding their empty stomachs." 

I agree, Wang Lung seems to have stricter moral standards - for himself and for his children.  Is this because he had a traditional upbringing, while O-lan did not?

All while reading this, and your posts, I can't help but think of China's traditional past and what has become of those moral standards today. Annie  "China was living in the dark ages compared to the rest of the world at that time."  I'm not sure the situation for  female infants  has improved all that much  in the burgeoning population - 
 
Sally - I hate to think of what a soldier would have done with poor little, had he purchased her for a few pence.  O-lan doesn't press for this, because she knows that the small amount will not do the family much good.


 

[JoanP]

On the bright side, Pat observes -

O-lan and Wang have standards.  They won't abandon his father, they would not have eaten children, and when Wang's son starts to steal, he knows he has to do something.

Can we talk about the father for a bit?  The old man has been ailing in his room since we've met him.  Now he is on this forced march south.  He must be weak, hungry and still ailing.  And yet, he seems in such high spirits, laughing and talking along the way.  And when they reach their destination and the rest of the family must beg for money to pay for a bowl of gruel, he refuses, waits for them to provide for him. 
Were you struck by his confidence that he would be cared for, no matter how difficult it would be when there is scarcely enough food to feed the children?

[bellamarie]

JoanP, " Do you think O-lan makes her decisions for Wang Lung?  She knows he wants to begin the walk the next day - she knows she will be unable to comply with an ailing infant...  Did she make the decision - for him?

I don't necessarily think O-lan made the decision "for" Wang, I think she showed him that he had her support.  She makes the decision with her entire family's welfare and her own at stake.  She has lived through the worst of times being a slave.  She knows what life would entail for her daughter if sold.  She knows that in order for their family to have even the slightest chance for a future the land is their only resource and it belongs to them!  She is not about to let anyone have it due to their immediate circumstances, because I think she knows they will return one day and will be able to harvest once again and have a good life from it.  I think Wang was struggling with wanting to do right by his family at the time, yet he too wanted desperately to hold on to their land.  He too saw their land as their only chance at a future.  O-lan just spoke up and let it be known what they would sell and that the land was not for sale.

I think Wang has the luxury of keeping with his moral standards because he has not experienced what O-lan has.  He does know she has seen and lived by far worse than himself, so he is willing to allow her input to the decision making for their family.  I don't see him as weak because of this, if anything I see him as a wise man.

Oh dear, don't get me started on the old father....he is so lazy and entitled.  Is this a Chinese custom that all elderly fathers are to do nothing but lay and sleep all day and be fed and catered to?  Refusing to beg for his own bowl of rice truly irritated me.  I guess the only thing that did make me have any respect for this old man was the fact he watched over the small child and he enjoyed her company. 

Oh Sally, your post sent chills to me imagining "poor little" in the hands of a ruthless soldier.

This book is NOT for sissies. 

Ciao for now~

[ANNIE]

I don't know why I know this, but, the Chinese culture at that time was to honor the older parents by taking care of them.  And the elderly were not expected to do anything for themselves.  They could always assume that this tradition would go on.  I am not sure that is isn't still the tradition.  
I also remember reading somewhere that they kept pictures, altars, devoted to their dead relatives.It was the tradition.
This is why they killed or sold their girls as it must be a son who follow this tradition.

I have even heard that Chinese couples are killing their girls or??? in today's world hoping the next child born will be a son.  The oldest son must assume the couples care when they are aged.  

[JoanP]

Well, it does seem that Father Wang depends on the tradition of caring for one's parents, though he must be aware that the family is starving.  He seems to be certain that this too shall pass.

I found some information on the way elders are treated in China today - that would have changed his mind if he knew what the future held...

The deep veneration for parents and the elderly that has been a traditional mark of Chinese culture is rapidly deteriorating after decades of anti-life population control measures in the Communist state, reveal a series of recent surveys

“Like Hitler’s campaign to eliminate ‘useless eaters,’ the one-child policy has created the impression in the minds of the young that the principal hindrance to China’s development is too many people.”

“One of the many unintended consequences of China’s one-child policy * is the falling social status of the elderly,” Mosher told LifeSiteNews. “Young people, who are scarce, are prized, while the elderly, who are numerous, are despised.”

“The same government that has forcibly aborted hundreds of millions of unborn children will not hesitate to send an equal number of elderly to an early grave. The demographic logic of China’s one-child policy almost dictates that mass euthanasia will follow on the heels of mass abortions,” he said.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/chinese-respect-for-elderly-devastated-after-decades-of-population-control/

*  What do you know about China's One Child policy in 1978?   Annie, I can see why baby girls would not be desired if a couple could only have one child.  But think about a community with only male children...

