Abstract:
In a press interview, regarding the longest novel by Punyakante Wijenaike, The Waiting
Earth, she has mentioned that she was influenced by The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck for
crafting this novel. The novel Good Earth is a portrayal of Chinese rural life. In both novels,
land plays a major role. In the Waiting Earth, Podi Singho, tries his best to own a land of his
own while in the Good Earth, Wang Lung too takes an effort to own a land of his own. The
Good Earth portrays cultural beliefs in the Chinese rural society, especially the myths that are
prevalent in Asian societies: even the sounds of some animals are considered as good and bad
omens. In the Waiting Earth too, there are some similar aspects. Besides the cultural beliefs
of Sri Lankan rural life and their food habits, Punyakante Wijenaike tries to bring out the
corrupt aspects rooted in the Sri Lankan rural society. Similarly, she brings out issues like the
misuse of the concept of free education. On the other hand, she paints a typical image of how
tyrannical figures in rural villages misuse the innocence of their fellow villagers. Mainly,
Wijenaike portrays how the woman bears everything similar to the Mother Earth.However, in
both the novels, the readers are made aware about the cultural rituals, food habits, mythical
beliefs, cultural beliefs, social issues and innocent desires of villagers in rural Chinese and Sri
Lankan societies. There are more similarities in these two novels. That may be due to the
settings of both the novels in the Asian society. Therefore, this study compares and contrasts
certain aspects of these two novels.
