The Good Earth Review (Chapter Plot Review + Significant Numbers)

Chapter 1

• Wang Lung is a poor farmer living with his elderly father.

• It is Wang Lung's wedding day.

• Wang Lung goes to the wealthy House of Hwang to receive his bride.

• His bride is O-lan, a former slave of the Hwang family.

• O-lan was sold to the Hwang family during a famine when she was a child.

• Wang Lung is disappointed that O-lan is plain and does not have bound feet.

• Wang Lung and O-lan return to his farm.

• They burn incense before the earth gods.

• O-lan prepares the wedding feast.

• The contrast between Wang Lung's poor farming family and the wealthy Hwangs is established.

Chapter 2

• Wang Lung begins married life with O-lan.

• O-lan proves to be extremely hardworking.

• She cleans and repairs the household.

• She begins working beside Wang Lung in the fields.

• Wang Lung and O-lan work closely together on their land.

• O-lan announces that she is pregnant.

• Wang Lung is secretly extremely happy.

• The chapter establishes the importance of the earth and hard work.

Chapter 3

• O-lan prepares to give birth.

• She refuses to have anyone from the House of Hwang assist her.

• O-lan wants to return to the Hwangs only after she can proudly show them her child.

• O-lan gives birth without assistance.

• The child is a boy.

• Wang Lung and his father are extremely proud of having a male heir.

Chapter 4

• Wang Lung celebrates the birth of his first son.

• He buys 1 pound of red sugar.

• He buys 50 eggs and dyes them red.

• He buys 4 sticks of incense for the earth god.

• O-lan quickly returns to working in the fields.

• The harvest is excellent.

• Wang Lung and O-lan begin saving silver.

• They hide their money in a hole in the wall.

• A celebration is held when the baby is 1 month old.

Chapter 5

• Wang Lung and O-lan celebrate the New Year.

• O-lan makes special cakes.

• O-lan dresses herself and her son well.

• She proudly returns to the House of Hwang with the baby.

• O-lan discovers that the Hwang family is beginning to lose its wealth.

• The Old Mistress is addicted to opium.

• The Old Master spends money on women and luxury.

• The Hwang family needs to sell some of its land.

• Wang Lung decides he wants to buy Hwang land.

Chapter 6

• Wang Lung buys his first piece of land from the House of Hwang.

• Buying land makes him extremely proud.

• The additional land means Wang Lung and O-lan must work even harder.

• O-lan becomes pregnant again.

• Wang Lung is initially annoyed because he needs her labor.

• O-lan gives birth to a second son.

• Wang Lung has another successful harvest.

• His wealth continues to increase.

Chapter 7

• Wang Lung criticizes his uncle's family for being lazy.

• Wang Lung's uncle becomes angry that a younger relative has insulted him.

• The uncle uses family tradition to pressure Wang Lung into giving him money.

• Wang Lung gives him the money despite resenting him.

• O-lan becomes pregnant again.

• O-lan gives birth to a daughter.

• Wang Lung views the daughter's birth as a possible sign that his good luck is ending.

Chapter 8

• A severe drought begins.

• Wang Lung's crops begin to fail.

• The House of Hwang continues losing money.

• Wang Lung manages to buy another piece of Hwang land.

• The famine becomes increasingly severe.

• Wang Lung's family becomes desperately hungry.

• Wang Lung is eventually forced to kill his work ox for food.

• Desperate villagers break into Wang Lung's house looking for food.

• O-lan stops them from taking the family's furniture.

• Wang Lung refuses to sell his land.

Chapter 9

• A terrible famine spreads throughout the region.

• Ching admits that he participated in the raid on Wang Lung's home.

• Ching feels guilty and gives Wang Lung a handful of beans.

• O-lan gives birth to another daughter.

• O-lan kills the newborn because the starving family cannot support another child.

• Wang Lung is horrified by the effects of the famine.

• Wang Lung's uncle tries to pressure him into selling his land cheaply.

• Wang Lung refuses to sell the land.

• He sells furniture instead.

• Wang Lung decides the family must travel south to survive.

Chapter 10

• Wang Lung carries his elderly father as the family leaves home.

• Wang Lung becomes bitter toward the gods because of the famine.

• The starving family passes the collapsing House of Hwang.

