Student Question

What is Wang Lung's emotionally complex relationship with the city in The Good Earth?

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In The Good Earth, Wang Lung is both fascinated and repulsed by life in the city.  He and his family live in extreme poverty and must try to get handouts of food among so many others who are starving.  There is little work, so O-lan and the children have taken to begging in the streets.  Wang Lung takes a job pulling a rickshaw, and through this job he has a window into the richer parts of the city.  The customers who hire him toss money around frivolously, and one even tells him that he should not work so hard.  Wang Lung is disgusted by the socioeconomic disparity that is so obvious in the city, but at the same time, he is fascinated by the lives of the rich.  He wishes that he were able to see inside the homes of the rich, and he secretly longs to have money like they do.  Wang Lung is troubled by the complex, contrasting feelings that he has about the city, and when it is time for him and his family to leave to return to his land, he is grateful to be going home.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In The Good Earth, how does Wang Lung's relationship with the city contrast with his life?

In The Good Earth, Wang Lung and his family have moved south to find food because their land has suffered in the drought.  When they get south, Wang Lung takes a job as a rickshaw driver which offers him the opportunity to see many sides of life in the city.  He takes on passengers who want to go into the market square, and here Wang Lung sees all the delicacies that are on sale to those who can afford their price.  However, Wang Lung and his family are still eating the gruel that they get in line in their part of town.  Wang Lung is outraged by the difference in the lifestyle that his family has to live as compared to the livestyles of the richer city dwellers.  But even through his outrage, Wang Lung is still awed by the riches in the city and this fuels his desire to return to his land and acquire his own riches.  So, Wang Lung's relationship with the city is conflicted because he feels both disgusted and awed by the riches that he sees there.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial