The Good Earth--Like Father, Like Son?

[Mrs. Sellers]

Examine the relationship between Wang Lung and his sons. How are they like him? How are they different? Are their views wiser than those of their father? Do you think they respect their father?

[BetsyRG]

Wang Lung's sons are interesting characters. The eldest has his father's temper but has his mother's looks. The second looks like his father but is more careful about money than Wang Lung. The youngest reminds Wang Lung the most of himself, but does not want to be held down by the land.I think that this is the overall picture of all three of them: they don't care about the land. In this we can see the wanton disrespect that they have for their father. They take care of him because it is their duty, but even while he is still alive they speak of selling the land that he has given his life to gain. Now I don't know what the economy in China was like back then, but I know that here in America, it is better to have gold than land. Land depreciates and loses or gains value irregularly, while gold, or any precious metal, pretty much holds the same value. In that way his sons are wise. But if I was them I wouldn't go so far as to sell all the land. One should have a little back-door just in case. (I personally found his sons revolting)

[Kathryn Blackhurst]

Wang Lung’s relationship with his sons was very distant and often strained. Although they lived in the same house and under the same roof, they lived completely different lives. Wang Lung had been born and brought up a farmer—he loved his land, he cared for his land, he cherished his land. He spent the first half of his life working the land, but he allowed his sons to depart from the land forever as they became a wealthy family and fell into the same traps as the House of Hwang did.

His eldest son is a handsome, well-built young man with refined manners and extravagant views. He, like his father, let his pride get in the way and, forgetting humility entirely, gave into excessive indulgence in order to look good in the eyes of everyone else. He also strongly resembles his father regarding his lust for beautiful women. However, unlike his father, he cared nothing for the land and foolishly discarded it as worthless and beneath him, both literally and figuratively. Unlike his father, he scoffed at the good earth.

Wang Lung’s second son is a small, shrewd young man with cunning eyes and crafty ways. He is smart and intelligent, and, like his father, he is careful regarding money matters, unlike his heedless elder brother. Unlike his father, the second son is frugal and sensible regarding women, as he desired a quiet, capable woman for his wife. In some ways, this son was wiser than his father, except for his fatal carelessness towards the land.

The younger son is tall and handsome, and, like his mother, says very little. Unlike Wang Lung, this son spends most of his time dreaming away about foreign places, adventure, and excitement, and he too cared nothing for the land. This son was like an alien to his father, for Wang Lung practically had no interest in him because he was the third son, and knew him hardly at all.

I think that his sons only gave Wang Lung the minimal amount of respect that was due to him—they were more concerned with money and stature matters and could care less about the land. To them, it was dishonorable and signified their long past “lowly” status.

[Kathryn Fodale]

Wang Lung does not having what many would call a loving father/son relationship. Though he sees them everyday and eats meals with them, he never takes any time to know who they are and what they are like. Instead of having a relationship with his sons, he loves the land and then money. Because of this, Wang Lung never got close to his sons and never was able to share his love of the land.

The eldest son is most like Wang Lung, because he is prideful. He spends money easily, if he thinks people will think of him better. The second son is a wise man, who is cautious with his money, doesn't heed what people think of him, and posses common-sense. The character of the youngest son is not developed much, except that he is quite. The father hardly knows his own son, and the son ends up running away.

The sons to the face of their father respected him minimally. This was because this man was almost a stranger to them and had earned no respect.

[Sarah Howland]

This is where the phrase “like father like son” comes into meaning. First looking at Wang Lung and how he treated his father, one can see that this is how his sons treated him in turn. Wang Lung respected his father because he had to, or because society told him to. Often when one can perceive his reluctance in preparing the tea water for his father or completing simple tasks like cooking and such for his aged patriarch. Certainly, he did not disdain his father; he did his duty that is all.

As Wang Lung raised his children their relationships became more and more strained. He barely knew his two sons and when he writes, he writes about them misbehaving. The punishments he deals to his kids would have scared me for life. Maybe these cruel punishments are partly related to the Chinese culture but they also reflect on the kind of father he was. Maybe his sons did remember these harsh beatings. When they grow older Wang Lung basically threw them into school for the sole purpose of being rid of them. From then on, he barely mentions his sons. Because of negligence, his sons grew up spoiled and pompous. One demanded money they other always fought and the yet the other ran away to join the army. In his old age, Wang Lung gave everything to his sons. He practiced no self-restraint and in a way I think he feared their power over him.

Like their father treated his father, so did Wang Lung’s sons treat him. Basically, they respected him because that was their culture. Other than his money, his sons could care less about him. I do not think they were any bit wiser. At times I felt the second son to be wise, but even he had his moments. I could truly tell they were foolish when they decide to sell the land. In that respect, they were foolish and money lovers.