Published in the early years of the Great Depression, Pearl Buck's novel, The Good Earth, brought hope and encouragement to many economically struggling people . The main character, Wang Lung, grew from a Chinese farmer to a landowner and a well-respected man with scholarly sons. One of the symbols of this book is education. This essay discusses the role that education plays in Wang Lung's rise from a poor farmer in the countryside to a wealthy man living in Hwang's house in the village. Buck shows that in some places, hard work may be the only path to wealth, rather than education and knowledge. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The book is not trying to show that education is worthless, but rather that it is not necessary if one demonstrates motivation and perseverance. There are benefits to being educated, as Wang Lung discovers. He was unsure whether the character Lung in his name referred to the "dragon character Lung or the deaf character Lung". When he brought grain to market, he, who was a landowner, had to ask the ordinary clerks to sign his name for him. He reflected: “[N]one of these city fools has a foot on the ground and yet everyone feels like they can laugh at me because I can't” read and write. “I will take my eldest son…and he will go to a city school and he will learn, and when I go to the grain markets he will read and write for me so that there will be an end to this hissing laughter against me." Wang Lung never actually learned to read and write, but his sons' knowledge contributed to his family's abilities. But in the long run, the advantages of education were far outweighed by the disadvantages of having naive sons His sons soon became haughty about their knowledge, eager to go and fight in wars, to spend more and more gold on fine clothes and food, and to argue, to argue. bickering and dating a lot of women Meanwhile, their father had to manage the farm workers on the land, settle disputes between his sons, and cleverly satisfy his uncle's lazy and greedy family. Soon, his sons forgot all that. land made for them and come to take for granted an abundant supply of money. With their father near death and barely hearing, the two eldest sons discuss selling the land. “But the old man heard only these words: 'Sell the land,' and he cried out, and he could not prevent his voice from breaking and trembling with anger: 'Now, you wicked and idle sons, sell the land. land!... We have left the country and we must go there – and if you keep your land, you can live.” But his sons sneakily console him by telling him that they will never sell him, while winking at each other behind their father's back. The old man's sons have lost respect and sense of the value of the land. Their upbringing made them haughty, taking money for granted. Indeed, in this culture, it turns out that hard work is the best tool for success. Early in the book, as Wang Lung considers his future wife, he laments that she is simple, but at least his father warns, no one will “have had enough of her.” Better to have an ugly virgin who works than a pretty concubine with bound feet who complains. Wang Lung marries a woman (his first wife) of the same ilk. She fully meets his expectations, working in the fields until labor begins and returning to work when the child is born. She works so hard.