The Good Earth

Set in a pre-World War I age, the novel tells the story of Wang Lung, a Chinese peasant. Beginning with his wedding to O-Lan, a slave of the House of Hwang, the story follows Wang Lung as he makes and breaks his fortunes. Devastated by abject poverty, Wang Lung moves with his family to the city where they survive off charity. The novel dwells on the lives of Chinese peasants and shows them in a light that western literature had not dared to before. The difficulties that Wang Lung and his family go through, involving heartbreaking scenes where his wife is forced to choose between raising her children in poverty or in ending their life the moment they are born showcase the hardship that plagued pre-World War I China. This novel was adapted into an Oscar winning hit movie in 1937 and was largely a factor in helping the relations between the West and China before the battle with Japan.