[ANNIE]

I have been watching BBC World News lately.  Last night the reporter from China was telling of the Chinese who are being forced out of their homes as the government wants to build huge condo/apartment buildings and malls where these people live.  They don't own anything but the right to grow produce on the land where they live and that is always owned by the Communist government.  One lady interviewed said that her parents are terrified that they will also have to move. They are old, 70 and 80's, with no place to go.  I won't go into the whole story about what the government is planning for their population.  Another time.  This is the second time I have seen these huge malls and apartment/condo buildings that are where the government hopes to move the people to. Millions!

[JoanP]

"Despite the fact that it is illegal to kill newborn babies in the country, female infanticide and the failure to report female births is widely suspected, especially in rural areas."
Warning - the source of this information is really upsetting: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179271/Innocent-victim-Chinas-child-policy-Newborn-baby-girl-discarded-bin-left-die-plastic-bag-throat-cut.html#ixzz2egEKijTh

[JoanP]

Annie, that is really unsettling...the huge population and the helpless elders - viewed as " useless eaters." Wang Lang's dependant father would not have been so confident that his son would put him first.


“Like Hitler’s campaign to eliminate ‘useless eaters,’ the one-child policy has created the impression in the minds of the young that the principal hindrance to China’s development is too many people.”

The deep veneration for parents and the elderly that has been a traditional mark of Chinese culture is rapidly deteriorating after decades of anti-life population control measures in the Communist state, reveal a series of recent surveys.

My son was in China when they were preparing to host the Olympics not so long ago.  Huge numbers of homes of the poor, shacks really, were evacuated, and torn down for new construction.  No one could tell him where all those people would be living.  They didn't return to those cities though... So you have found an answer!

[JoanP]

Unlike most who seem to be satisfied with begging for just enough for a daily ration of rice, resourceful Wang Lung finds a way to work for his.   I wonder if Pearl based his character on anyone she knew.  He seems unlike any of the other male characters in the book.  Either that, or she's portraying an ideal man and father. Does he seem too good to be true?

[ANNIE]

Back to our story which tells us that our little family must go south to remain alive.Just the graphic descriptions of these starving farmers has left me horrified.  I keep reading the biography and now realize that Pearl Buck experienced many of the terrible things that were happening.  When she first went to China as a child and when she returned after her marriage,  she really lived as a Chinese person.  As a little girl, her friends were  Chinese and she was one of them.  So she heard all the mothers, aunties and grandmas talking about what went on in their families.  Seems that they were very open about their lives, not knowing that this little white girl was like a sponge, soaking up all their stories which she would later use as an author. 
As I read and really take in her Good Earth, I find myself thinking of how civilized in their own world the Chinese were but also how unaware they are of the rest of civilization. 

I found this article about the continued killing of baby girls in China and India which was published in 2012!  Its still going on--
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/02/200-million-girls-killed-in-china-where-are-the-feminists/   
This is so hard to believe!

 

[JudeS]

I just wanted to add to Annie's message below that the 200 million girls killed is WORLD WIDE and  touches China only peripherally in the present.
My niece is one of the over 80,000 Chinese girls adopted from China to the U.S.A. in the past 20 years. Thousands more have been adopted world wide. Because of her I know a lot about this subject.
Many girls are put into orphanages because of the "one-child" policy which was started during the Maoist regime to reduce the population. This was to stop infanticide when there wasn't enough to eat. The policy heavily favored males because they are the ones that support elderly parents. Girls go to live with the husband's family. There is no Social Security in China.

The policy was not enforced in many agricultural areas . This was told to us by our guide when I spent a month in China.

There is much discussion in the past two years about changing this one child to a two child policy. Nothing has changed yet but if the one child dies or is in any way handicapped then the family is allowed another child.
If a family decides they want extra children they have to pay a special tax. Wealthy families do this.

One can't compare China of today with the one of Pearl Bucks day without doing a lot of research. No country is without it's faults. The policy of moving great groups of people from agricultural areas to cities or other places has been going on for fifteen years. It sounds bizarre to us but the Gov't has its reasons. (I'm not agreeing, just reporting. The reasons are complex and I'm sure no one is interested in hearing them.)

[bellamarie]

Just finished reading the book, "The Exile" by Pearl S. Buck a memoir/biography of her mother Caroline (Carie) Stulting Sydenstricker.  Since I am reading The Good Earth with the book club and have never heard of Pearl S. Buck until now, I decided to read The Exile along with Good Earth.  I just finished The Exile and had two important questions:  

1. Why no where in the entire book does it NOT use Pearl as her name?
2. Who is the narrator of the book?  I know that Pearl S. Buck is the writer/author, but the narrator is unknown.

