The Good Earth Book Notes Summary

After digging the silver out of the hole in his bedroom, Wang Lung goes to the House of Hwang. Depressed to the see the empty hole, Wang Lung partly wishes the silver back. The glory of buying land from the Hwang family is not as great as he had imagined because he arrives too early. The Old Lord who is asleep cannot be awakened, and the business must be discussed with an agent.

Nevertheless, Wang Lung buys a piece of the Hwang land. When he goes out to inspect it, he realizes that although the land means a great deal to him, the loss of it does not mean much to the great house. Wang Lung angrily decides that he will fill the wall with silver after silver, and buy more land from the House of Hwang. To Wang Lung, the land becomes "a sign and a symbol."

Topic Tracking: Earth 3

Spring comes. Wang Lung and O-lan work day after day, while the old man watches the child. One day, Wang Lung is annoyed to find O-lan pregnant again because there is so much work to do for the land. She reassures him, however, that the second birth will not be as difficult as the first. One day in autumn, O-lan goes back home one morning to give birth, coming back again to Wang Lung as the sun is setting. She tells him that it is another male child, a second son, and Wang Lung is again very happy. He thinks that O-lan brings him much good fortune.

Again, the produce from the year is good, and Wang Lung is able to hide more silver. The land that he bought from the great house is very fruitful, yielding more harvest than his own land. Now everyone in the village knows that Wang Lung is the owner of a piece of the Hwang land. His status rises in the village.