GCE A/L English Literature - Made Easy - Novel: The Waiting Earth
by Punyakante Wijenaike
General analysis and appreciation
The story on the whole seems to be an analysis of the existing
society in the late 1960s. The people living in the remote rural areas
especially in the Dryzone hardly received any school education: Hence
most of the village folk were illiterate.
Parents were only conscious of the narrow attitude that children may
remember their parents that they have inherited - a house to live in and
land for cultivation. " the wind of misfortunes cannot blow away because
the earth on which it stands is mine by right." Lack of education has
created much disturbance in their lives and in the society in general.
Podi Singho is suspicious of his faithful wife, Sellohamy. Ruled over
by Rapiel Appu, Podi Singho gets frustrated. Sellohamy does not approve
the friendship between her husband and Rapiel Appu for she knew that he
was eyeing her.
The matured school teacher ruining the life of the pretty girl,
Isabellahamy by enticing her and winning her favour. A clear picture of
the remote rural areas with illiterate folk and a school teacher coming
to run a school and villagers believing all what the teacher says.
Though a teacher is said to be a person with excellent moral
behaviour, this particular teacher creates in the little girl
Isabellahamy a desire to experiment the romantic elements, "Flexible,
curious, adventurous and imaginative." The writer, Punyakante Wijenaike
has emphasised the fact that the teaching profession needs discipline,
dedication and excellence.
Through Sellohamy's character the writer draws the attention of the
reader to a moral certainty. "But in a thing like this is he not a man
too? Can we permit him to be free with our daughter because he's a
school teacher?"
The symbolic mango tree - the Tender green fruit getting destroyed by
jealousy. Treating the mango tree in different ways, lack of mutual
understanding symbolised by darkness and the lighted oil lamp - the
dawning of REALISATION the BATS may resemble those who destroy the
family.
MANGO TREE symbolises the whole family and the fruit - the children
of the family "They burried her ashes in the soil beneath the same mango
tree where her elder brother lay. The mango tree becoming "anobsession".
There's the fairy element with the woman coming to remove the evil.
The symbolic pot of rice boiling on the fire.
"Flexibility, gentleness, kindness, love, understanding, dedication"
"Now he knew at last the thing that was to make happiness between a
man and a woman TENDERNESS." The texture of happiness is perfectly
reflected in the last episode of this novel. Podi Singho becoming a
victorious character and Sellohamy symbolically is the WAITING EARTH
remaining unchanged.
In this long novel THE WAITING EARTH the writer Punyakante Wijenaike
tries to highlight certain qualities in so-called educated folk who are
supported to be the guiding agents of the schoolchildren, acting in a
drastic manner subjecting the innocent teenage folk to miserable
experiences.
The writer using her own simple diction style has been really
successful in delivering her message to the readers through her fiction
novel THE WAITING EARTH the value of understanding, tenderness, self
discipline and above all education in its real sense. Proving her self
as a talented fiction writer, THE WAITING EARTH remains as one of her
best novels.
"Of Sri Lanka's authors who have achieved success Punyakante
Wijenaike deserves special attention" (The Illustrated Weekly of India).
Mrs. C. Ekanayake, Retd. Specialist Teacher English,
St. Anne's College, Kurunegala.
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