Pearl S. Buck's 1931 novel The Good Earth has a tragic ending. The main character, Wang Lung, is nearing death and sees all he worked for his entire life evaporating before his eyes. His children squabble over money and are planning to sell off his farmland, and his wife has passed away (a death that was likely hastened by Wang Lung's cold-hearted actions).

The tragic irony of the situation is that Wang Lung had dreamed of being wealthy his entire life. He started off dirt poor, and his wife was the slave of the wealthy Hwang family, which began to fall apart due to laziness, drug use, and irresponsible spending. After enduring years of poverty, famine, and misery, Wang Lung catches a break and comes across some money. Through hard work and pertinent investments he becomes wealthy, even buying the Hwang estate. He has finally achieved his goal, but everything else in his life has fallen apart.

Unfortunately, the resolution to Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" is not a happy one for readers.  It might be more true to life than a lot of stories, but that doesn't mean I enjoy depressing endings because they are more realistic.  The entire story is about Wang Lung's struggle to make a living and be financially secure.  He starts off poor, but is able to make a decent living farming.  Then he becomes really really poor. He and his kids have to resort to begging.  Then he steals a ton of money in a rebellion of sorts.  He uses the money to become a wealthy and stable landowner/farmer.  Things are looking good so far.  

And then the falling action and resolution comes along.  Wang Lung's wife is dying.  His kids are always fighting over the money and not taking care of it well.  He's getting older and older and eventually stops caring what his kids do to ruin the family's wealth.  The story concludes with Wang Lung's children deciding to sell off all of the land that made them rich in the first place.