So I googled my questions I found this:

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker was a name given to her by her mother for many different reasons.  “Pearl” was given to her because her mother said, “ You were fair when you were born; you looked like a little pearl” (Buck, My Mother’s House 7).  Comfort, her middle name, was given to her because she was a comfort to her mother; and it also was the only family name to pass on to a new child in the family that had not seen an early death.
http://faculty.randolphcollege.edu/fwebb/buck/mebradbury/Mother.html

As for the narrator, all I could find is it was probably a Chinese woman.

I was so frustrated throughout this book wanting to know who is narrating it and when is Pearl born into this family.  Carie gives birth to Edwin, Maud, Edith, Arthur, Comfort, Clyde and Faith.  No where does it refer to Pearl being the first name and Comfort the middle.  No where throughout the book does it indicate who is the narrator.  

I enjoyed the book, it tugged at my heartstrings and I didn't want the story to end.

Now to go forward with this discussion of The Good Earth.

Ciao for now~  

[bellamarie]

Annie, "When she first went to China as a child and when she returned after her marriage,  she really lived as a Chinese person."

I'm not sure Pearl (Comfort) actually did live as a Chinese person as a child.  Her mother Carie was determined to NOT allow her children to take on any of the Chinese customs.  She would teach them of their homeland America, and tell them they belong to America. She taught them all about America and what it was like to live there and even traveled to America with them to show them what it would be like for them when they would leave China to go live in America. When they got into their teens she sent them to America to live with family so they could go to college and university and continue to live their lives in America.  Carie decorated their homes in China as if they were in America, she cooked American/southern meals and did not allow the children to dress in Chinese garb, she would bring back clippings of flowers from W. Virginia and plant them so her gardens would be the flowers she grew up with.  Throughout the entire book of The Exile, Carie's heart is torn between her love and loyalty to America and her missionary work with the poor Chinese.  JoanP you mentioned I might share a few nuggets of The Exile with the book club. I must share this because it is so beautiful.  In Carie's last days these were her thoughts and words:

narrator:  We wheeled her bed to the window and she lay looking out contentedly.  Once she said, half dreaming, "I have had after all so many of the good things of life.  I have had little children at my breast, I have had good earth to garden in, ruffled curtains blowing in at my windows, hills to look at, and valleys and sky, books and my music_and people to do for.  I've had a lot of good in my life.  I'd like to go on living, but this time I would give my life to America."  

narrator:  Now that I have come to know for myself the country she loved so well, I see that indeed she was the very flower of it.  Young in spirit to the end, indomitable, swift in generosity, eager after the fine things in life and yet able to live ardently if necessary in poverty, idealistic with the true idealism that is never satisfied with mere idealism not translated into actuality_she was the very breath of America made flesh and spirit.  The thousands of Chinese whom she touched in every sort of way she was America.  How often have I heard them say, "Americans are good, because they are kind.  She was an American."  To lonely sailor boys and soldier boys and to all white men and women her hearty good cheer and ready fellowship stood for home_for America in a far country.  To her children, in the midst of the most remote and alien environment she gave somehow and who knows at what cost, sometimes, an American background, making them truly citizens of their own country and giving them a love of it which is deathless.  To all of us everywhere who knew her this woman was America."

I just sat for a very long time, taking in that last paragraph, thinking about the turmoil it must have been for her to love America so very much and long for it, yet she was so loyal to her husband's need to be a missionary in China, she would not deny him, his calling. She never thought she was as good as her husband when it came to knowing and loving God.  And yet she failed to see she lived the Beatitudes every day, which is one of the closet ways you can "BE" with God.  The Exile left me breathless.......

Ciao for now~

[JoanP]

Thank you so much for sharing Pearl's biography of her mother, Bellamarie. Do you know when she wrote that ...or when it was published?  It sounds as if she wrote many years after her mother's death.  As if she is writing an idealized portrait of her mother.
Doesn't it make you wonder why so many biographers describe Pearl's childhood spent on the streets with the poorest of China's poor?  Where is the truth?

A good question...who was the narrator of this book?  Why do you not think it is Pearl?

[JoanP]

"One can't compare China of today with the one of Pearl Bucks day without doing a lot of research."

Jude, I can't agree more.  It's hard enough to figure out what was going on in China  in Pearl's day without doing research.  What do you think was going on?  Who were the foreigners China was rebelling against?  The missionaries, like Pearl's father?  Who were the soldiers? Chinese? what was the second flyer Wang brought home - the one with the fat man stabbing a dead man?  Did you understand any of that?  Other than that Wang is frightened?

[Dana]

To me the strength of PSB's books about China is that she had absorbed and was able to portray the beauty and positivity of that civilization as well as its horrors.  She didn't write books about the West, but we have our horrors too.  I really hate when we imagine that our civilization is any better than any other.  I just don't think it is.