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Strong Indirect Characterization #3   Page #278

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Strong Indirect Characterization #3   Page #278

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"Once she lay dead it seemed to Wang Lung that he could not bear to be near O-lan"

This shows that Wang Lung is very loyal. After losing his wife, he is extremely saddened by the loss and cannot make himself go see her dead body.

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Strong Indirect Characterization #2   Page #19

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Strong Indirect Characterization #2   Page #19

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"clutched the peaches as greedily as a child."

This shows that O-lan has not experienced freedom and was very limited while a slave in The House of Hwang. Of course, this makes perfect sense, as almost all the slaves in The House of Hwang did not have freedom.

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Strong Indirect Characterization #1     Page #5

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Strong Indirect Characterization #1     Page #5

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"Every day for six years..."

This shows that Wang Lung is very consistent. The fact that he pours hot water for his father for every day for six years show he is consistent with such actions.

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"and all the anger went out of him as suddenly as a wind."

This simile states that Wang Lung's anger whooshed out of him extremely quickly and suddenly.

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"She clutched [the peaches] greedily as a child."

This simile states that Wang Lung's wife clutched the peaches very greedily like the peaches meant a lot to her.

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"Land is one's own flesh and blood."

This metaphor shows that as a person grows, the land grows with him. The land is almost as if it were engraved in the person's life.

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"Tea is like eating silver."

This simile is saying that tea is so precious that it is as valuable as silver.

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"Rice grew on [the Earth] as weeds grow where they are not wanted."

This simile states that Wang's rich soil was abundant in rice and crops, which helped him with his hopes of prosperity.

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The author sets us in China, where a character named Wang Lung is about to get married. It is a very good opening for this book.

"It was Wang Lung's marriage day. At first, opening his eyes in the blackness of the curtains about his bed, he could not think why the dawn seemed different from any other. The house was still except for the faint, gasping cough of his old father, whose room was opposite to his own across the middle room. Every morning the old man's cough was the first sound to be heard. Wang Lung usually lay listening to it and moved only when he heard it approaching nearer and when he heard the door of his father's room squeak upon its wooden hinges. But this morning he did not wait."

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"Are you ready?" asked the lady.
The woman answered slowly as an echo, "Ready."

This is the dialogue stated when Wang Lung and his wife, O-lan get married. This is to show that they are ready to be wed, a major event in this book.

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"And if I had the gold that he has and the silver in my hand that he wears every day in his girdle and if I had the rubies his wife wears..." Wang Lung cried out suddenly, "If I had the gold and the silver and the jewels, I would buy land with it, good land, and I would bring forth harvests from the land!"

"Now here is a pig-tailed country bumpkin who understands nothing of life and of what may be done with money. He would go on working like a slave behind an ox."

"Nevertheless, I would put the gold and the silver and the jewels into good rich lands."

This states that Wang Lung is poorer than he would have been if he hadn't migrated to the South and continued to farm in his village. This is also a turning point in Wang Lung's life as he is now extremely poor.

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"Tell me first this, will the Old Lord set his own seal to the deeds of sale?"
"He will -- he will -- on my life!"
"Will you sell the land for gold or for silver or for jewels?"
"I will sell it for jewels!"

This marks a huge turning point in Wang Lung's life as he goes from begging on the street to becoming very wealthy and rich. He has bought a huge plot of land and intends to make it grow many crops.

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"But Wang Lung answered nothing to all this and in silence they went on towards the South."

This shows the new life that Wang Lung is reaching for as the North has a drought and the crops will not come. He is moving to the South hoping for a better life.

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Wang has found many precious jewels and he is now extremely wealthy. This is a turning point in his life as he has gone from very poor to very rich now.

Note: Please view the image in full screen mode to see the words, as the picture is quite small.

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"...pushing him out of the door petulantly, with her hands suddenly strong on his shoulders."

I think that petulant means to be very angry because it says that "her" hands were suddenly strong, which only happens when you get mad.

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This is when O-lan, Wang Lung's wife, dies. It is an important event as now Wang Lung must live without his wife.

Note: As with the previous image, please view the image in full-screen mode in order to see it clearly.

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" 'Get her what she wills and I will not begrudge anything.' "

I think that this means to hold against or to be angry at because if someone is getting someone else whatever they want, the giving person would probably be very angry with the amount of money that they are spending.

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"Up, my sons, and help the grandfather up. We will go on the firewagon and sit while we walk south."

Question: Have you ever moved to another state or immigrated to another country? If so, what type of vehicle did you use?

My answer: No, I have never moved to another state.

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"This piece of land which Wang Lung now owned was a thing which greatly changed his life."

What do you think about Wang Lung's hopes for prosperity bring him in the end?

My answer: I think that his hopes are really what got Wang Lung past his period of extreme poverty. These hopes, as well as the support of his wife, really push him to become very wealthy.

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"He had lit the fire, boiled water, and poured the water into a bowl and taken it into the room where his father sat upon his bed, coughing and fumbling for his shoes upon the floor. Every morning for these six years the old man had waited for his son to bring in hot water to ease him of his morning coughing."

Question: What do you think about the repetition of the daily routine of Wang Lung? Do you think it is too simple, and if so, why? If not, then why not?

My answer: I think that Wang Lung's life is quite repetitive to the point where it gets boring. However, I think it is not simple as boiling water and such may require skill and strength.

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"It was the especial pleasure of each driver, seeing how strange Wang Lung and his family were, to crack his whip just as he passed them, and the sharp explosive cut of the air made them leap up, and seeing them leap the drivers guffawed."

I think that the word guffawed may mean to laugh at or taunt. This is because the drivers might consider Wang Lung's family leaping up very comical and humorous and that is what makes them laugh or taunt them.