The influence of O-lan`s character on resolving her personal conflict found in pearl s. buck`s the good earth - USD Repository

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THE INFLUENCE OF O-LAN’S CHARACTER ON

RESOLVING HER PERSONAL CONFLICT FOUND IN

PEARL S. BUCK’S THE GOOD EARTH

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Janiati

Student Number: 03 1214 053

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

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THE INFLUENCE OF O-LAN’S CHARACTER ON

RESOLVING HER PERSONAL CONFLICT FOUND IN

PEARL S. BUCK’S THE GOOD EARTH

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Janiati

Student Number: 03 1214 053

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2007

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DEDICATION PAGE

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Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said, “All human problems is caused by his unknown on how to sit quietly.”

Ajahn Brahm adds,”…. and his unknown on the time to sit quietly.” A problem is not a problem when there isn’t any solution.

How many times in our lives that we waste for something, which is at that time, has no solution, and it is because it is not a problem?

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to everybody that has helped me in accomplishing this thesis. First and foremost, my deepest gratitude and honor go to the Three Precious Jewels for their blessing, and the power of perfect emptiness and the unfailing law of cause and effect, under the generous protection of my Honored Masters.

My dedication goes to my parents, Mr. Lai Tjhie Jie & Mrs. Jap Lin Eng, who have given their support along the way. May they be free from all great obstacles and attain the wishes, to lead comfort and happy lives for the rest of their lives. My dedication also goes to my older sisters, Dewi Shinta Purnama & Meiliaty, my late younger brother, Agus Leonardi, my brother in law, Eng Wie, and my nephew and niece, Joseph & Jessica, of whom I care very much. In the end, as time goes by and each part of their life finds her/his own ways, all I could wish for is their true and genuine happiness.

Next, I would like to thank my major sponsor Dra. Wigati Yektiningtyas, M.Hum. and my co-sponsor Fidelis Chosa Kastuhandani, S.Pd. Of all lectures in Sanata Dharma University, these two are the ones that I worked with. May they continue the dedication and guidance toward the other students for the sake of good improvements for better education in this country.

I would also like to thank the staffs at the library and the library itself (with all the valuable books). They have been very helpful and supportive, and I enjoyed my university study years very much, thank to the staffs. Therefore, I might as well thank the university as whole. I hope this university can contribute much more to the education in Indonesia, to all the people who deserve better

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education for the better lives.

The dedication goes to my best friends at PBI’03 (Moniq, X-tin, Seevi, Dudy, Yessi, Vendi, Ajenk and the rest whom I can not mention one by one). I hope you all achieve great success. To all my friends in GMCBP (Ko Chun Yen, Ko Amran, Edy, Nana, Diana, Dewi kecil, Robin, Ko Albert, Heryno, Moon and the rest) and the organization itself, also to all my friends in kamadhis Dharma Jaya (Tryshia, Vera, Hansen, Ade, Hertanto, Andry, Ajo, Stephen), thank them very much for the lesson, opportunities and inputs that they have given to me. It is completely a pleasure to work with you all. The same credit goes to my ex-sutomo 2 friends (Min, Ucox, Jimz, Alex, Benny): ‘Stay together, keep in touch and let’s still be friends until the end of our life’. I also do not forget to share my deepest thank with Pondok Unyil (Lili, Wuri, Ani, Atik).

My sincere gratitude goes to “Heri Kurniawan-Yen”, for all his motivation, support, care, understanding, and attention that I sometimes recklessly take them for granted. He shares a lot of matters which always remind me that I have a very blessed life. My world will not be completed without his presence. He is the best Karma I own.

Sabbe Satta Bhavantu Sukkhitatta…. Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu….

JANIATI

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ABSTRACT

Janiati. (2007) The Influence of O-lan’s Character on Resolving Her Personal Conflict Found in Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. Yogyakarta: Teachers Training and Education Faculty, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

This study discusses personal conflicts which are felt by O-lan, a wife of a farmer who later becomes a landowner. This study focuses on three issues, which are used as the research factors in this thesis. The first issueis about the character of O-lan. The second one is about O-lan’s personal conflicts, both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. The last issue discusses the influence of O-lan’s character in resolving her personal conflicts.

By employing library research study, this thesis was finished. This thesis applied psychological approach to comprehend the patterns of human personality and behavior. Besides using this approach, this thesis also applied theory of characterization, theory of conflict and women in Chinese culture. Theory of characterization was used to analyze O-lan’s character. To understand more about O-lan’s personal conflicts, theory of conflict was applied. Women in Chinese culture was discussed to help the writer to understand more about women status in the earlier twentieth century.

The first result of the study was about O-lan’s characters. She was a major character which was round and protagonist. She was seen as a person who is obedient, diligent and hardworking, silent, smart, and economical and industrious. O-lan’s characters were also influenced by the culture at that time.

The second and the third results are combined since it related one another. This study found out that O-lan has two intrapersonal and two interpersonal conflicts. O-lan’s intrapersonal conflicts are her decision to deliver her first baby by herself and to kill her second daughter. The intrapersonal conflicts O-lan faced are double approach – avoidance conflicts. O-lan’s character as a smart person helped her to deliver he first baby safely. O-lan’s character as a tough person made her dare to kill her second daughter after the baby was born.

O-lan’s interpersonal conflicts were her relationship with Wang Lung and her relationship with Cuckoo. O-lan’s interpersonal conflicts were categorized as ego conflict. The conflict between O-lan and Wang Lung was named accommodation style. It was resolved with integrative negotiation. The conflict between O-lan and Cuckoo was classified as avoiding style. It was solved with win-lose solution.

Finally, the writer would like to propose two suggestions to complete this thesis. One suggestion is for the next researcher(s) on The Good Earth in coming years. Another suggestion is to implement The Good Earth as a material in teaching English, especially for teaching Public Speaking I.

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ABSTRAK

Janiati. (2007) The Influence of O-lan’s Character on Resolving Her Personal Conflict Found in Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas konflik pribadi yang dialami oleh O-lan, istri dari seorang petani yang akhirnya menjadi tuan tanah. Skripsi ini terfokus pada tiga aspek, yang digunakan sebagai faktor penelitian. Aspek pertama menjelaskan mengenai karakter lan. Aspek kedua berhubungan dengan konflik pribadi O-lan, baik konflik dari dalam maupun luar diri O-lan. Aspek terakhir menjelaskan pengaruh karakter O-lan dalam menyelesaikan konflik probadinya.

