The good Earth Chapter 14

One night the family hears a great clamoring, a sound "like the cracking of heaven" (133). The mob has broken into the Great House. O-lan disappears and Wang Lung gets swallowed by the mob. He finds himself within the innermost chambers of the house. Here he finds a wealthy, fat, half-dressed man hiding. The man begs Wang Lung for his life in exchange for money. Wang Lung takes the money and then demands more. One thought rings through his head: "We go back to the land -- tomorrow we go back to the land!" I suppose this is a moral quandry that must be taken within the context of the culture, time, and place. The nobles were long taking advantage of peasants likeWang Lung. Is taking money from your oppressor wrong? I don't think a Western eye could really have complete judgment in this matter.