We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(7) Snow Line
Beyond its simple words, The Good Earth is fairly complex. The good news is that you can choose how complex you want it to be. In easy mode, you can read the novel as if you were Wang Lung. You won't get everything, but it's okay, because he doesn't get everything, either. Since Buck’s writing style is fairly easy to understand, that's a walk in the park.
In intermediate mode, you can try to understand the feelings and emotions of all the other characters by reading between the lines. Or, if you're hardcore, you can try hard mode. Then you'd also try to understand the entire political situation of China at the time, as well as Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese storytelling, and traditional Chinese culture.
We like to play hard mode over here at Shmoop, but we won't mind if you want to take it easy. We understand.