[Kowboy]

Foil: Lotus and O-lan

Lotus and O-lan, two characters in Pearl S. Buck’s “Good Earth,” can be classified as foils. As a foil to each other, they are exact opposites in how they act, what they say, and what they think. This theory can be supported by quotes and actions from the book. Throughout the book, O-lan and Lotus are complete opposites. Even before they meet, it is apparent that conflicts will arise. As different as they are, how they were brought up reflects how their characters develop.
When O-lan was born, she was born to a poor family. This poor family then sold her to an Old Lord (at the house of Hwang,) to make ends meet. She was then brought up in the house of Hwang, now belonging to a very extraordinary family. Composed of wealth and pride, the occupants of the House of Hwang were very idle people, who did nothing but what they please, living off the money they had. This is very different, when looking at the typical family of this era; being poor, having a big family, working hard, and barely making ends meet wasn’t uncommon.
At the house of Hwang, O-lan was a slave. Being a slave, she did a lot of labor work. Most of her work at the house was usually cooking and cleaning. There she cooked fine meals for the Old Lord, Old Mistress, and other immediate family members. No matter how hard she would try, the final product she produced was never good enough, even after working on it for hours. Although her life at the house of Hwang was very hard and laborious, it taught her discipline, respect, and how to persevere.
The things O-lan was brought up around and the things she encountered also helped to shape her current personality. Since she was sold into slavery at such a young age by her parents, she learned not to become too attached to anything, learning that nothing was permanent. By being a slave in the house, she also became happy for what she had. Unfortunately, by being in a house of a Lord, she didn’t ever have to experience some of the more unpleasant things, such as starvation. This made her a little bit weak, compared to Wang Lung, since a lot of people that were poor, like Wang Lung, starved very often, and people in great houses almost always had food.
Lotus was raised on the opposite side of the looking glass. When Lotus’ parents needed money, they sold her to the great tea house downtown. Just like all the other girls sold there, they live in their own rooms upstairs, and are provided food, but in return they must work for the tea house, pleasing all of the men who enter. Although this lifestyle may be “easy,” it is pretty much the same as child abuse.
When she was at the tea house, she didn’t really have anything that was hers. (This could be another reason why she values small gifts from Wang Lung, like a new necklace.) As idle as being in the tea house was, it was a very poor lifestyle. She was pretty much a concubine of many, working for room and board. This also taught her that things were never permanent; she never had a person she could call a husband, just a bunch of men that lust for her.
Being moved into Wang Lung’s house is a huge lifestyle change for Lotus. Now she has one man whom she must see, one man she can call her husband/lord. With moving in with Wang Lung comes moving in with O-lan. All of a sudden Lotus has competition between her and her man; she must compete with O-lan.
At Wang Lung’s house the differences become very obvious. Now Wang Lung has two wives: one, a child bearing worker, the other, an idle object of lust. This tells why they are there. A typical day for O-lan, in the book, includes: working, cooking, and sleeping. A typical day for Lotus in the book is sleeping and pleasing; this greatly reflects how their upbringings led them to what they do now.
Lotus and O-lan are foils; they each represent the opposite end of the spectrum. As different as each character is, it is mainly caused by their upbringing. By having two completely different characters in one book living in one house, it makes one dramatic and entertaining story.

-INTRO ABRUPT
-ADD DIRECT QUOTATIONS