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The eldest son (Nung En)
The second son is crafty and thrifty. He goes to school along with the eldest son, and then Wang Lung apprentices him to Liu to learn to be a merchant. Wang Lung only begins to understand his son’s character when he requests that his father find him a wife who will work hard and not ask him to spend money. The second son argues with his brother, the eldest son, about the excessive use of money in the house in town. Eventually Wang Lung makes him steward over the land, putting him in charge of the money.
The second son (Nung Wen) Quotes in The Good Earth
The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The second son (Nung Wen) or refer to The second son (Nung Wen). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 34
Quotes
“Now, evil, idle sons—sell the land!” He choked and would have fallen, and they caught him and held him up, and he began to weep.... “It is the end of a family—when they begin to sell the land,” he said brokenly. “Out of the land we came and into it we must go—and if you will hold your land you can live—no one can rob you of land—”
...And he stooped and took up a handful of the soil and he held it and he muttered,
“If you sell the land, it is the end.”
...And they soothed him and they said over and over, the elder son and the second son,
“Rest assured, our father, rest assured. The land is not to be sold.”
But over the old man’s head they looked at each other and smiled.
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Related Symbols:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The second son (Nung Wen) Quotes in The Good Earth
The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The second son (Nung Wen) or refer to The second son (Nung Wen). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 34
Quotes
“Now, evil, idle sons—sell the land!” He choked and would have fallen, and they caught him and held him up, and he began to weep.... “It is the end of a family—when they begin to sell the land,” he said brokenly. “Out of the land we came and into it we must go—and if you will hold your land you can live—no one can rob you of land—”
...And he stooped and took up a handful of the soil and he held it and he muttered,
“If you sell the land, it is the end.”
...And they soothed him and they said over and over, the elder son and the second son,
“Rest assured, our father, rest assured. The land is not to be sold.”
But over the old man’s head they looked at each other and smiled.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
