The Good Earth: Chapters 1-7 and Confucianism & Naturalism Philosophy – Flashcards

1) Man is an animal 2) Fate or luck determines the outcome of events 3) Success or failure is determined by luck or chance 4) Man has no free will 5) Nature is indifferent to man 6) No human experience is free from moral decision 7) Brotherhood in shared helplessness 8) Nothing is permanent; everything changes

1) set moral example (emperor) 2) Golden Rule (do unto others as you have them do unto you) 3) Avoid extremes 4) Avoid change (especially education) 5) Respect for elders (lose face); collective responsibility

1) Wang Lung and his father's house: small, "tattered paper" covers his "small square hole of a window" --> obviously a family of limited means 2) House of Hwang: very big, could fit a "score of houses such as his (Wang Lung's)", high roof, painted beams 3) the Temple: small structure composed of grey bricks, "not higher in all than a man's shoulder", holds two figures - a God & his lady

cooks, cleans, gathers wood, work in the field w/ Wang Lung, collects dung from animals to use as fertilizer, sews clothes in need of mending, cleans the bedding

caring: cares for his father by bringing him hot water thoughtful: wonders if O-lan likes him

impatient: constantly yells for Wang Lung to hurry up when preparing his food and/or bringing him hot water frugal: aghast at Wang Lung's use of tea leaves in his hot water, compares tea to gold

1) The gatekeeper at the House of Hwang is rude to Wang Lung, and forces him to pay a piece of silver to proceed through the gate 2) Wang Lung often feels inferior to the townspeople 3) Wang Lung's first visit to the House of Hwang vs. the second --> first: ridiculed and fooled by the gatekeeper, still rather poor; second: respected by the gatekeeper and taken seriously, gaining wealth and arrived w/ a son and a wife

1) O-lan was sold off as a slave to Wang Lung and does more work than most can fathom, even prepared a meal in the middle of labor 2) often seen in the culture of the time as bad luck to have a female baby --> Wang Lung and many others often hope for, and sometimes, even pray for, male children; the birth of a boy is celebrated, while the birth of a girl is seen as "not worth mentioning" 3) Wang Lung's father, in the first chapter, states, "We must have a woman who will tend the house and bear children as she works in the fields..." demonstrating the two most obvious of women's job: child-bearing and assisting in farming

1) sons are celebrated: bad luck to have a daughter 2) Wang Lung takes care of his impatient and frugal father --> elders are respected 3) women were sold off as slaves and were expected to do all the cooking, cleaning and mending around the home

Wang Lung and other, less fortunate characters: cherish the Earth members of the House of Hwang: see the Earth as a source of profit

central character in the novel, a struggling Chinese peasant farmer

former kitchen slave brought home by Wang Lung from the House of Hwang to be his wife; doesn't talk unless absolutely necessary; perceptive and observant; cares deeply for her eldest son

a frail old man in the beginning of the novel; serves mainly to prove the tradition of respect for the elderly; selfish, impatient and frugal

a shiftless (unemployed) farmer; likes to shop; greedy; often gambles w/ money; has all daughters (uses this to convince Wang Lung to "lend" him money); lazy; poor; "unfortunate"

self-indulgent; likes to shop; greedy; sensitive; lazy; materialistic *CHARACTER FOIL TO O-LAN

uncle's only son; impudent and stupid, 15 y.o.

referred to as a "slave" by her own mother; "not worth mentioning"

small, reclusive, quiet

Heads of House of Hwang --> represent decadence and wealth; mistress on opium; lord often sleeps w/ concubines

Wang Lung's uncle will not pay him back; they are not lending money, but giving it