Nectar In A Sieve

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 10th grade September 2001

download word file, 2 pages 0.0

Downloaded 1338 times

Change is something that comes and goes, some people embrace it; others disregard it, but no matter how people prefer to go about change, it will always have an effect on the lives of those around it. This is apparent in the 2 novels "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya, and "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. Both novels take place in Asia, but in diverse regions that have different cultures.

        In the novel, "The Good Earth" the main character is Wang Lung. He is a simple farmer living with his father. He doesn't seem to be ready for change in the beginning of the story for he has to be urged by his father to find a wife, O-lan. But as the story progresses he learns to accept change at an easier pace, such as the birth of his son and the coming of the new year.

But then when his crops fail and his wife bears him a daughter, whom she kills, he is forced to go to the city, and trying to keep his dignity, refuses to beg but the begging of his wife and children is all that keeps him alive. Then Luck smile on him and he is drawn into a mob raiding a rich man's house. Wang is found face to face with the owner, who says he will give Wang anything if he will spare his life; Wang takes all the man has. Once he returns home, embracing the change, he buys many things; an ox, and some land to name a few items. He then starts to grow old, but he also gains another wife along the way, and a few quarreling sons. Then in the very end he grows old and fat, apparently change does not bother him, but when he hears his sons talking about how they will sell the land, this is one change he cannot bear and tells his sons that "if you sell the land, it is the end." Wang apparently only favored the changes that would make his life easier, but then again who doesn't. The only change that he seemed not to have a word in was when his sons were going to sell the land, all the other changes seemed to revolve around him and what he did to adapt to the change.

       ÂÂ