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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 name does the schoolmaster give to Wang Lung's eldest son in Chapter 17?

2. What does Wang Lung have built for Cuckoo due to the adversity between her and O-lan in Chapter 21?

3. How long has it been since Wang Lung last saw his eldest son when he comes home to be wed in Chapter 26?

4. What is Cuckoo's job at the tea house in Chapter 18?

5. What does Wang Lung purchase for the "goddess of mercy" after his grandson is born in Chapter 29?

Short Essay Questions

1. What decision does Wang Lung make regarding his second-eldest son in Chapter 25?

2. What is significant about Wang Lung's uncle's revelation that he is associated with the redbeards in Chapter 23?

3. How does Wang Lung's family go about relocating to the city in Chapter 29? Who is the last to leave the land?

4. What impact does O-lan's illness have on Wang Lung's household in Chapter 26?

5. How does Wang Lung respond when O-lan warns him of his eldest son visiting Lotus in Chapter 24?

6. How is O-lan's behavior as she lays dying described in Chapter 26?

7. What does Wang Lung do in order to gain control over his uncle and his family in Chapter 28?

8. How have Wang Lung's business, circumstances, and fate changed in the beginning of Chapter 17?

9. What causes the flooding in Chapter 27? How does the flooding impact Wang Lung's village?

10. Whom does Lotus suggest to Wang Lung for an arranged marriage for his son in Chapter 23?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the plot structure of The Good Earth. Where does the exposition transition to rising action? Where does the climax take place? What are the conflicts that the protagonist faces in the climax? How are these conflicts resolved in the denouement?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the setting of Wang Lung’s homestead in the novel. How does this setting evolve and change in the course of the narrative? What does Wang Lung’s land represent for him symbolically?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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