• Wang Lung learns about the "firewagon," or train.

• The family joins other starving people traveling south.

• Wang Lung is unfamiliar with the train and is frightened by it.

• They board the train and leave their farming village.

Chapter 11

• Wang Lung's family arrives in a large southern city.

• They buy mats and construct a temporary hut.

• They use public kitchens that sell cheap rice gruel.

• Wang Lung refuses to depend entirely on begging.

• He works pulling a rickshaw.

• O-lan and the children beg.

• The family earns barely enough money to eat.

• Wang Lung feels like a stranger in the city.

• He begins desperately missing his land.

Chapter 12

• Wang Lung notices enormous differences between rich and poor people in the city.

• Young men begin talking about revolution.

• O-lan allows the children to do whatever is necessary to survive.

• Wang Lung's younger son steals pork.

• Wang Lung allows his family to eat the meat.

• Wang Lung refuses to eat the stolen meat himself.

• He punishes his son for stealing.

• Wang Lung increasingly wants to return to honest work on his land.

Chapter 13

• Revolutionary anger continues growing throughout the city.

• O-lan becomes pregnant again.

• Planting season approaches back home.

• Wang Lung has no money for transportation, seed, or equipment.

• O-lan suggests that they could sell their daughter.

• Wang Lung is horrified by the idea.

• He is still tempted because of his desperate desire to return to the land.

• The enormous inequality between the wealthy and poor pushes the city toward revolt.

Chapter 14

• Wang Lung sees missionaries and political speakers throughout the city.

• He understands little of their religious or political messages.

• Soldiers begin forcing poor men into military service.

• Wealthy people begin fleeing.

• Wang Lung again considers whether he must sell his daughter.

• O-lan reveals the terrible abuse she experienced as a slave in the House of Hwang.

• An invading force enters the city.

• Poor people break into and loot the homes of the wealthy.

• Wang Lung joins the crowd.

• He confronts a rich man and obtains gold.

• Wang Lung finally has enough money to return home.

Chapter 15

• Wang Lung buys seed and a new ox.

• The family returns to its farm.

• Their house has been damaged and looted.

• Wang Lung does not despair because the land still remains.

• Ching's wife has died.

• Ching sold his daughter rather than allow her to starve.

• Wang Lung gives Ching seed.

• Wang Lung offers to help plow Ching's land.

• Wang Lung begins rebuilding his farm.

Chapter 16

• Wang Lung discovers that O-lan secretly took jewels during the southern uprising.

• O-lan knew where wealthy families would hide valuables because she had been a slave.

• Wang Lung wants to convert the jewels into land.

• O-lan asks to keep only 2 small pearls.

• Wang Lung allows her to keep them.

• Wang Lung returns to the House of Hwang.

• The Hwang family has almost completely collapsed.

• The Old Mistress is dead.

• Only the Old Master and Cuckoo remain.

• Wang Lung uses the jewels to purchase 300 acres of Hwang land.

• Wang Lung's rise begins replacing the Hwang family's fall.

Chapter 17

• Wang Lung becomes increasingly prosperous.

• He buys more livestock.

• He expands his house.

• Wang Lung purchases Ching's land.

• Ching becomes Wang Lung's trusted farm manager.

• O-lan gives birth to twins.

• One twin is a boy.

• The other twin is a girl.

• Wang Lung realizes his older daughter has developmental disabilities.

• He becomes especially protective of her.

• Wang Lung sends his first 2 sons to school.

• The boys receive the school names Nung En and Nung Wen.

Chapter 18

• A flood prevents Wang Lung from working his fields.

• Wang Lung becomes wealthy, idle, and restless.

• For the first time, he becomes highly concerned with appearance and social status.

• He begins thinking O-lan is too plain for a wealthy man.

• He cruelly criticizes O-lan's appearance.

• He especially criticizes her large, unbound feet.

• Wang Lung visits a fashionable tea house.

• He meets Cuckoo there.

• Cuckoo shows him beautiful women available at the tea house.

• Wang Lung becomes attracted to Lotus.

• His distance from the land begins contributing to his moral decline.

Chapter 19

• Wang Lung returns to the tea house.

• He begins a sexual relationship with Lotus.

• Wang Lung becomes obsessed with her.

