Introducing an East World to a West World Essay

On June 26, 1982, garner Sydenstricker was born in Hillsboro West Virginia, to two Ameri crowd out Presbyterian missionaries who primarily served in china ( bear down, gather S.). At the age of two, Buck and her family moved back to mainland China where she exhausted the next 6 years of her livelihood adapting the Chinese civilisation patch integrating aspects of her the Statesn heritage as well. Bucks childishness in China stimulated the bicultural traits that she infused into her physical composition by exemplifying two American and Chinese elaboration and values. At 15, Buck was sent to a boarding school in Shanghai and continued her schooling at the Randolph Macon Womans College in Lynchburg Virginia, where she graduated in 1914 and taught psychology. posterior on she finished her schooling at Cornell University receiving a Master of humanistic discipline Degree.Buck also taught English at s constantlyal universities finished with(predicate)out her public life inc luding the University of Nanking, Chung Yang University, and Southeastern University (Works of bead compute Buck). A guiding light diachronic event that impacted Bucks life and her writing was the meat packer Rebellion (Works of astragal Buck). The boxers were a classify of Chinese mass who opposed the spread of Western ideas and technology and convinced the empress to drive out all foreigners in China in secernate to sustain Chinas ancient culture and history.Despite the empress fight for the arising Western influence, the Boxers lashed out by imprisoning the empress and stimulating the attacks on foreigners. This ultimately caused Bucks family to flee from China back to America in collection to escape the rebellions plotted against foreigners (A Life Lived in arouse 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 instigate for w omans rights and her experience with the Boxer Rebellion profoundly stirred her perspective for equality and the g everywherenmental barriers that seemed to separate the values of the West and Asia which was reflected in the various themes she c all overed.Throughout her life Buck was an outspoken feminist and equalist. She displayed her advocacy by defying various organizations who strived for equality, promoting birth control, and even adopting nine children. ( ivory S. Buck A Cultural Biography). She married John L. Buck, and they had angiotensin-converting enzyme daughter who was mentally disabled. Her daughters disability motivated her to support childrens advocacy which inspired her to write The Child Who N incessantly Grew in 1950. It also led her to establish the Pearl S. Buck foundation which strives to encourage 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 (Buck, Pearl S.).Pearl Buck was know for her works such as Dragon informant 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 life style that was influenced by two entirely different cultures. Bucks memoir My some(prenominal) Worlds tells about her long journey growing up in an milieu of political struggle and internal warf be between her own people when her and her family was outcasted by the Chinese as foreigners. It tells about her career as an prestigious 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 think of and a Noble Prize in Literature was The good Earth. The view as tells of a poor husbandman named Wang Lung and his wife who struggle with the changes that war and a corrupted government take in brought upon t he nation such as famine and poverty.This theme of in-person obstacles can most likely push to Bucks audience when the book was published in 1931 the many Americans who struggled with the shifting politics and economy during the gigantic Depression (The heavy Earth, 1931, The American Novel). Bucks work conveys the complexity of Chinese culture and life to America based take out her experience growing up in a bicultural environment (The Good Earth, Barnes and Noble). Bucks work can best be categorized by the movement of realness 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 the faithful representation of reality (Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890).The realist nature of her books forged a connection through the similarities in lifestyle and adversities that t he Americans shared with the people of China (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 exhibit the personal struggles of both the upper, middle, and lower class allowed her to convey the theme of additive struggles and experiences of a country as a whole. Pearl Bucks 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 domain and blunt truth of life, no matter what social class a person belonged to.The works of Pearl Buck soak up leftover 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 e preciseone 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 t he most impactful authors in literature in which modern-day writers calculate to achieve. Bucks Accomplishments have proven unique in military, political and literary history (Taylor). Some even think that We are very much in need of a twenty- first century Pearl Buck (A Life Lived in Interesting Times). This march on demonstrates the lasting influence that Bucks literary work left during her time period, which some believe that 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 (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 cultu re 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 continue timeless in practically every age of literature.Works CitedAllen, Brooke. A Life Lived in Interesting Times. Hudson Review 3. 2010. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.Buck, Pearl S. Comptons by Britannica, v 6.0. 2009. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Campbell, Donna M. Realism in American Literature. Realism in American Literature. Department of English, Washington State University, 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. Frenz, Horst. Pearl Buck- Biography. Noble Prize. The Noble Foundation. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Matterson, Stephen. 1860s-1900s Realism. PBS. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Pearl S. Buck Biography. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Taylor, Peter Shawn. 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. The Good Earth. Barnes & Noble. Web. 12 Dec. 2012The Good Earth, 1931. PBS. American Masters , The American Novel. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. White, Barbara. take Reviews Pearl S. Buck A Cultural Biography. Contemporary Womens Issues Database. 01 Jun. 1997. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Works of Pearl Buck Pearl Buck. MacMillan General Reference, 1963. eLibrary. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.