Life In Pearl Buck's The Good Earth

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Contrast is when two ideas or objects are different or opposite from each other. Contrast is used in literature two show the variation between two objects, such as characters or lifestyles. Pearl Buck uses contrast effectively in The Good Earth. Their life changes due to drought and famine; Wang Lung moves his family to the South to survive. There is great contrast between their life in the North and their life in the South. Even though Wang Lung still holds the same values in life, the contrast between life in the North and the South affects his family’s lifestyle greatly.

Life in the North for Wang Lung’s family was familiar for him. His family would farm, cook, and live peacefully. He had money to spend on delicate foods, colored paper, and land. His new wife brought him children, and …show more content…
His family becomes more and more desperate with moving to the South. A once proud, independent family turned to begging for money and food. Wang Lung and his wife also consider selling their daughter to slavery in order to get back to the North. The most prominent example of his family changing with the South is his sons stealing. They steal meats from a butcher and bring it home to eat. “He was angry and afraid in his heart because his sons were growing into thieves here in this city” (119). Wang Lung and his family’s ideals and values changed greatly with their move to the South.
Pearl Buck wrote a great amount of physical differences between the North and the South to symbolize the difference in Wang Lung’s family after the move. This literature tool is used in the novel The Good Earth by the author. Although Wang Lung still has the same values in life, the contrast between life in the North and the South affects his family. Wang Lung becomes aware of this contrast and makes an effort to return to their home in the North before his family becomes
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