• He visits Lotus repeatedly.

• He begins spending money extravagantly.

• He buys new clothing and changes his appearance.

• He cuts off his traditional queue because Lotus dislikes it.

• Wang Lung loses interest in farming.

• He demands O-lan's 2 pearls.

• Wang Lung intends to give the pearls to Lotus.

• O-lan is deeply hurt.

Chapter 20

• Wang Lung's uncle returns with his family.

• They move into Wang Lung's home.

• The uncle's wife realizes Wang Lung wants another woman.

• She encourages Wang Lung to take Lotus as a concubine.

• Wang Lung asks her to arrange the relationship.

• Wang Lung says he would sacrifice almost anything to possess Lotus.

• He builds Lotus a separate courtyard.

• He adds luxury features for her.

• Lotus moves into Wang Lung's household.

• Cuckoo becomes Lotus's servant.

• O-lan is devastated but has little power to stop Wang Lung.

Chapter 21

• O-lan refuses to serve Cuckoo.

• O-lan reveals that Cuckoo treated her cruelly when they were both slaves.

• Conflict develops between O-lan and the Lotus household.

• O-lan reminds Wang Lung that he took her pearls.

• Wang Lung feels guilty.

• He builds Lotus and Cuckoo a separate kitchen.

• Eventually Wang Lung begins craving work again.

• He returns to his fields.

• Working the earth begins restoring his sense of purpose.

Chapter 22

• Wang Lung throws himself back into farming.

• His obsession with Lotus becomes weaker.

• Wang Lung's eldest son becomes educated.

• The eldest son also becomes moody and spoiled.

• He begins skipping school.

• Wang Lung punishes him.

• O-lan explains that wealthy young men in the House of Hwang behaved similarly.

• Wang Lung realizes his own son is becoming like a wealthy young lord.

• Wang Lung decides that his eldest son needs a wife.

Chapter 23

• Wang Lung searches for a suitable wife for his eldest son.

• Lotus suggests the daughter of Liu, a wealthy grain merchant.

• Wang Lung learns that his cousin has introduced the eldest son to a prostitute.

• Wang Lung pressures the prostitute to stop seeing his son.

• Cuckoo begins marriage negotiations with Liu.

• Wang Lung tries to throw his uncle's family out.

• His uncle reveals that he belongs to a dangerous band of robbers.

• Wang Lung realizes his uncle's connections are why his farm has avoided robbery.

• Wang Lung is forced to let the uncle's family stay.

• Liu's daughter is 14 years old.

• Liu initially wants to wait 3 years before the marriage.

• A plague of locusts threatens Wang Lung's crops.

Chapter 24

• Wang Lung's eldest son wants to attend university in the south.

• Wang Lung initially refuses.

• O-lan has been suffering from a swollen abdomen for years.

• Despite her illness, she continues working.

• O-lan warns Wang Lung that their eldest son is visiting Lotus privately.

• Wang Lung does not initially believe her.

• Wang Lung catches his son alone with Lotus.

• Wang Lung becomes furious.

• He beats both Lotus and his son.

• Wang Lung sends his eldest son south to study.

Chapter 25

• Wang Lung's second son proves intelligent and practical.

• Wang Lung arranges for him to become an apprentice to Liu.

• Wang Lung considers a marriage between Liu's son and his second daughter.

• Wang Lung notices his second daughter's feet are being bound.

• The girl admits that the bindings cause terrible pain.

• She says O-lan warned that a husband might not love her if she had large feet.

• Wang Lung realizes O-lan was referring to his own treatment of her.

• Wang Lung feels intense guilt.

• O-lan's health becomes dramatically worse.

• Wang Lung finally hires a doctor.

• The doctor makes it clear that O-lan is dying.

• Wang Lung begins recognizing how much he has taken her for granted.

Chapter 26

• O-lan remains seriously ill.

• The household realizes how much work she had always performed.

• Wang Lung becomes kinder toward her.

• O-lan asks to see her future daughter-in-law.

• O-lan asks to see her eldest son married before she dies.

• Liu agrees to move the wedding earlier.

• Wang Lung's eldest son returns.

• The wedding takes place while O-lan is still alive.

• O-lan dies shortly afterward.

• Wang Lung's elderly father also dies.