Dengan menggunakan metode studi pustaka, skripsi ini diselesaikan. Skripsi ini menggunakan teori psikologi untuk mengartikan bentuk kepribadian dan perilaku manusia. Selain teori psikologi, skripsi ini juga menggunakan teori karakterisasi, teori konflik dan wanita dalam kebudayaan China. Teori karakteristik digunakan untuk menganalisa karakter O-lan. Teori konfilk berfungsi untuk mengenal lebih lanjut mengenai konflik pribadi O-lan. Wanita dalam kebudayaan China digunakan untuk membantu penulis memahami kedudukan wanita pada awal abad dua puluh.

Hasil pertama dari skripsi ini mengenai karakter O-lan. Dia merupakan karakter utama yang rumit dan protagonis. Dia dilihat sebagai seorang yang patuh, rajin dan perkerja keras, pendiam, cerdas, serta hemat dan tekun dan tabah. Karakter O-lan juga dipengaruhi oleh kebudayaan pada saat itu.

Penjelasan hasil kedua dan ketiga disatukan karena berhubungan satu sama lain. Skripsi ini menemukan dua konflik dari dalam diri dan dua konflik dari luar diri O-lan. Konflik dari dalam diri O-lan adalah keputusannya melahirkan anak pertamanya sendirian dan keputusannya membunuh anak perempuan keduanya. Konflik yang dihadapi oleh O-lan disebut konflik pendekatan-penghindaran ganda. Karakter O-lan yang pintar membuat dia mampu melahirkan bayinya dengan selamat. Karakter O-lan sebagai wanita yang tabah membuat dia mampu membunuh anak perempuan keduanya setelah melahirkannya.

Konflik dari luar diri O-lan adalah hubungannya dengan Wang Lung dan hubungannya dengan Cuckoo. Konflik dari luar diri O-lan dikategorikan sebagai ego konflik. Tipe konflik antara O-lan dan Wang Lung disebut dengan akomodasi. Konflik ini terselesaikan dengan negosiasi intergratif. Tipe konflik antara O-lan dan Cuckoo dinamakan penghindaran. Konflik ini terselesaikan dengan solusi win-lose.

Akhirnya, penulis mengajukan dua saran untuk melengkapi skripsi ini. Satu saran untuk peneliti novel The Good Earth selanjutnya. Saran lainnya untuk penerapan novel The Good Earth sebagai materi dalam mengajar bahasa Inggris, terutama untuk mengajar Public speaking I.

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter is divided into five parts. The first part is the background of the study. This part contains the explanation about the reasons on deciding the novel to be analyzed. The second part is problem formulation which deals with the problems analyzed in this study. The third part, the objectives of the study, points out the purposes of conducting the study. The fourth part shows the benefits of the study which explain the significance of this study for the readers and me as a thesis writer. The last part discusses the definition of the important terms in the title to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpreting.

A. Background of the Study

In a life of a person, he or she always deals with problems or conflicts. Most of the problems or conflicts may direct him or her to unhappiness or happiness. Conflicts also may cause crisis in someone’s relation with other. In a family, conflicts may cause crisis in the relationship between husband and wife, parent and child, or brother and sister. A conflict, regardless the occasion and how apparently the minor issues, constitutes a crisis in a relationship (Denham 1984: 43). The crisis in the relationship without a clear resolution might cause damage.

Everything has cause and effect. Similar to that statement before, crisis arises because of conflict. Usually conflict occurs in a family when the family members disagree about the events and situation in their lives (Noiler and Fitzpatrict 1999: 99). Each person has his or her own opinion, idea, or thought.

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Because of the differences, conflict develops even in the small group like family. People with their ego try to defend their opinions, ideas or thoughts. This ego influences the changes of someone’s behavior towards others.

People are considered unconscious when they defend their opinions, ideas or thoughts. According to Isenhart and Spangle, our daily life problems are often caused by an internal-unconscious state such as anxiety, ego, fear, aggressiveness or guilt (2000: 7). Based on the statement, it can be stated that someone’s internal-unconscious indirectly influences his or her behavior or judgment in his or her relationship with others in their life.

From the description above, conflict plays a big role in someone’s life. The reason is because a conflict causes a problem that influences the behavior of someone to others. Conflict also affects the human relationship. Conflict appears first in the smallest group of society which is family. Because of that, it is essential to learn about the conflicts and the resolution especially in a family. By knowing more about the conflict and the resolution, people might be familiar in solving the conflict.

Conflict can be found not only in the real life but also in the literary work, like a poem or a novel. In this study, the writer chooses a novel to analyze. Hudson states that literature is the expression of life through the medium of language (1960: 10). Agreeing with Hudson statement, novel considers critical to be analyzed since it may describe life, experiences, thought of people, and their feeling about life. A novel with its content enriches the knowledge of people who read it by reflecting the human experience through language.

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rather a highly complex organization of stratified characters with multiple meaning and relationship (1977: 27). Wellek and Warren show that a literary work is not just about language but also about the human experiences in a complex situation which is created by the novelist. The novelist tries to create a character in a situation with his or her conflict and way of solving the conflict. In other words, a character of human with his or her responsibility, belief, image, thought, feeling, problems or conflicts can be found in the novel.

In this study, the writer will use a novel called The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. This novel was published in 1931 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and William Dean Howells Medal in 1935. The Good Earth describes a daily life of a farmer who lately became a landowner name Wang Lung. In this study, the writer chooses to describe the conflict felt by O-lan, Wang Lung’s first wife. O-lan was a slave before she married to Wang Lung. Having an experience from becoming a slave, a farmer’s wife to a landowner’s wife, a mother, a daughter in law and an experience of concubine, O-lan has a personal conflict that is interesting to be analyzed. It seems like O-lan is hiding her conflict secretly. Besides, O-lan also has her own way to solve her conflict. This study tries to analyze the character of O-lan and how the characteristics influence the way of O-lan in resolving her conflict in her life.

This study focused on O-lan’s character and her personal conflict and the resolution of O-lan’s personal conflicts.

A. Problem Formulation

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questions as the problem formulation. They are:

1. How is O-lan’s character described in this novel? 2. What are the personal conflicts faced by O-lan?

3. How does O-lan’s character influence her in resolving her personal conflicts?

B. Objectives of the Study

The aims of this study are to answer the problem stated in the problem formulation. To be more specific, this study aims to describe the characteristics of lan found in The Good Earth. After explaining about the characteristics of O-lan, the study reveals the personal conflicts felt by O-lan. The personal conflicts contains of both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. This study continues to analyze the influence of O-lan’s character in resolving her personal conflicts.

