The Good Earth

Guest written by our friend Forrest Oneal

Only a few of the beans did Wang Lung hide in his own hand and these he put into his own mouth and he chewed them into a soft pulp and then putting his lips to the lips of his daughter he pushed into her mouth the food, and watching her small lips move, he felt himself fed.”

The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, was probably the first adult book I ever read. Buck grew up a child of missionaries in China. She spoke both Chinese and English fluently. I even found the movie, based on the book, one time when I was watching direct tv. Basically, the story is about a Chinese farmer, Wang Lung, during the reign of the last emperor of China. One of the overall important themes of the story is about how people react to cultural change. Even though the characters seem like ordinary people of the time, it is the flaws of ordinary people that create a great learning experience for the characters and the reader. Ms. Bucks style of writing is so that you forget you are reading English and not Chinese. I once stood before a bookstore window where books were displayed with a sign overhead that read, Banned Books.Banning a book is akin to burning a book, in my judgment.