What contradictions exist in Wang Lung's attitude towards his son in The Good Earth?
On the one hand, Wang Lung loves his eldest son, Nung En, and is very proud of him. Nung En has grown up without the poverty that his mother and father experienced, and this gives Wang Lung pleasure. At the same time, he is concerned and sometimes feels alienated from his son because Nung En does not act like his father.
Nung En acts like a young lord and feels entitled to a lavish lifestyle. Wang Lung cannot completely understand why his son desires so many things that he never had, then has to remember that he spent his youth working so hard he had never had time to think and desire.
While Wang Lung is proud of his son's proud bearing, which shows how far the family has raised itself up, he also feels grieved that Nung En does not have his father's grounding connection to the earth. Nung...
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En also does not have the same belief in the traditions that Wang Lung adheres to deeply: Nung En, for example, does not take respecting one's elders as seriously as Wang Lung does. Nung En pays lip service to his family and community but prefers to live for himself.
Nung En represents a modernity and life of prosperity that is alien to Wang Lung. He loves his son but doesn't understand him.