The Good Earth

1. What is Wang Lung’s reaction upon first seeing O-lan?

2. What does O-lan think of Wang Lung in the early days of their marriage?

3. What does The Good Earth reveal about the status of women in traditional Chinese culture?

4. Why can’t Wang Lung refuse his uncle’s demands?

5. Why does Wang Lung rent the House of Hwang?

6. How does Wang Lung deal with the problems his uncle causes him?

7. What does Wang Lung do with O-lan’s two pearls?

8. Why does Wang Lung rise to wealth and influence?

9. What happens to the second infant daughter born to Wang Lung and O-lan?

10. Which of the following best characterizes Wang Lung’s religion?

11. How does Wang Lung resemble Old Master Hwang?

12. Judging from The Good Earth, what color has special significance in traditional Chinese culture?

13. Why is Wang Lung so devastated by Ching’s death?

14. Why is there so much hostility between Wang Lung’s two oldest sons?

15. What happens to Wang Lung’s third son?

16. What happens to Wang Lung’s retarded daughter?

17. How does Wang Lung feel about his affair with Pear Blossom?

18. How do Wang Lung’s sons feel about his affair with Pear Blossom?

19. Which of the following best describes Wang Lung’s relationship with his sons?

20. Why does O-lan hate Cuckoo?

21. When does Wang Lung come to appreciate everything that O-lan has done for him?

22. In The Good Earth, what is the only good thing that truly lasts?

23. When Wang Lung is ready to get married, why does his father oppose his choice of a pretty woman?

24. Why does Wang Lung send his younger daughter to her future husband’s family so early?

25. When Lotus comes to Wang Lung’s household, what is her primary purpose?