Accordingly, Wang Lung is overjoyed when he learns that his first child is a son, and he and O-lan attempt to fool any contemptuous spirits into thinking that the child is an undesirable girl: "What a foolish thing he was doing, walking like this under an open sky, with a beautiful man child for any evil spirit passing by chance through the air to see!... 'What a pity our child is a female whom no one could want and covered with small pox as well! Let us pray it must die,'" (Buck 54). This is why, when their second child is born a female O-lan says, "It is over once more. It is only a slave this time -- not worth mentioning," (Buck 67). This birth suggests to Wang Lung that he is beginning to be cursed by bad luck (Buck 68).

When the couple's third child is born, also...
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