• O-lan and Wang Lung's father are buried during the same funeral ceremony.

• Wang Lung regrets having taken O-lan's pearls.

Chapter 27

• Another flood causes serious food shortages.

• Wang Lung carefully controls household spending.

• His uncle's family continues exploiting him.

• Wang Lung's eldest son wants to remove them.

• Wang Lung explains that his uncle is connected to dangerous robbers.

• The eldest son suggests getting the uncle's family addicted to opium.

• Wang Lung initially hesitates.

• Wang Lung's cousin behaves sexually toward Wang Lung's second daughter.

• Wang Lung sends his daughter to live with her future husband's family for protection.

• Wang Lung buys 6 ounces of opium.

• His uncle and aunt begin becoming addicted.

Chapter 28

• Wang Lung's uncle and aunt quickly become addicted to opium.

• They stop causing as many problems.

• Refugees return after the flood and need money for seed.

• Wang Lung lends them money at high interest.

• Desperate farmers begin selling land to Wang Lung.

• Some desperate families also sell daughters.

• Wang Lung buys Pear Blossom.

• Pear Blossom is 7 years old.

• She becomes a servant for Lotus.

• Wang Lung's eldest son suggests moving into the old House of Hwang.

• Wang Lung rents the former Hwang mansion.

• Wang Lung now occupies the type of home that once intimidated him.

Chapter 29

• Wang Lung's second son asks for a practical and hardworking wife.

• A marriage is arranged for him.

• Wang Lung's troublesome cousin leaves to become a soldier.

• Wang Lung becomes increasingly comfortable with wealthy habits.

• His family wears expensive clothing.

• Wang Lung eats expensive foods.

• His eldest son's wife gives birth to a son.

• Wang Lung becomes a grandfather.

• His eldest son wants the family to behave like a great wealthy house.

• Ching suddenly becomes critically ill.

• Ching dies.

• Wang Lung is devastated by the loss of his loyal friend.

• Ching receives an elaborate funeral.

Chapter 30

• Wang Lung's eldest son wants increasingly expensive furniture and decorations.

• The family becomes more extravagant.

• Wang Lung's second son complains about the excessive spending.

• Wang Lung discovers that his third son does not want to become a farmer.

• Wang Lung is deeply disappointed.

• He reluctantly hires a tutor for the third son.

• Wang Lung gives the second son control over the family's finances.

• Wang Lung's uncle eventually dies.

• The family continues moving away from Wang Lung's simple farming origins.

Chapter 31

• War approaches the area.

• Wang Lung's cousin returns as a soldier.

• The cousin brings soldiers into Wang Lung's household.

• Wang Lung must provide food and shelter for them.

• Cuckoo suggests allowing the cousin to choose a female slave.

• The cousin chooses Pear Blossom.

• Pear Blossom desperately asks Wang Lung to protect her.

• Another slave agrees to take Pear Blossom's place.

• The cousin eventually leaves.

• The substitute slave becomes pregnant.

Chapter 32

• The slave used by Wang Lung's cousin gives birth to a daughter.

• Wang Lung arranges for the woman to marry one of his workers.

• Wang Lung's uncle's wife dies.

• Conflict grows between Wang Lung's eldest and second sons.

• Their wives also become enemies.

• Money and status cause increasing family division.

• Wang Lung's third son announces that he wants to become a soldier.

• Wang Lung desperately tries to stop him.

• Wang Lung offers him almost anything.

• The third son asks for Pear Blossom.

• Wang Lung becomes jealous and refuses.

Chapter 33

• Pear Blossom tells Wang Lung that she is afraid of aggressive young men.

• She says she feels safer with older men.

• Wang Lung becomes attracted to Pear Blossom.

• Pear Blossom becomes Wang Lung's concubine.

• Wang Lung is now an old man taking a much younger woman.

• Wang Lung's third son becomes furious.

• The third son leaves home.

• He joins the war.

• The generational separation within Wang Lung's family becomes even greater.

Chapter 34

• Wang Lung becomes increasingly old and weak.

• He worries about what will happen to his disabled daughter after his death.

• Wang Lung gives Pear Blossom poison.

• He asks her to use it on his disabled daughter after he dies rather than let the girl suffer.

• Pear Blossom refuses to kill her.

