From the beginning of time, man has continued to strive to better himself. Throughout most of history, ones reputation and social class has dictated the quality of life and of many people. Lower class peasants envied the opulence and ease of the rich, while the royal upper class resented the freedom of common life. In both The Good Earth and the Prince and the Pauper, characters discover that their new lifestyle causes unexpected changes in themselves. This change causes the characters to create a new view on family and creates a drastic change in their personality. Wang Lung’s new life full of riches allows him to overlook the family that has supported and loved them from the beginning, while Tom Canty’s life of riches causes
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In the beginning of The Prince and the Pauper, it does not seem as though Tom Canty lives in the best family situation. His family are poor beggars, and his father is physically and verbally abusive to him. His mother and sisters try to protect him from his father, pleading with him to allow Tom to go to bed instead of punishing him. Additionally his mother is the only one that suspects Tom is not who he seems when he switches places with Edward, noticing that Tom’s quirks are not quite the same. During his time as “king”, Tom enjoyed the opulence he never had. However, this is short lived as he begins to miss his family. Soon after arriving at the castle, Tom has a dream that a dwarf is giving him money for his family. When he awake, he calls out for his sister, saying, “Ho, Nan, I say! Bet!” (Twain 82). He considers this a happy dream even though he is still a pauper in the dream, showing he’d rather be poor and with his family than rich and without. During the king’s coronation, Tom’s mother recognizes him as her son and runs up to him, kissing him crying, “Oh, my child, my darling!” (Twain 187). After seeing his mother hurt from him denying who she was Tom admits “his grandeurs were stricken clueless; they seemed to fall away from him like rotten eggs” (Twain 187). Tom reaction to his mother’s grief over him shows his lavish lifestyle did not fulfill his hopes, but hurt the ones he loved. Tom Canty’s new lavish lifestyle causes him to long for the family he left behind. Tom’s dream and his reaction to his mother demonstrate the love he has for his family, proving they are most important in his
In the beginning of The Prince and the Pauper, it does not seem as though Tom Canty lives in the best family situation. His family are poor beggars, and his father is physically and verbally abusive to him. His mother and sisters try to protect him from his father, pleading with him to allow Tom to go to bed instead of punishing him. Additionally his mother is the only one that suspects Tom is not who he seems when he switches places with Edward, noticing that Tom’s quirks are not quite the same. During his time as “king”, Tom enjoyed the opulence he never had. However, this is short lived as he begins to miss his family. Soon after arriving at the castle, Tom has a dream that a dwarf is giving him money for his family. When he awake, he calls out for his sister, saying, “Ho, Nan, I say! Bet!” (Twain 82). He considers this a happy dream even though he is still a pauper in the dream, showing he’d rather be poor and with his family than rich and without. During the king’s coronation, Tom’s mother recognizes him as her son and runs up to him, kissing him crying, “Oh, my child, my darling!” (Twain 187). After seeing his mother hurt from him denying who she was Tom admits “his grandeurs were stricken clueless; they seemed to fall away from him like rotten eggs” (Twain 187). Tom reaction to his mother’s grief over him shows his lavish lifestyle did not fulfill his hopes, but hurt the ones he loved. Tom Canty’s new lavish lifestyle causes him to long for the family he left behind. Tom’s dream and his reaction to his mother demonstrate the love he has for his family, proving they are most important in his