C. Benefits of the Study

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D. Definition of Terms

In order to gain better understanding and to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation, the writer defines some important terms that are used in the study.

1. Influence

The word “influence” according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is the power to affect somebody’s actions, character or beliefs (Hornby, 1995: 611). In this study, the influence refers to the power of somebody’s character to affect his or her way in resolving his or her personal conflict.

2. Character

Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms states that characters are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action (1981: 23). In An Introduction to a Literature (Stanton, 1965: 17), “character” is commonly used in two ways; it designates the individuals who appear in the story and it refers to the mixtures of interest, desires, emotions and moral principle that make up each of the individuals. Another opinion comes from Barnet (1986: 113) is character is a figure that acts out in a story. Hence, character in this study means not only a person who acts out but also the characteristics of the character.

3. Resolving

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4. Conflict

Jones and Gerard (as cited in Worchel and Cooper, 1979: 460) determine conflict as a state that requires the person when he is motivated to make two or more mutual incompatible actions. This means a person will face a conflict when he can not complete two or more mutual actions together. Another definition of conflict comes from Hocker and Willmot. According to them (as cited in Isenhart and Spangle 2000: 3), conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goal. Worchel and Cooper (1979: 460) also classify conflict into two types; they are intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of four parts. They are review of related theories, review of Chinese culture, theoretical framework and criticism. The first part is a review of related theories which consists of critical approaches, character and characterization, psychological approach and conflict. The second part is a review of Chinese culture describes about women in Chinese culture. The third part is about the theoretical framework which describes the contribution of the theories in solving the problems of the study. The criticism about the novel and the author is the last part.

A. Review of Related Theory 1. Critical Approaches

When analyzing a novel, a writer must avoid the subjectivity on his or her study. In order to avoid the subjectivity, critical approaches are needed. According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 6-15), there are five approaches that can be used to analyze a novel. They are the formalist approach– concentrating on the total integrity of the literary work, the biographical approach – focusing on the importance of the author’s ideas and personal life, the sociocultural – historical approach – focusing on the social, cultural and historical background as the reference, the mythopoeic approach – attempting to discover particular patterns of human thought that shared a same universal belief to certain community mind, the psychological approach–involving theories of psychology as the references to

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analyze the characters in the story. This approach also has a purpose to comprehend the patterns of human personality and behavior. Through this approach, the characters’ thought, personality and behavior can be analyzed deeply.

1. Character and Characterization

Theory of character is needed to analyze the character. Foster divides character into two kinds; they are flat and round character (1974: 51). A flat character is static and does not develop, whereas a round character is complex and represents many traits and qualities. Henkle (1977: 87-100) divides characters based on the prominence and function. They are major and secondary characters. Major characters are the ones who deserve the attention from the readers and other characters. Secondary characters, on the other hand, are the ones who perform more limited functions. Characters also can be determined by analyzing the role of the characters. Characters can be protagonist and antagonist. The antagonist is the one who directly opposes the protagonist (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 27). According to Holman and Harmon (1986: 400), the protagonist is the leading figure both in terms of importance in the play and of ability to enlist the readers’ interest and sympathy.

The theory of characterization is needed in analyzing the characters, how they are presented, in the novel. The theory can help in representing the discovery the characteristics of the characters presented in the story.

a. Definition

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the particular type of person he is (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971: 180). Characterization helps the author to communicate and guide the readers to interpret and understand more about the character in the story. Murphy (1972: 161) determines characterization as the way an author conveys the characters and the personalities naturally so that the reader get to know and understand the characters. In addition, Holman and Harmon (1986: 81-82) state that characterization is the process of creating an unreal person. Though the characters are unreal in the story; they appear to be real in the mind of the readers.

b. Methods of Characterization

According to Murphy (1972: 161-172), there are nine ways in which the author uses to make his or her characters understandable and come alive for his or her readers. They are:

1) Personal description

In personal description, the author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes. The author may draw details about the character’s appearance, such as his or her build, his or her skin color, his or her hair, his or her hand and so on. Besides the appearance the author also may explain the clothes worn by the character.

2) Character as seen by another

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3) Speech

The author gives the readers a perception on the characteristics of the character through what the characters says and states. The reader may know the personality by the character’s opinion or statement.

4) Past life

Through a person’s past life, the author can give the readers a clue to have helped to shape a person’s character. The author may give a direct or indirect comment through the person’s thought, his or her conversation or through the medium of another person.

5) Conversation of others

The author can also portray the character through conversation of others and what they say about him or her. In other words, this means that the character can be analyzed through what people think or say about him or her.

6) Reaction

The author shares a clue to a person’s character by letting the reader know how that person reacts to various situations and events.

7) Direct comment

The author comments on a person’s character in the story directly. Here, the author gives his or her personal comment or description of the character he or she creates directly in the story.

8) Thoughts

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his or her mind. 9) Mannerisms

The author can illustrate a person’s mannerisms, habit, or modes of behavior which may also tell the readers something about the character.

2. Theory of Psychology

C.G. Jung states, “The psychological mode works with material drawn from man’s conscious life with crucial experiences, powerful emotions, suffering passion, and the stuff of human fate in general” (1972: 89). From the statement mentioned before, it can be said that the personality of men can be seen through the experiences they had. One of the experiences that men have is facing conflict and how to solve the conflict. Theory of psychology reflects that from the psychological components and the experiences.

3. Theory of Conflict

Theory of conflict covers the explanations of definition of conflicts, kinds of the conflict and conflict resolution.

a. Definition

Jones and Gerard (as cited in Worchel and Cooper, 1979: 460) determine conflict as a state that requires the person when he is motivated to make two or more mutual incompatible actions. This means a person will face a conflict when he can not complete two or more mutual actions together. For that, a person has to choose one action only as the consequence of the conflict.

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to them (as cited in Isenhart and Spangle 2000: 3), conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goal. This implies that conflict may occur because of the involvement of at least two parties or more. Because of the purpose to defend their goal, two or more parties involve and produce a conflict.

Conflicts are felt by people in the real life. A person might feel a conflict in his or her life when he or she finds an action in which he or she should decide the options in order to reach a resolution.

b. Types of Conflicts

There are two types of conflict that people have experienced in the daily life. They are intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict.

Worchel and Cooper (1979: 460-464) describe intrapersonal conflict as a conflict that an individual experiences when he or she makes a decision between two or more alternatives which will lead to a situation in which other people do not behave as the individual expects them to.

Based on the dilemmas in responding the situation, there are four kinds of conflict. Those are approach – approach, avoidance – avoidance, approach – avoidance and double approach – avoidance conflicts.

