Not so Good Earth Analysis
The Not So Good Earth
For a while there we had 25-inch Chinese peasant families famishing in comfort on the 25-inch screen and even Uncle Billy whose eyesight's going fast by hunching up real close to the convex glass could just about make them out--the riot scene in the capital city for example he saw that better than anything, using the contrast knob to bring them up dark--all those screaming faces and bodies going under the horses' hooves--he did a terrific job on that bit, not so successful though on the quieter parts where they're just starving away digging for roots in the not-so-good earth cooking up a mess of old clay and coming out with all those Confucian analects to everybody's considerable satisfaction
(if I remember rightly Grandmother dies with naturally a suspenseful break in the action for a full symphony orchestra plug for Craven A neat as a whistle probably damn glad to be quit of the whole gang with their marvelous patience.)
We never did find out how it finished up... Dad at this stage tripped over the main lead in the dark hauling the whole set down smack on its inscrutable face, wiping out in a blue flash and curlicue of smoke
600 million Chinese without a trace...
The title contains “not-so-good” describing the contents of the poem, which is a negative adjective compound. It is a parody of the book “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck, which is about the good times, values and Chinese proverbs.
The phrase “For a while there” shows how Western society is apathetic towards the Chinese.
“25-inch Chinese peasant families” explains that the characters in the poem are watching a 25-inch screen television.
“famishing in comfort” is a juxtaposition in line two, whose comfort? Certainly not the Chinese. In line four “convex glass” relates to the television.
Dashes “-” in the first nine lines represent changes in tone of language and persona of the narrator.
“He saw that better than anything”-there is more concern for Uncle
For a while there we had 25-inch Chinese peasant families famishing in comfort on the 25-inch screen and even Uncle Billy whose eyesight's going fast by hunching up real close to the convex glass could just about make them out--the riot scene in the capital city for example he saw that better than anything, using the contrast knob to bring them up dark--all those screaming faces and bodies going under the horses' hooves--he did a terrific job on that bit, not so successful though on the quieter parts where they're just starving away digging for roots in the not-so-good earth cooking up a mess of old clay and coming out with all those Confucian analects to everybody's considerable satisfaction
(if I remember rightly Grandmother dies with naturally a suspenseful break in the action for a full symphony orchestra plug for Craven A neat as a whistle probably damn glad to be quit of the whole gang with their marvelous patience.)
We never did find out how it finished up... Dad at this stage tripped over the main lead in the dark hauling the whole set down smack on its inscrutable face, wiping out in a blue flash and curlicue of smoke
600 million Chinese without a trace...
The title contains “not-so-good” describing the contents of the poem, which is a negative adjective compound. It is a parody of the book “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck, which is about the good times, values and Chinese proverbs.
The phrase “For a while there” shows how Western society is apathetic towards the Chinese.
“25-inch Chinese peasant families” explains that the characters in the poem are watching a 25-inch screen television.
“famishing in comfort” is a juxtaposition in line two, whose comfort? Certainly not the Chinese. In line four “convex glass” relates to the television.
Dashes “-” in the first nine lines represent changes in tone of language and persona of the narrator.
“He saw that better than anything”-there is more concern for Uncle