The Essence of the Good Earth A universal story is one that can be told and enjoyed by any single person anywhere on the globe, regardless of age, race or cultural background. Universal stories usually contain a theme or lesson that is not limited to the time period in which the novel is set, but can be applied to any time period, because the lesson is ageless. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a novel in which the theme can relate to almost anyone, regardless of circumstance or setting. The events of the story, however, concern almost no one in the current time, because it is a story that takes place in pre-revolutionary China, in a time when life was completely different than it is today. When you think about the characters, events, and entire story of The Good Earth, it seems completely foreign. It is the story of the Chinese farmers. They fight against famine, drought, floods and locusts. These are difficulties completely unknown to modern people. The amazing thing about Buck's novel is that even though it seems like these concepts are completely out of reach for the reader, they are reasonable to the reader while reading. Suddenly they become familiar and almost second nature to the reader, because Buck writes it in a simplistic way so that the reader is drawn into this life and all the feelings and thoughts of simple Wang Lung. For this reason, most readers are able to identify with the story and its universal nature. The themes of this story can be applied throughout time, but modern man cannot. The Good Earth actually includes two main themes. There is the blatantly obvious theme that the earth is the source of all good, of prosperity, of success and… middle of paper… and I have done everything there is to do.” Wang-Lung's impatience and boredom lead him to spend hours inspecting his wife. He also begins to visit a tea shop quite regularly, because he is so bored. Many people in the modern age feel this way, where idleness leads to an evil mind, hence the saying that the idle mine is the devil's workshop. In this sense, The Good Earth is, and will always remain, a universal story. The most important aspect of the story, the part that makes it universal, is its ability to make the reader feel as if they are part of it all, as if they too depend on the land. Therefore, although the first and main theme of the story; that life revolves around the earth, it is not a universal idea, the book should be called universal because the reader gets lost in the pages of this classic novel and comes to understand its lessons.