In approach – approach conflict, an individual can only choose one actions toward two positive goals. The individual has to make a decision between two attractive alternatives. This is the simplest conflict.

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one between two equally unattractive goals. An individual, engages in this conflict, usually avoid choosing between two unattractive alternatives.

When an individual has to choose one goal which has both attractive and unattractive qualities is called an approach – avoidance conflict. An individual involves in the conflict because of his or her fear or doubt in choosing the goal.

The most common conflict situation is double approach – avoidance conflict. This conflict contains two goals which both have the positive and negative sides. There are some factors that influence the individual in choosing the goal. The factors are how close the individual is to the goal, the amount of the goal, the kind of the goal, and the attractiveness of the goal.

The second conflict, the interpersonal conflict, deals with two or more people. The interpersonal conflict is a conflict which happens between two or more people when they are involved in achieving the incompatible goal. This conflict can also occur when the two people or parties agree with the goal but disagree with the manner in achieving the goal.

According to Beebe, Beebe and Redmon (1996: 297-300), the interpersonal conflict can be divided into three types. They are pseudo conflict, simple conflict and ego conflict. Pseudo conflict is conflict caused by the lack of understanding between the individuals or parties. Simple conflict happens because of the differences on definition, goals, ideas, and perceptions. While ego conflict appears when personal differences attached to each individual in a group.

c. Causes of Conflicts

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conflict is believed to happen when the disagreement about the goals, behavior, attitudes and needs appears (Verderber 1984: 97).

They may be many other causes or sources of the conflict. Isenhart and Spangle (2000: 14-15) resume the most common sources of conflict into seven sources. The first is data – people often have differences of opinion about the best source, reliability, or interpretation of data. The second is interest – conflict specifically happens when two or more parties have different interest. The third is procedures – parties will not involve in a discussion if they do not agree with the procedure in solving the problem. The fourth is values – the hardest conflict will occur when the priority of values is different. The fifth is relationships – a conflict exists when people can not trust each other or respect each other’s feeling. The sixth is roles – a conflict appears because of the imbalance role of the people among the rules towards their own roles. The last is communication – conflict frequently results from how something is said and not interpreted among people.

d. Styles of Conflicts

According to Isenhart and Spangle, there are five styles which described some of the most common ways how people approach conflict (2000: 26-27). They are avoiding, accommodation, comprising, competitive, and collaborative.

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When one party sacrifices his or her own interests and concerns for other as a result the parties can achieve the interests; this situation is called accommodation style. This style is effective in situations in which one party feels the impossibility in achieving his or her own so that the outcome is not important. Furthermore, when a party thinks that satisfying his or her goal might alter or damage the relationship with the other party, this style can be conducted.

Through recognitions by all parties, each party’s fulfillment of interest is considered to be only partial. In other word, each party sacrifices part of his or her interest to achieve a negotiation. This compromising style happens in situation that requires a quick resolution of the issue, especially when other parties resist collaboration, when complete achievement of goals is not important, or when there will be no hard feelings for settling for less than expected.

Competitive style is characterized by aggressive, self-focused, forcing, verbally assertive, and uncooperative behaviors that are done to satisfy one party’s interests at the expense of the interests of others. This style is effectively used in situations in which decisions must be made quickly, then the option of the solution is restricted. For that, there is nothing to lose by pushing, other parties resist cooperation, and there is no consequence of damaging the relationship.

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e. Conflict Resolutions

People have different opinion or ideas which could lead to a conflict. The same ways happen when people try to solve the conflict. Experts have their opinion in solving the conflict.

Worchel and Cooper suggest for those who have the intrapersonal conflict to aware with the types of conflict they have. Worchel and Cooper (1974: 460-464) propose several resolutions for the intrapersonal conflicts. In approach – approach type, people can solve the conflict by defining the motivation to the goal they want to achieve more. The most potential ways to solve the avoidance – avoidance conflict is by leaving the conflict. This conflict is hard to solve because the nearer the negative goal is, the higher the drives to avoid it. An approach – avoidance conflict hardly has resolution because the person can not make any decision to solve it. In double approach – avoidance, there are two sub-types of resolution. The first sub-type is determining one goal and as a consequence giving up the other option. The second sub-type depends on the value of each goal. When the positive aspects of goal are higher than the negative, the goal can be reached and the reverse.

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that most conflicts arise from uncertainty, misinformation, and misunderstanding, the next step is to manage the conflict which concerns with how the individuals manage the information. By managing the information, the individuals are closer to the step of avoiding the conflict because of uncertainty, misinformation, and misunderstanding. The third is managing goals. Conflict might happen because of the different opinions among individuals. Therefore, it is important to understand each goal and identify where they overlap. The last is managing the problems. Managing the problems means defining the problem, analyzing it, then, determining the goal, generating several solutions, and last selecting the most applicable solution.

Besides the ability of controlling the emotions, individuals also should determine their mind in ending the interpersonal conflict to achieve a better condition. There are three manners of taking decision to do or not to do something in facing the interpersonal conflicts (Alder and Towne 1990: 376-380). The first one is win – lose. In win – lose problem solving, an individual reaches his or her goal while the other does not. For that, there is only one side that feels satisfied with the result of the conflict. The second one is lose – lose. Neither side is satisfied with the decision made. Even though this manner is a discouraging approach, many conflicts occurs in this manner. The last one is win – win. This manner tries to find the result that satisfies both sides. In this manner, there is no involvement of giving up something or finding the correct solution for everybody. Instead, this manner succeeds when the individuals find the right answer, which is the best for each side, to solve the problem.

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Cooper give their suggestion only for those who have the intrapersonal conflict and Alder and Towne give their opinion about the resolution for interpersonal conflict. Isenhart and Spangle have their own approach to solve both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict. According to Isenhart and Spangle (2000: 45- 152), there are five alternatives to achieve the resolution for the conflicts; they are negotiation, mediation, facilitation, arbitration, and judicial process.

The first alternative is negotiation. Negotiation is as much about a state of mind as it is a strategic choice for managing problem. In negotiation, the conflict is resolved by the compromise between the parties peacefully to achieve the mutual goal for both sides. In this conflict resolution, third party is not needed. There are two types of negotiation; those are integrative and distributive. Integrative negotiation is a constructive and problem solving process. Both parties rarely use threats or demands in order to achieve a goal compatible with the goal of others. Both parties exchange the information, then, they identify the problem while protecting their relationship and interests. The distributive approach is also known as a bargaining approach. In this negotiation style, both parties state their goals and their advantages in achieving the goal. They force the other party through demands and threats. Parties do not concern the relationship with other parties or their interest.

