Filial piety can be defined as respect for parents and elders. This was very important in Chinese society, it was placed above all other duties. It was implemented by Confucius, and also placed the eldest male as the highest ranking who deserved the most respect. In the Good Earth, filial piety can be seen through Wang Lung and his father and also his uncle. Early in the book, every morning when Wang awoke, he would have to make breakfast for his father first. "Every morning...the old man had waited for his son to bring in hot water to ease him of his morning coughing."(2) Taking care of his father was his primary concern. Later on in the book, when they are low on food, whatever food there was, his father would receive it.

The role of women and how they were suppose to produce babies can also be shown with Lindo and her arranged marriage. As said earlier she was brought up by her real mother to be an obedient wife to her mother-in-law. Her mother in law persistently and violently urged her to give her a grandchild and she tried. It was her husband who was too afraid to sleep with her. Her mother in law scolder her, " 'My son says he's planted enough seeds for thousands of grandchildren'...she said I must concentrate and think of nothing but having babies." (58)

In traditional China, the woman's role was primarily to bear children, take care of the household and in some cases work in the field. In the Good Earth, Wang Lung's wife O-Lan was a slave girl and their marriage was setup by Wang Lung's father. They did not even have a marriage ceremony, simply just the Old Lady saying a few words. His father wanted his son to have a wife who was not too pretty and was a good servant and obedient. "And what will we do with a pretty woman? We must have a woman who will tend the house and bear children as she works in the fields...,"(6) his father tells him. And this is what his wife O-Lan did. When she went into labor with her first child, it was while she was working in the field. Also, now with her in the house, instead of Wang having to get his father's breakfast in the morning, she would now take the responsibility. In this work, O-Lan played the role of the typical Chinese wife.

The Chinese thinking flowed down into the daughters from the mothers teaching and up-bringing and can be shown through Lena St. Clair's marriage. She was married to Harold Livotny. They owned and worked at an architecture firm, where she did more work, but got payed less than him. The inequality in their marriage did not stop at the workplace either. They had a list of things that they split in their budget. It took her mother to get her to stand up to him and say that things needed to change. She was too Chinese and too subservient and was unable to demand equality.

Wang Lung also believed in fate and that he could manipulate it in away. Wang would always make attempts to please the gods so that he would have good fortune in return. He was superstitious and believed in and looked for omens. He would burn incense for statues of gods and goddesses. Wang would also praise them and give thanks when things are going his way and curse them when times are bad. Such as when he did after he met O-Lan and also when he gave the statue a new robe in asking for a baby boy for his daughter-in-law. Since he is a farmer, the land means everything to him and him being prosperous. Because of thi

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Approximate Word count = 1808
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)