The Good Earth

Was Wang Lung right or wrong that he took young girl, Pear Blosom to be his conbubine?

When Wang Lung became old he took a young girl whom he had bought since she was 7 years.

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I suppose we really have to look at this in context. Pear Blossom throws herself at Wang Lung's feet upon entering his presence. Although Wang Lung tells her that he is but an old man and that she deserves someone her age, Pear Blossom insists that she prefers an old man, as the young are violent. Thus she becomes Wang Lung's concubine. His relationship with her, built more around companionship than sex, is very comfortable. In this sense it works for both of them. This is simply the way life is. Pearl would be harshly abused in a situation with a younger man and left to starve without the support of any man. In the final chapter of the novel, Wang Lung finally finds peace in the company of Pear Blossom and his poor fool. He trusts Pear Blossom deeply, and asks her to kill his poor fool when he is dead, for he knows that no one in the house will care for her. Pear Blossom replies that she will care for the girl as a reward for the great kindness that Wang Lung has always shown her. Pear Blossom says that she hates all men except for Wang Lung, even her father, and that all young men are evil. In this context it was good that Wang Lung had taken Pearl Blossom as his concubine.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/the-good-earth/study-guide/section13/