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The third alternative is facilitation. This alternative also needs third party’s help in resolving the conflict. Here, the third party acts as a facilitator who creates the collaborative discussion process. The process might use many techniques such as brainstorming, opinion surveying or image building. Usually this alternative, facilitation is applied in a conflict with a large size of groups and is a complex conflict.

The fourth alternative is arbitration. It is applied when the parties can not find the beneficial goal for both parties. Then in the process of resolution, the third party is selected by the conflicting parties. The role of the third party (arbitrator) is to make the decision. However, the norms and the rules of the process itself still depend on the parties’ agreement.

The last alternative is judicial process. It combines legal and non legal procedures, social norms and legal laws in the process of conflict resolution. The third party in this conflict resolution is court. This alternative is chosen after all the alternatives are failed to be applied.

B. Women in Chinese Culture

In Chinese culture, women status changes during time. In the early twentieth century, women were subordinated to men. In this section, this study discusses more about women status in the early twentieth century.

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were exposed by families to die (Robert, 1993: 361). Another reason of this treatment is because a girl baby was a poor social investment, since after the years of nature the majority of them would simply marry and become the part of other household (Smith, 1994: 248).

The different gender did not stop at that age. In the childhood age, a daughter faced the pain because of the custom. In order to keep the girl’s feet at a tiny size, the girl feet were bound in the ages between five and ten (O’neill, 1987: 94). The process of foot binding was really painful. The girl was incapable to walk normally because the feet were bound with cloth. The Chinese euphemism for the bound foot was “golden lotus” (O’neill, 1987: 94). However, this custom did not apply universal; the Hakkas, Manchus, non – Chinese tribes, the boat population in the south, and some of the very poor did not conform to it. The very poor did not conform to it for economical reason. Unbinding the foot in later years also brought a pain. Latourette (1951: 680) in his book The Chinese Their History and Culture states that a girl without small feet was regarded as disgraced and it

was impossible to get a desirable husband for her.

A girl not only suffered from the binding feet but also the relationship with outside. In general, non family contacts became important for boys; whereas girls were more and more confined to the home and had fewer outside contacts (Hu, 1960: 169). Because of that, a girl at that era had almost no friends.

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sacrifice (Smith, 1994: 248). In this age stage, usually a marriage took place. Being a wife of a husband continued the pain of a woman. There was not any equal position between a wife and a husband in a family. A wife had to submit her husband as long as he lived. This means that a wife did not freely do what she wanted to. She should obey her husband’s command. If a wife did something wrong, a husband might beat his wife (Hu, 1960: 160). Nevertheless, a wife could never strike him. In a peasant family, women and girls performed the household tasks and made the family clothing, while the men and boys usually cultivated the land (Hu, 1960: 162). Women and girls were banned to go and have contact outside. Although a wife performed household tasks, a wife’s first duty was to produce sons to continue the male line. A wife position in her husband’s family was unenviable after her duty had been fulfilled (Hu, 1960: 160). A wife was considered invaluable when she could not give a son in her family.

Without a son, a wife might suffer from concubine. In theory, the reason for concubinage was to insure the all important continuation of the male line (Hu, 1960: 170). Yet, concubinage was done because of sexual desire and competitive argons of man. Smith also agreed that concubinage is also done for a man prestige, for example a rich man will take a concubine due to her beauty or talent in singing or playing instrument (1994: 258).

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Women in the early twentieth century were treated differently from men. Being inferior from men, women gained pain during their lives. From infant, child, youth until old, women became less important than men.

C. Theoretical Framework

There are some theories applied in order to answer the problem formulated in this study. First is the theory of critical approach. This theory is used to analyze the problem in the novel, there are five approaches and this study is emphasized on the psychological approach.

Theory of character is needed to analyze the character. The theory of characterization is used to analyze the character in the novel, especially the character of O-Lan. By understanding the definition of the character and the characterization, the writer hopes that the reader will attain a better understanding of the character’s personality, way of thinking, and also her development in the story.

Other theory used for this study is theory of conflict. The writer used the theory of conflict proposed by Worchel and Cooper in analyzing the types of conflict felt by the character of O-Lan. After analyzing the types of the conflict, the study moved to the source of the conflict, then the conflict resolution. In analyzing the conflict resolution, the writer preferred to use the theory proposed by Isenhart and Spangle.

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D. Criticism

This part talks about the critics about Pearl S. Buck and her work, The Good Earth. Buck is one of the most famous novelists of the twentieth century

and her work, The Good Earth is probably Buck’s the most popular and widely read novel. In 1932, the Good Earth earned the Pulitzer Prize. It is because of some reasons. First, Buck rarely wrote about a simple Chinese life in her former novels. In The Good Earth, Buck paid a very detailed attention about the description of everyday life of the Chinese in the novel. Second, the theme in this novel is not complex. People like to read novel with a simple a literary techniques and theme so they can understand it well. Third, this novel gives a universal appeal of a man who struggles to survive, succeed and gain happiness. Magill in Masterpiece of World Literature says:

Buck’s feeling for the fundamental truths of life transcended any preconceived notion that the reading public may have had about China, and portrayed her people as understandable human being who struggled from happiness and success like anyone else (1989: 336).

The writer shares the same opinion with what Magill says. In this novel, Buck is very intelligent in describing the Chinese character; though she is not a Chinese. This statement is also supported by Stuckey in his book The Pulitzer Price Novels: The Critical Backward Look. Stuckey states:

The Good Earth is a childishly simple book in which good and evil are neat labeled. Mrs. Buck always stays outside her characters, judging them sympathetically, but at the same time from a superior and somewhat patronizing altitude (1966: 92-93).

The writer agrees what Stuckey stated is not that simple. Most characters

in The Good Earth show different attitudes, both good and bad. Sometimes a

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Then the other character which supposed to be a bad person behaves correctly. The different behavior also shows the real character of a person in the real life.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter will cover three main parts. The first part is subject matter

which is about the subject of the study, the novel The Good Earth itself. The

second part is approach of the study which explains the use of the approaches in

analyzing the novel. In this study, the writer uses the psychological approach. The

last part is method of the study which contains the steps taken in doing the

analysis.

A. Subject Matter

Pearl S. Buck began her carrier by publishing her first novel in 1930, East Wind: West Wind. Then, in 1931 she wrote The Good Earth which is considered

to be Buck’s most famous novel. The Good Earth, a story of a peasant farmer

made her won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and William Dean Howells Medal in 1935. Besides writing novels, Buck also published collections of stories,

biography and autobiography, poetry, drama, children's literature, and translations from the Chinese.

