Introducing an East World to a West World Essay

On June 26, 1982, Pearl Sydenstricker was born in Hillsboro West Virginia, to two American Presbyterian missionaries who primarily served in China (â€Å"Buck, Pearl S.†). At the age of two, Buck and her family moved back to China where she spent the next 6 years of her life adapting the Chinese culture while integrating aspects of her American heritage as well. Buck’s childhood in China stimulated the bicultural traits that she infused into her writing by exemplifying both American and Chinese culture and values. At 15, Buck was sent to a boarding school in Shanghai and continued her schooling at the Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg Virginia, where she graduated in 1914 and taught psychology. Later on she finished her schooling at Cornell University receiving a Master of Arts Degree. Buck also taught English at several universities throughout her career including the University of Nanking, Chung Yang University, and Southeastern University (â€Å"Works of Pearl Buck†). A notable historic event that impacted Buck’s life and her writing was the Boxer Rebellion (â€Å"Works of Pearl Buck†). The boxers were a group of Chinese people who opposed the spread of Western ideas and technology and convinced the empress to drive out all foreigners in China in order to sustain China’s ancient culture and history. Despite the empress’ support for the arising Western influence, the Boxers lashed out by imprisoning the empress and stimulating the attacks on foreigners. This ultimately caused Buck’s family to flee from China back to America in order to escape the rebellions plotted against foreigners (â€Å"A Life Lived in Interesting Times†). Buck also witnessed the foot-binding and murder of female babies in China due to the patriarchal nature that was indigenous to the Chinese culture. This influenced her to become an advocate for woman’s rights and her experience with the Boxer Rebellion profoundly affected her perspective for equality and the political barriers that seemed to separate the values of the West and Asia which was reflected in the various themes she covered. Throughout her life Buck was an outspoken feminist and equalist. She displayed her advocacy by supporting various organizations who strived for equality, promoting birth control, and even adopting nine children. (â€Å"Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography†). She married John L. Buck, and they had one daughter who was mentally disabled. Her daughter’s disability motivated her to support children’s advocacy which inspired her to write â€Å"The Child Who Never Grew† in 1950. It also led her to establish the Pearl S. Buck foundation which strives to assist in the adoption and well-being of Amerasian children. However, her and her husband divorced in 1935 and she soon married Richard J. Walsh, her publisher who she stayed married to until the end of her life (â€Å"Buck, Pearl S.†). Pearl Buck was known for her works such as Dragon Seed which focuses on a female empress named Tzu Hsi who was faced with ruling China during a period of war. Some of her works also reflect her lifestyle that was influenced by two entirely different cultures. Buck’s memoir My Several Worlds tells about her long journey growing up in an environment of political struggle and internal warfare between her own people when her and her family was outcasted by the Chinese as foreigners. It tells about her career as an influential writer, an ambassador, and civil rights activist with her motives defined by the countless experiences of her life. Her most notable title which earned her a Pulitzer Prize and a Noble Prize in Literature was The Good Earth. The book tells of a poor farmer named Wang Lung and his wife who struggle with the changes that war and a corrupted government have brought upon the nation such as famine and poverty. This theme of personal obstacles can most likely relate to Buck’s audience when the book was published in 1931: the many Americans who struggled with the shifting politics and economy during the Great Depression (â€Å"The Good Earth, 1931,† The American Novel†). Buck’s work conveys the complexity of Chinese culture and life to America based off her experience growing up in a bicultural environment (â€Å"The Good Earth,† Barnes and Noble). Buck’s work can best be categorized by the movement of Realism because of the reality that she tries to depict in order to relate the hardships that both the Chinese and Americans share. Realism mainly focused on portraying average experiences and it transitioned after the movement of Romance. It is thought to be known as â€Å"the faithful representation of reality† (â€Å"Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890†). The realist nature of her books forged a connection through the similarities in lifestyle and adversities that the Americans shared with the people of China (â€Å"1860s-1900s Realism,† PBS). She aimed to depict the daily lives of the civilians of China through her characters’ lifestyles that gave an insight of life shrouded by Chinese culture and beliefs. Her ability to express the personal struggles of both the upper, middle, and lower class allowed her to convey the theme of cumulative struggles and experiences of a country as a whole. Pearl Buck’s main purpose for her writing was to link the alien and foreign culture of China to the people of America who were clueless to the cultural values that China imposed (The American Novel). She delivered with a style that precisely aimed to reveal the plain and blunt truth of life, no matter what social class a person belonged to. The works of Pearl Buck have left a lasting impact on both America and China. She created countless milestones in literature such as being one of the first women ever to receive a Noble Prize in Literature and a Pulitzer Prize, and acting as a mediator and uniting the two cultures of America and China through the various situations that she presents of life in China through her characters and various stories. I think that the reason she has left such a profound mark on literature is because of her ability to establish a connection with the audience. Being bi-cultural, Buck utilizes her first-hand experiences of life in China such as war, famine, and even traumatic murder experiences in order to fully convey the events that were occurring in China with the Great Depression of the United States. What makes her writing and themes so universal is that, it portrays the life experiences of people, with personal struggles and I think her themes have the capability to relate to any time period because everyone is able to relate to the hardships of others. Her ability to successfully connect with her audience on a personal level of experience with a completely foreign culture establishes her as one of the most impactful authors in literature in which modern-day writers aspire to achieve. â€Å"Buck’s Accomplishments have proven unique in military, political and literary history† (Taylor). Some even think that â€Å"We are very much in need of a twenty- first century Pearl Buck† (â€Å"A Life Lived in Interesting Times†). This further demonstrates the lasting influence that Buck’s literary work left during her time period, which some believe that â€Å"no one will ever be able to do again† (Taylor). Unfortunately, Pearl Buck died on March 6, 1973 of lung cancer at her home in Danby, Vermont (â€Å"Pearl S. Buck Biography†). Her work continues to live and is enjoyed by people all over the world today. Her deeds as an activist who strived for fairness among people and cultures are survived by the many people who are influenced by her contributions toward equality. She is recognized as a prominent author because of the major impact that she worked towards her whole life so that America would be able to share a culture and history with China. Despite her death, Buck has left her mark as a humanitarian and advocate who had the best interests of people in mind and a legendary writer who brought to America, a style of writing that will remain timeless in practically every age of literature. Works Cited Allen, Brooke. â€Å"A Life Lived in Interesting Times.† Hudson Review 3. 2010. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Buck, Pearl S.† Compton’s by Britannica, v 6.0. 2009. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Campbell, Donna M. â€Å"Realism in American Literature.† Realism in American Literature. Department of English, Washington State University, 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. Frenz, Horst. â€Å"Pearl Buck- Biography.† Noble Prize. The Noble Foundation. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Matterson, Stephen. â€Å"1860s-1900s Realism.† PBS. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Pearl S. Buck Biography.† Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Taylor, Peter Shawn. â€Å"Pearl Buck to Pearl Harbor; How a much-loved novel won over Depression-era readers, erased Chinese stereotypes and helped bring war to the Pacific.† National Post. 15 Oct. 2012. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. â€Å"The Good Earth.† Barnes & Noble. Web. 12 Dec. 2012 â€Å"The Good Earth, 1931.† PBS. American Masters , The American Novel. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. White, Barbara. â€Å"Book Reviews: Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography.† Contemporary Women’s Issues Database. 01 Jun. 1997. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Works of Pearl Buck: Pearl Buck.† MacMillan General Reference, 1963. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.