The Good Earth

In the novel The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, Wang-Lung is a young man who is beginning to figure out who he is by becoming more independent from his father and starting his own family. Wang's father has a brother who is very into himself; he is poor and is always asking for people to give him money and other goods. When Wang's uncle approaches him one day while he is working in the fields he asks Wang if he can "support" his family. Lung has worked very hard to earn his silver and although he spent hours of labor earning his riches he is generous and displays a gift upon his uncle. A man who is a beggar is never a good man; they may need money, but they should have to work hard like the others. It is not bad to ask a family member for support in times of need, but the way Wang Lung's uncle approached him was wrong and unacceptable.
When Wang Lung decides to take his family south due to poor harvest and low supply of food they face many challenges differently than those at home. When they reach town, his family has to beg for money -- just like his uncle had done to them -- so that they would be able to pay a pence for rice that night. Wang is used to having enough food to supply his family and suddenly he has to revisit that place where he was starving and this makes him uncomfortable. He tries to take his family one step forward by moving to a whole new place but in the end he only takes himself one step back.

There is No Stopping It

Deep current pushes slowly
Massive weight against stones
Crashing over obstacles
There is no stopping it
The clear blue water
Flows peacefully
Throughout the banks
How beautiful and wonderful
Is this creation
The rushing of the stream
Over everything beneath it
Frogs swim below
This is their river
Their safety net
Their home
The river rushes
Until it hits the edge
Where it transforms,
Even more miraculous
A waterfall

The Good Earth - Chapter One

In the novel, The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck displays how in the early 20th century, China was a very different world; the women had no rights and were treated poorly, and poverty was destroying many people and families. Wang Lung was a young man who was accompanied by his grouchy old father; because he was coming to the age were he would have to tend to the farm and provide food and water for his family he decided to go buy a woman servant. Wang Lung went to the House of Hwang and bought a wife; although there was to be a wedding, unlike other weddings, this would not be the happiest day of his life. When he arrived at the House of Hwang he was publicly humiliated. "In a house like this we feed that kind of meat to the dogs." (p.2) Although he was embarrassed he accepted his place in the world -- a lower class citizen who was humble about who and what he was. After he had received the woman he took her home to prepare a meal. The concept of women being treated unfairly is clearly shown in this chapter. Poor women were bought and sold like items instead of real human beings and in a marriage that is not based upon love, but the need of a slave, the women were owned not wanted. That is why Wang Lung and his father were constantly talking about how it wasn't the beauty that mattered but how hard she worked.
This book could well be a tragedy because of the symbols and plot. Winter, snow, rain, and darkness are used many times throughout the chapter and represent a tragic mode. In the beginning of the chapter Wang Lung was living a hard and lonely life, that symbolizes the world in conflict, but when he got a wife who would help him with his load of work that represents his rise to power. "Now it was as if Heaven had chosen this day to wish him well. Earth would bear fruit." (p.2) This quote represents a new beginning in Wang Lung's life -- a change that will guided by fate.

John Keats

John Keats was born October 31st, 1795 in London, England. Keats struggled a hard life, at age eight his dad died from a fractured skull and seven years later his mom died of tuberculosis. Although he suffered so much at such a young age, he went on to become a surgeon. Not finding his occupation as a doctor enjoyable, he decided to quit and begin a new career as a poet. His sister and close friend were not in agreement with this and thought that his idea of becoming a writer was foolish and silly - he did not let this stop him. He went on to create some of his famous pieces such as St. Agnes Eve, When I Have Fears, To Homer, and many more. He was one of the key figures in the Romantic movement and spent a lot of time writing about topics that had conflicting themes such as life/death, mortal/ immortal, and separation/connection. Sadly, on February 23rd, 1821, at age 25, John Keats died of tuberculosis -- the same disease that his mother died of. Although his life was short, he made a huge impact in the world of poetry.

When I Have Fears

When I have fears that I may cease to be

Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,

Before high-piled books, charact'ry

Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain;

When I behold, upon the night's starred face,

Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,

And think that I may never live to trace

Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;

That I shall never look upon thee more,

Never have relish in the faery power

Of unreflecting love! -- then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink

The Beach

Tall, monstrous waves crash upon the shore and I am walking, with shoes in hand, the warm sand in between my toes. My mind is empty no worries, no thoughts, no nothing. I lay down and the water gently washes over my body, the next time pulling me in. I am in the ocean, staring at the beauty that surrounds me. How could one be so lucky.

A Jury of Her Peers

In the short story, A Jury of Her Peers, Susan Glaspell displays the outcome of a "prisoned marriage" and how women were not treated fairly. While searching for clues, it appeared as though the women and men were working separately and that the men believed all the clues the women found were of no use. The women had no rights and they were just there because of their husbands. The separation of the men and women symbolizes the rise of women gaining rights and becoming less dependent on the men. The conclusion to the mystery of Mr. Wright's death was that it was his own wife who was to blame. Mr. Wright was the kind of husband who thought he was more powerful than Mrs. Wright and would take advantage of her -- knowing she could do nothing to him -- this being an example of a "prisoned marriage." Mrs. Wright owned a singing canary; it was what kept her going, it was the only light in her life. When Mr. Wright got annoyed with this small yellow bird he decided to go against his wife's will and hanged the innocent creature. A canary represents freedom and intelligence. When this was taken away from Mrs. Wright she acted in a non-intelligent manner-- she hanged her husband. Because the canary was dead, Mrs. Wright was drowned of all the light in her life, which caused her to go insane. Although there was a gun in the house, she wanted to have her husband suffer a long painful death just as she will suffer a long painful life without the canary.