This study analyzed the novel, The Good Earth. This novel was written by

Pearl S. Buck and published in 1959. This study used the cardinal edition novel

published by Pocket Books, Inc. This novel contains of thirty four chapters and

344 pages.

In this study, the writer attempts to analyze the conflict faced by O-Lan,

who is Wang Lung’s wife. O-Lan is one of the strong characters found in The

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Good Earth. In order to analyze the conflict, the writer started by analyzing the

character of O-Lan. Then, by knowing the characteristic, the writer investigates the conflict felt by O-Lan and how she solved the conflict.

Buck created O-Lan as a slave who marries to a farmer and lately in her old age she became a wife of landowner. Buck created an atmosphere of conflict felt by the poor people as a farmer and the rich as a landowner. Buck gave a sense of irony in her novel, The Good Earth.

A. Approach of the Study

In order to analyze a novel deeper, in this study, the writer preferred to use the psychological approach to get a better understanding of the character in the novel. In analyzing someone’s characters, the approach can also show his or her personality and his or her relationship with others. By using the psychological approach, the character’s mind, behavior, and appearance can be noticed well.

Besides the character’s behavior, mind and appearance, psychological approach also leads to the analysis of the character’s relationship with others. When having a relation with other, the character may face conflicts. For that, the psychological approach is suitable to be applied.

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conflict.

B. Method of the Study

The writer in this study used library research which means that the data is gathered by taking important notes, reading books and doing research in analyzing the novel. The writer collected the primary source from the deep analysis of the novel The Good Earth itself.The secondary sources are some references related to theory of psychological approach, theory of character and characterization, and theory of conflict and conflict resolution.

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

This chapter is aimed to answer the problem formulated in the problem formulation. It can be divided into three parts. The first part is the description of the characterization of O-lan found in The Good Earth. The second part discusses the personal conflicts faced by O-lan and how she deals with her conflict in her life. The last part explains about the influence of O-lan’s character in resolving the conflict.

A. The Character of O-lan in Buck’s The Good Earth

O-lan is also a major character in this novel since she plays a big role from the beginning of the story. O-lan is also a complex character. She represents many traits which are discussed in the next page. O-lan plays as a protagonist character which leads the readers to have sympathy on her character. She is drawn as a common Chinese wife.

Characterization is the process by which an author creates the character, the particular type of person he or she is (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971: 180). In this novel, O-lan is described as a wife of a poor farmer who later becomes a land owner. She is twenty years old and a virgin the first time she meets Wang Lung. She has a strong body and square cheeks. She is not a beautiful woman or in her face nor the whole body. Wang Lung’s first impression to O-lan is a disappointment because her feet were not bound. For that, O-lan is considered to be an ugly woman with big feet.

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He saw with an instant’s disappointment that her feet were not bound. (p. 19)

“This woman came into our house when she was a child of ten and here she has lived until now, when she is twenty years old…. You see she has the strong body and square cheeks of her kind. She will work well for you in the field and drawing water and all else that you wish. She is not beautiful but that you do not need. Neither is she clever. But she does well what she is told to do and she has a good temper. So far as I know she is virgin…” (pp. 19-20)

Then Wang Lung turned to the woman and looked at her for the first time. She had a square, honest face, a short, broad nose with large black nostrils, and her mouth was wide as a gash in her face. Her eyes were small and of a dull black in color, and were filled with some sadness that was not clearly expressed…. He saw that it was true there was not beauty of any kind in her face. (pp. 20-21)

Another way to analyze a character is purposed by Murphy. According to Murphy (1972: 161-172), there are nine ways in which the author uses to make his or her characters understandable, and come alive for his or her readers. They are personal description, character seen by other, speech, past life, conversation with others, reaction, direct common, thoughts and mannerism. This study includes all the ways proposed by Murphy in analyzing the character of O-lan. Here are O-lan’s characteristics:

1. Obedient

Though Wang Lung’s first impression is not a satisfaction, Wang Lung, then, marries O-lan and takes her to his house. When the Mistress of the great House of Hwang gives her a command, she does the command.

And to the woman she said,

“Obey him and bear him sons and yet more sons. Bring the first child to me to see.”

“Yes, Ancient Mistress,” said the woman submissively. (p. 20)

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As being stated also by the mistress of the Hwang, O-lan always does well what she is told to do. O-lan is an obedient wife; she rarely confronts what Wang Lung tells her to.

“Here is this box and this basket,” he said gruffly.

Without a word she bent over and picking up one end of the box she placed it upon her shoulder and, staggering under its weight, tried to rise. (p. 21)

Reaction is one of the characterization ways purposed by Murphy (1972: 168). The author, Buck shares the clue in various situations and events. By Wang Lung’s command, Buck shares O-lan’s obedience by trying to lift the box and basket though she has not enough power to do it. O-lan knows that she is not strong enough to carry both the box and the basket given by her husband. However, she obeys her husband by trying to get a position in which she can lift both box and basket. O-lan does the command from her husband, Wang Lung. The next morning after O-lan was taken to Wang Lung house; she does the house hold work. Wang Lung asks O-lan to take a bowl of hot water for his father. O-lan does as what Wang Lung asks her to.

The old man’s cough rose querulously out of the dusky and he said to her, “Take to my father first a bowl of hot water for his lungs.”

She asked her voice exactly as it had been yesterday when she spoke, “Are there to be tea leaves in it?” ….

“Tea? No–no–it makes his cough worse.” (pp. 26-27)

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sight, O-lan’s obedience character is reflected.

There were tea leaves floating upon the surface of the water. He looked up at her quickly. She was at once afraid and she said,

“I took no tea to the Old One – I did as you said – but to you I …” Wang Lung saw that she was afraid of him and he was pleased and he answered before she finished, “I liked it – I liked it.” (p. 28)

One day Wang Lung demands that O-lan gives him the pearls that she had stolen from the rich man’s house, which he allowed her to save. Wang Lung asks the pearls because he gives them to Lotus as a gift.

And he muttered, not looking at her wrinkled, wet hands, “There is no use in keeping pearls for nothing.”

Then she said slowly, “I thought one day I might have them set in earrings,” and fearing his laughter she said again, “I could have them for the younger girl when she is wed.”

And he answered her loudly, hardening his heart, “Why should that one wear pearls with her skin as black as earth? Pearls are for fair women!” And then after an instant’s silence he cried out suddenly, “Give them to me – I have need of them!”

