SparkNotes: The Good Earth: Quiz

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

(A) He thinks that she is pretty

(B) He thinks she is ugly

(C) He is disappointed that she has bound feet

(D) He is disappointed that she does not have bound feet

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

(A) She thinks he is cruel because he beats her

(B) She seems pleased with him

(C) She is worried because he spends too much money

(D) She is unhappy because he expects her to do all the work

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

(A) That women are accorded a relatively equal position to men

(B) That women have more power and influence than men have

(C) That women are valued only if they produce many daughters for their husbands

(D) That although there are a variety of roles for women, none of the roles are equal to men’s roles

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

(A) His uncle has helped him in the past, so Wang Lung owes him

(B) Because his uncle has no heirs, Wang Lung hopes to inherit his land and wealth

(C) Traditional Chinese culture dictates young people’s obedience to their elders

(D) Wang Lung’s father is very close to his brother, and it would anger him if Wang Lung did not give in to his brother’s demands

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

(A) It satisfies him to move into the house where he was once treated like a lowly serf

(B) He wants to move his uncle’s family there so that he can be free of their constant pestering

(C) Lotus complains that his old house isn’t good enough for her

(D) All of the above

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

(A) He drowns his uncle

(B) He casts his uncle and his uncle’s family out of his home

(C) He has Pear Blossom poison his uncle and his uncle’s family

(D) He buys opium for his uncle and his uncle’s family

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

(A) He sells them to buy opium for his uncle and his uncle’s family

(B) He gives them to Lotus

(C) He buys more land with them

(D) He gives them to their second daughter before she is married

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

(A) He works hard and manages his money carefully

(B) O-lan works hard and is a resourceful, frugal wife

(C) Luck

(D) All of the above

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

(A) O-lan smothers her because she is born during a famine year

(B) O-lan smothers her because she has no interest in having a second daughter

(C) O-lan and Wang Lung sell her as a slave to a rich family

(D) She starves to death

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

(A) Atheism

(B) A combination of Taoism, Buddhism, and earth deity worship

(C) Christianity

(D) Ancestor-worship

11. How does Wang Lung resemble Old Master Hwang?

(A) He loses all respect and attachment to his land

(B) He allows his wife to become hopelessly addicted to opium

(C) He wastes his money by taking a long succession of young concubines

(D) None of the above

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

(A) Blue

(B) Red

(C) Green

(D) Brown

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

(A) Ching was Wang Lung’s devoted friend and servant for many years

(B) He fears that the loss of Ching as overseer will make his workers less disciplined

(C) Ching was his beloved uncle

(D) None of the above

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

(A) Wang Lung’s older son thinks his younger brother is trying to seduce his wife

(B) Wang Lung’s younger son hates his older brother after he finds out that he visits Lotus alone, a shameful and embarrassing breach of filial piety

(C) The older son wants to sell the land, but the younger wishes to keep it

(D) None of the above

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

(A) He becomes an officer in a revolutionary army

(B) He dies in a war

(C) Wang Lung disowns him after he finds out that he is visiting Lotus alone

(D) He starves to death in a famine year

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

(A) Wang Lung poisons her before he dies

(B) Pear Blossom promises to care for her after Wang Lung’s death

(C) O-lan smothers her as soon as it becomes apparent that she is retarded

(D) Wang Lung and O-lan are forced to sell her as a slave during a famine year

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

(A) He feels ashamed because he has committed adultery

(B) He feels guilty because it hurts Lotus’s feelings

(C) He feels a little ashamed because he grew up disdaining the decadent behavior of the rich

(D) He feels entitled to the affair because he is the reigning male in his household

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

(A) His oldest son is impressed

(B) His second son does not react

(C) His third son is angry because he asked for Pear Blossom

(D) All of the above

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

(A) It is tense, because they all rebel against his way of life and his plans for them

(B) It is tense, because they show no respect for him at all

(C) It is tender, because they are as devoted to him as Wang Lung is to his own father

(D) None of the above

20. Why does O-lan hate Cuckoo?

(A) Cuckoo is responsible for Wang Lung’s decision to buy Lotus as his concubine

(B) Cuckoo has an affair with Wang Lung

(C) Cuckoo’s son takes her teenage son to an old prostitute in town

(D) When they were both slaves in the House of Hwang, Cuckoo insulted and abused her

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

(A) When he takes her pearls and purchases land with them

(B) Right after he moves Lotus into his house

(C) When O-lan becomes bedridden, and the household quickly falls into disorder

(D) Years after her death

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

(A) Family loyalty

(B) Wealth

(C) Tradition

(D) The land

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

(A) Wang Lung’s hard life as a poor farmer will ruin her beauty and it will go to waste

(B) He fears that a pretty wife will always be distracting Wang Lung from his work

(C) He fears that a pretty wife will cause too much jealousy among the other village men

(D) He fears that she is not a virgin

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

(A) Her suitor’s mother-in-law is terminally ill, and she is anxious to see her son married before she dies

(B) Wang Lung’s uncle has shown an unusual interest in her, so Wang Lung is afraid that he cannot protect her virginity any longer

(C) The son of Wang Lung’s uncle has shown an unusual interest in her, so Wang Lung is afraid that he cannot protect her virginity any longer

(D) Wang Lung cannot afford to support her, but her suitor’s family can

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

(A) To bear sons for Wang Lung

(B) To help O-lan with the household duties

(C) To satisfy Wang Lung’s sexual appetite

(D) All of the above

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