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The second daughter
Wang Lung’s uncle is his father’s brother. He’s a lazy, immoral man who’s always looking to live off of Wang Lung’s charity. His perpetually loose, untidy clothes signify his generally careless way of living. Wang Lung despises his uncle for letting his wife laze about and his daughters run wild. When the famine comes, it’s suggested that he and his family might be eating human flesh, which foreshadows his later “consumption” of Wang Lung. When Wang Lung becomes wealthy, his uncle installs his family in Wang Lung’s house, expecting to be fed and clothed. Wang Lung is first bound to help his uncle by the obligations of family ties, but when Wang Lung gets fed up with his demands, his uncle reveals that he’s part of the Redbeards, a band of robbers. Thus, his presence in Wang Lung’s house protects the house from the robbers, but also forces Wang Lung to be courteous to his uncle’s family for fear of them. Eventually, Wang Lung strips his uncle of his power by getting him addicted to opium, which keeps him pacified and physically weak.
Wang Lung’s uncle Quotes in The Good Earth
The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by Wang Lung’s uncle or refer to Wang Lung’s uncle. 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 7
Quotes
The voice of his wife answered from the bed more feebly than he had ever heard her speak,
“It is over once more. It is only a slave this time—not worth mentioning.”
Wang Lung stood still. A sense of evil struck him. A girl! A girl was causing all this trouble in his uncle’s house. Now a girl had been born into his house as well.
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Chapter 8
Quotes
They cannot take the land from me. The labor of my body and the fruit of the fields I have put into that which cannot be taken away. If I had the silver, they would have taken it. If I had bought with the silver to store it, they would have taken it all. I have the land still, and it is mine.
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Chapter 20
Quotes
And Wang Lung... felt his mouth suddenly dry and parched and his voice came from him in a whisper,
“Silver, then! Silver and gold! Anything to the very price of my land!”
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Chapter 28
Quotes
Then Wang Lung’s uncle took it greedily, for it was sweet to smell and a thing that only rich men used, and he took it and bought a pipe and he smoked the opium, lying all day upon his bed to do it. Then Wang Lung saw to it that there were pipes bought and left here and there... and the silver for this Wang Lung did not begrudge because it bought him peace.
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Wang Lung’s uncle Quotes in The Good Earth
The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by Wang Lung’s uncle or refer to Wang Lung’s uncle. 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 7
Quotes
The voice of his wife answered from the bed more feebly than he had ever heard her speak,
“It is over once more. It is only a slave this time—not worth mentioning.”
Wang Lung stood still. A sense of evil struck him. A girl! A girl was causing all this trouble in his uncle’s house. Now a girl had been born into his house as well.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
They cannot take the land from me. The labor of my body and the fruit of the fields I have put into that which cannot be taken away. If I had the silver, they would have taken it. If I had bought with the silver to store it, they would have taken it all. I have the land still, and it is mine.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20
Quotes
And Wang Lung... felt his mouth suddenly dry and parched and his voice came from him in a whisper,
“Silver, then! Silver and gold! Anything to the very price of my land!”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 28
Quotes
Then Wang Lung’s uncle took it greedily, for it was sweet to smell and a thing that only rich men used, and he took it and bought a pipe and he smoked the opium, lying all day upon his bed to do it. Then Wang Lung saw to it that there were pipes bought and left here and there... and the silver for this Wang Lung did not begrudge because it bought him peace.
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