Then slowly she thrust her wet wrinkled hand into her bosom and drew forth the small package and she gave it to him…. (p. 178)

O-lan has forced to keep the pearls, however her husband wants them so much. With depressed feeling, she hands in the pearls to him. O-lan likes the pearls so much that she is not willing to make use of them.

O-lan becomes an obedient person because of the Chinese culture. A woman is supposed to listen to her husband, her father in law or her son. In this case, O-lan obeys her husband. As Chang Tu Hu states that a husband may strike his wife if his wife does not do his command (1960: 60). Buck shows facts that described O-lan as a typical Chinese wife who obeys his husband’s command in any situation.

2. Diligent and Hardworking

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O-lan marries to Wang Lung, the next day in the morning she gets up earlier and prepares the boiled water for her father in law and her husband.

He felt as though the night must have changed him; yet here was this woman rising from his bed as though she had risen everyday of her life. (p.26)

And then he lay in his bed warm and satisfied while in the kitchen the woman fed the fire and boiled the water. (p. 27)

O-lan not only does the households that used to be done by her husband, she also cleans the house. By cleaning the house, the disease that is suffered by her father-in-law rapidly gets better. Her father-father-in-law also looks happy with O-lan’s work.

And she took their ragged clothes and with thread she herself spun on a bamboo spindle from a wad of cotton she mended and contrived to cover the rents in their winter clothes. Their bedding she took into sun on the threshold and ripped the coverings from the quilts and washed them and hung them upon bamboo to dry, and the cotton picked over, killing the vermin that had flourished in the hidden fold and sunning it all. Day after day she did one thing after another, until the three rooms seemed clean and almost prosperous. The old man’s cough grew better and he sat in the sun by the southern wall of the house, always half-asleep and warm and content. (pp. 29-30)

Diligent is not enough for O-lan, she is also hardworking. She does the households work and the field work. She helps her husband who works in the field. In the morning after preparing the boiled water, she does the household work. Then she, with lunch she has prepared before, goes to the field to help her husband.

One day when Wang Lung was hard pressed with the swelling wheat and was cultivating it with his hoe, day after day, until his back throbbed with weariness, her shadow fell across the furrow over which he bent himself, and there she stood, with a hoe across her shoulder.

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O-lan does not have any excuse to stop working. She still works the households and fields work when she is pregnant. When the time for her to deliver the baby, she just goes home to do it, later after that she continues working. This happens when she has the first, second and third children. She brings her children to the field so she could both take care of her babies and help her husband.

She smoothed a last furrow slowly. Then in her usual plain way she said, straight out, her voice flat and more than usually plain in the silent evening air, “I am with a child.” (p. 31)

The next day after the child was born the woman rose as usual and prepared food for them…. (p. 39)

She worked all day now and the child lay on an old torn quilt on the ground, asleep. When it cried the woman stopped and uncovered her bosom to the child’s mouth, sitting flat upon the ground… (p. 41)

Beyond this nothing was said of the second child from the time he noticed its growth swelling her body until the day came in autumn when she laid down her hoe one morning and crept into the house. (pp. 54-55)

Later before the sun set she was back beside him, her body flattened, spent, but her face silent and undaunted. (p. 55)

Buck describes that O-lan is a diligent and hardworking woman. O-lan usually gets up early, does the entire household work and also helps Wang Lung the work in the field. lan seeks for work though she has finished the household work. O-lan’s character as a diligent and hardworking woman is illustrated as a usual habit which is done by O-lan. According to Murphy (1972: 173), this characterization step is called mannerism. In mannerism, the author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or idiosyncrasies.

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also interesting to know that Buck draws the positive side of unbinding feet. If a woman have her feet bound, she was unable to walk properly and unable to work in field. O-lan with her unbound feet can help his husband with the field tasks. 3. Silent

Wang Lung’s first impression through O-lan besides her appearance that is not beautiful is the silent face of O-lan. She seems to be silent and unspeaking.

Then Wang Lung turned to the woman and looked at her for the first time…. It was a face that seemed habitually silent and unspeaking, as tough it could not speak if it would. (pp. 20-21)

O-lan always does everything in silence, she is a silent woman. She almost never speaks except there is something important.

But she never talked, this woman, except for the brief necessities of life…. But in the day her clothes, her plain blue cotton coat and trousers, covered all that he knew, and she was like a faithful, speechless serving maid, who is only serving maid and nothing more. (p. 30)

O-lan’s character as a silent person, drawn above, is not only by Wang Lung’s view but also the direct comment by the author. In the first description, the readers are brought to Wang Lung’s spectacle. O-lan’s character as a silent person is observed through other character, Wang Lung. In this point, Murphy (1972: 162) explained that character as seen by another is applied to make the reader gets, as it were, a reflected image.

In direct comment, the author describes or comments on a person’s character directly (Murphy 1972: 170). In the second description, Buck comments on O-lan’s character as a silent woman. The readers are explained in no doubt about the silence of O-lan.

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has no friends to share the feeling.

It was the first time he had mentioned the house from which she came. She turned on him as he had never seen her, her narrow eyed widened, her face stirred with dull anger.

“None in that house!” she cried out at him.

He dropped his pipe which he was filling and stared at her. But her face was suddenly as usual and she was collecting the chopsticks as though she had not spoken. (p. 33)

Wang Lung feels like O-lan has a lot matters in her mind, but she does not know how to express them. He seldom hears O-lan says so many words, but when he hears O-lan talks a lot, he feels amazed of the matter that is in O-lan’s mind.

“When I return to that house it will be with my son in my arms. I shall have a red coat on him and red-flowered trousers and on his head a hat with a small gilded Buddha sewn on the front and on his feet tiger-faced shoes. And I will wear new shoes and new coat of black sateen and I will go into the kitchen where I spent my days and I will go into the great hall where the Old One sits with her opium,, and I will sho myself and my son to all of them.”

He had never heard so many words from her before. They came both forth steadily and without break, albeit slowly, and he realized that she had planned this whole thing out for herself. When she had been working in the fields beside him she had been planning all this out! How astonished she was! (p. 34)

She never gives a brief explanation about what she felt, what she thought when she works in the House of Hwang. Wang Lung never knows what kind of experiences felt by O-lan when she works with Hwang or when she was a child. She is a very silent and introvert person who keeps her inner pain along with her.

Once when Wang Lung forces O-lan to give him the two pearls, O-lan with very hard feeling gives the pearls to him. Inside herself, O-lan feels very sad.