• Pear Blossom promises to care for the daughter instead.

• Wang Lung purchases a coffin for himself.

• He returns to his original earthen farmhouse for his final days.

• Wang Lung overhears his 2 eldest sons discussing selling some of the land.

• Wang Lung is horrified.

• He warns that selling the land will destroy the family.

• His sons promise they will not sell it.

• The brothers secretly smile at each other.

• The ending strongly suggests they intend to sell the land anyway.

• Wang Lung's family is beginning to repeat the same cycle that destroyed the House of Hwang.

10 years old

• O-lan's age when her parents sell her during a famine.

• She becomes a slave in the House of Hwang.

1 silver piece

• Bribe Wang Lung must give the gatekeeper to enter the House of Hwang on his wedding day.

• Shows how poor and intimidated Wang Lung is at the beginning.

1 pound

• Amount of red sugar Wang Lung buys after the birth of his first son.

• Part of his celebration of having a male heir.

50 eggs

• Number of eggs Wang Lung buys after his first son's birth.

• He dyes them red.

• The red eggs announce and celebrate the birth of a boy.

4 sticks of incense

• Amount Wang Lung buys after the birth of his first son.

• He burns them in honor of the earth god.

1 month

• Age of Wang Lung's first son when the family holds a special celebration.

• Wang Lung distributes the red eggs.

2 sons early in the novel

• O-lan's first 2 children are boys.

• Having sons greatly increases her status within the family.

• Wang Lung is extremely proud of having male heirs.

4th pregnancy

• During the great drought and famine, O-lan is pregnant for the fourth time.

• The pregnancy eventually results in the newborn daughter O-lan kills because the family is starving.

2 pearls

• The only jewels O-lan asks Wang Lung to let her keep after the southern uprising.

• They are extremely precious to O-lan.

• Wang Lung later takes them from her.

• Wang Lung gives them to Lotus.

• The pearls symbolize Wang Lung's betrayal of O-lan.

300 acres

• Amount of Hwang land Wang Lung purchases using O-lan's stolen jewels.

• The purchase marks a huge expansion of Wang Lung's wealth.

• It also shows the reversal between the declining Hwang family and rising Wang family.

2 twins

• O-lan later gives birth to twins.

• One is a boy.

• One is a girl.

• The boy becomes Wang Lung's third son.

• The girl becomes Wang Lung's second surviving daughter.

2 school names

• Wang Lung's first 2 sons are sent to school.

• The eldest becomes Nung En.

• The second becomes Nung Wen.

• "Nung" connects their wealth to the earth.

3 sons

• O-lan ultimately gives Wang Lung 3 sons.

• Having 3 male heirs is one of O-lan's greatest sources of pride.

• Her sons become central to the ending because they do not share Wang Lung's love of the land.

14 years old

• Age of Liu's daughter when she is first betrothed to Wang Lung's eldest son.

• Liu initially believes she is too young to marry immediately.

3 years

• Length of time Liu originally wants to wait before his daughter marries Wang Lung's eldest son.

• The marriage eventually occurs earlier because O-lan is dying.

3 years of illness

• O-lan quietly suffers from a swollen abdomen for about 3 years.

• Wang Lung fails to recognize how serious her condition is until much later.

• Demonstrates how much O-lan's suffering is ignored.

6 ounces

• Amount of opium Wang Lung buys for his uncle's household.

• Wang Lung wants his uncle and aunt to become addicted.

• The plan is intended to make them easier to control.

7 years old

• Pear Blossom's age when her desperate father sells her.

• Wang Lung buys her as a servant.

• She initially serves Lotus.

• She later becomes Wang Lung's concubine.

2 older sons

• Wang Lung's 2 eldest sons are the ones who discuss selling the land at the end.

• They promise Wang Lung that they will not sell.

• Their secret smiles suggest that they intend to do so.

34 chapters

• Total number of chapters in The Good Earth.

• Chapter 34 ends with Wang Lung discovering that his sons are considering selling the land.

1 central possession: the land

• Wang Lung repeatedly treats the land as more important than ordinary wealth.

• He refuses to sell it during famine.

• He continually buys more land when he becomes prosperous.

• His greatest fear at the end is that his children will sell it.

• For test purposes, the land is the most important recurring object in the entire novel.