As a result of his impoverished upbringing, Wang Lung values the land more than anything else. His obsession with the land causes him to neglect his family. The youngest son receives no attention and Wang Lung's plan to have him work the land disturbs him and makes him feel like a peasant. He feels that he has to prove that he is as great as his brothers and leaves the family to join the army. The middle son watches as his inheritance passes from his father's hand into the hand of his eldest son, and complains that his share is always too small. He wants to save the families money. The eldest son receives more attention and is given more than the other two sons and

The eldest son receives more attention and is given more than the other two sons and wants to be respected as a great family.

Wang Lung plans for his youngest son to work the land to keep a connection between the his family and the land after he died, but his youngest son becomes distressed. He feels he is lower than his two older brothers because he works the land and they go to school to become scholars. The family can buy more than enough workers for the land so why should he have to work it. The youngest son is often ignored, "his youngest son had been so quiet a lad that none thought of him except as a slender youth." (338) When the soldiers stay at their house, he hears tales of victorious soldiers gaining glory and respect. He decides to become a soldier and gain his fathers respect. Wang Lung forbids this but the youngest son runs away to fight in the revolution. This shows how Wang Lung was never active in any social or political areas, he had kept much to himself and his family, while his son went out to explore the world and become a great general.

Wang Lung never becomes angry with his eldest son, but rather tries to find the root of his problems. The son becomes restless and begins drinking and socializing with women. The father talks to O-lan, Wang Lungs wife, to find out the source of his son's unhappiness. "When I was a lad I had no such melancholy and no such weepings and tempers, and no slaves, either." (221) O-lan explains to him that the eldest son does not have to work the land and has more free time to pursu

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Approximate Word count = 1045
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)