The Good Earth

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of gender discrimination and illness or death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What aspects of Buck’s distinctive writing style, which mimics Chinese speech patterns, most affected your experience reading The Good Earth?

2. How does Buck’s portrayal of Wang Lung’s connection to his land compare with similar portrayals in other classic novels about agricultural life, such as John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath?

3. What emotions surfaced for you during the novel’s conclusion when Wang Lung’s sons are planning to sell his land despite his protests?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Which spaces or activities in your life provide the same renewal and peace that Wang Lung finds when he returns to his land?

2. Which of O-lan’s qualities did you find most relatable? Which did you find most admirable? Why?

3. Recall a time when you were drawn away from something reliable toward something more immediately attractive, similar to Wang Lung’s obsession with Lotus. Was your experience ultimately similar to or different from his?

4. What aspects of Wang Lung and O-lan’s relationship resonated with your understanding of partnership or marriage?

5. To what extent do you relate to the concept of “destiny” that guides how characters understand their fortunes in the novel?

6. Have you witnessed transformations similar to Wang Lung’s when people’s financial circumstances change?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Which traditional customs and social hierarchies portrayed in the novel have parallels in today’s society?

2. What insights does Buck’s portrayal of women’s subjugation offer about contemporary gender inequality issues worldwide?

3. Consider the extreme wealth inequality depicted in The Good Earth. Which observations about economic disparity remain relevant today?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. In what ways does Buck develop O-lan as a symbol for the earth throughout the narrative?

2. What perspectives are diminished through Buck’s choice to use a third-person limited narrative perspective focusing on Wang Lung’s point of view?

3. Analyze how Wang Lung’s changing relationship with wealth serves as Buck’s critique of both poverty and affluence.

4. Even though the novel is set in non-Christian rural China, Buck uses biblical allusions. What purpose do these allusions serve?

5. The concept of good destiny versus bad destiny appears repeatedly in the novel as both a cultural element and a literary device. What deeper meanings does this concept reveal about the characters and their world?

6. What might Buck’s choice to leave many characters unnamed or identified only by their relationship suggest about identity in the world she depicts?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Draft the first paragraph of a letter from O-lan to Wang Lung that she might have written before her death, expressing truths that she couldn’t speak in life.

2. If Wang Lung’s story took place in a different era or location while maintaining its core themes, where and when would you set it?

3. Which character would you follow in a sequel to The Good Earth, and what central conflict would drive their story?

Need more inspiration for your next meeting? Browse all of our Book Club Resources.