Then slowly she thrust her wet wrinkled hand into her bosom and she drew forth the small package and she gave it to him and watched him as he unwrapped it; and the pearls lay in his hand and they caught softly and fully the light of the sun , and he laughed.

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away; only she beat the more steadily with her wooden stick upon the clothes spread over the stone. (pp. 178-179)

Though O-lan is hurt because of Wang Lung, she does not show her feeling by shouting out loud her pain. She only has herself cried while doing the household. She with her silent face keeps her pain for herself. This act is called reactions. O-lan might cry out loud to let people knows but she prefers to let her tears down without any voice of sadness of disappointment. In this stage, the readers are confirmed through the reaction of sadness.

4. Smart

Even though O-lan is a silent woman, she is a smart woman. She is a good slave that is enough for the kitchen. She practices the knowledge she got when she was a slave.

He took the food piece by piece from the basket and laid it upon the ledge of the sold stove and he said to her,

“Here is pork and here beef and fish. There are seven to eat. Can you prepare food?”

He did not look at the woman as he spoke. It would not have been seemly. The woman answers in her plain voice,

“I have been kitchen since I went into the House of Hwang. There were meats at every meal.” (p. 24)

O-lan also shows how good she is in cooking. She can make the moon cake from a little ingredient.

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O-lan thinks everything further than Wang Lung might know. When Wang Lung earns more silver than usual, she suggests Wang Lung to save the money in the wall. This is for the future, when suddenly one day they might need silver they can use it.

They plotted where to keep the silver and at last the woman cleverly dug a small hole in the inner wall of their room behind the bed and into this Wang Lung thrust the silver and with a clod of earth she covered the hole and it was as though there was nothing there. But both Wang and O-lan it gave a sense of secret richness and reserved. (pp. 44-45)

The description above is all about O-lan’s past life that brings good effects to her life. By letting the reader learns something about a person’s past life the author can give a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character (Murphy 1972: 166). O-lan is described as a person who can make use of her experiences as a slave in the Great house of Hwang.

When the dry season comes, the village is having famine time. Wang Lung’s uncle provokes the villagers to rob Wang Lung’s house. Wang Lung’s uncle says that there is some food in the house. The villagers go into the house and try to find the food. Going into the house, food is not the only that is taken villagers also try to take the furniture in Wang Lung’s house. Then, O-lan shows up and gets rid of the villagers who try to take their furniture.

Then O-lan came forward and spoke, and her plain, slow voice rose above the men,

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were ashamed before her band went out one by one, for they were not evil men except when they starved. (p. 71)

The way of O-lan talks to the villagers shows her smart way of persuading. Buck draws O-lan’s character as a smart woman by her speech. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen describes that by using speech, the author can give an

insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says (1972: 164). O-lan is portrayed as a smart person when she knows how to make the villagers ashamed on what they have done to O-lan’s family.

There is another fact that shows how bright O-lan is. When O-lan’s family moves to south, the family needs a shelter to live on. Wang Lung as a husband has tried before but he is not able to construct the mats into a shelter. O-lan without any difficulties can build the shelter from mats. She is able to do that because she had ever done it when she was a child.

Wang Lung observed the huts and he began to shape his own mats this way and that, but they were stiff and clumsy things at best, being made of split reeds, and he despaired, when suddenly O-lan said, “That I can do, I remember it in my childhood.” (p. 92)

When in the south, O-lan teaches her children how to beg for food. She teaches the same as she did when she was a child and asked for food.

And she called the two boys to her, for, like children, they had forgotten everything except that they had food again and were in a strange place,, and they ran to the street and stood staring at all passed and she said to them, “Each of you take your bowls and hold them thus and cry out thus-” And she took her empty bowl in her hand and held it out and called piteously, “A heart, good sir – a heart, good lady! Have a kind heart - a good deed for your life in heaven! The small cash – the copper coin you throw away – fees a starving child!” (p. 96)

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advantages by making up a plan. The plan O-lan made is successfully done. Then suddenly as he sat there came a noise like the cracking of heaven and every one of them fell unthinking on the ground and hid their faces, for seemed as tough the hideous roar would catch them all up and crush them. And Wang Lung covered the girl’s face with his hand, not knowing what horror might appear to them out of this dreadful din, and the old man called out into Wang Lung’s ear, “Now this I have never heard before in all my years,” and the two boys yelled with fear.

But O-lan, when silence had fallen as suddenly as it had gone, lifted her head and said, “Now that which I have heard of has come to pass. The enemy has broken the gates of the city,”

….

“Now do you still sit here? The hour has come – the gates of the rich man are open to us!” and as if by magic of some kind O-lan was gone, creeping out under the man’s arm as he spoke. (p. 129)

This is one of the bright thought of O-lan. Buck illustrates that O-lan in her mind has planned to take the advantage of the rumors. In thought, the author helps the readers to know what the character is thinking in his or her mind (Murphy, 1972: 171). The readers are taken to perceive O-lan’s plan in robbing the rich. It is planned that O-lan has made up her mind far beyond the attack.

When the poor rush in the rich house in south, O-lan is the one who knows where the rich hide their jewels. O-lan is able to steal the jewelry because of her experience working with the rich. This is also one of the good effects that O-lan gets as a slave in the Great house of Hwang. She seems to understand a lot about the rich. Her past life is drawn not only as a slave but also as a smart person who knows what happened in the house.

“Where– Where –”

And she whispered back softly,

“In the rich man’s house. It must have been a favorite’s treasure. I saw a brick loosened in the wall and slipped there carelessly so no other soul could see and demand a share. I pulled the brick away, caught the shining, and put them into my sleeve.”

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“Do you think I have never lived in a rich man’s house? The rich are always afraid. I saw robbers in a bad day year once rush into the gate of the great house and the slaves and the concubines and even the Old Mistress herself ran hither and thither and each had a treasure that she thrust into some secret place already planned. Therefore I knew the meaning of a loosened brick.” (pp. 139-140)

5. Economical and Industrious

The intelligence of O-lan is supported with her character as an economical and industrious woman. She can manage the silver given by Wang Lung. When she asks her husband for silver, she already plans where the money will be spent.

“I suppose you will need some money,” he said at last with apparent gruffness.

“If you will give me three silver pieces…” she said fearfully. “It is a great deal, but I have counted carefully and I will no waste no penny of it. I shall make the cloth dealer give me the last inch to the foot.�

The influence of O-lan`s character on resolving her personal conflict found in pearl s. buck`s the good earth - USD Repository