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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Wang Lung's father compare drinking tea to in the beginning of Chapter 1?

2. What does Wang Lung purchase to burn on the eve of the new year in Chapter 5?

3. Of what drug does the Old Mistress partake during Wang Long's visit to retrieve his wife in Chapter 1?

4. Whom does O-lan suggest Wang Lung buy land from instead of from the House of Hwang in Chapter 5?

5. How much money does Wang Lung pay for the cost of transporting his family to the city in the south in Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who brings Wang Lung's wife to him in Chapter 1? How is this character described?

2. What activities take place as the New Year celebration approaches in Chapter 5?

3. What conflict occurs between Wang Lung and his aunt in Chapter 7?

4. Where do Wang Lung and O-lan go on the second day of the New Year in Chapter 5?

5. How do Wang Lung and his family reach the city in the south in Chapter 10?

6. What conflict does Wang Lung encounter at the barber's in Chapter 1?

7. What does Wang Lung's father complain about in Chapter 1?

8. How does Wang Lung respond when he discovers O-lan's jewels in Chapter 16?

9. What event leads Wang Lung to stop working as a rickshaw driver in Chapter 14?

10. How does O-lan describe the fall of the House of Hwang in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the character of Lotus Flower in the novel. How old do you suppose Lotus is when her character is introduced? Where is she from? How does Lotus differ from O-lan? What attracts Wang Lung to Lotus?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the meaning of and the role of family in The Good Earth. What does “family” mean to Wang Lung? How do you think the concept of family is different in the novel from within your own culture? Why do you think it is different?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of O-lan in The Good Earth. How old is O-lan when she is sold into slavery? What leads to O-lan’s marriage to Wang Lung? Do you think that O-lan is happy to be married? Why or why not? How does O-lan’s character evolve in the course of the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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