What is the genre in "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck?I think it's a parable, but i am not sure how.

One reviewer wrote of The Good
Earth:

readability="9">

Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whlo
cycle of life:  its terror, its passions, its ambition and rewards.  Her brilliant
novel--beloved by millions of readers--is a universal tale of the destiny of
man.

In his essay, "Religious
Beliefs of the Society Depicted in The Good Earth," Brian Aubrey
writes of the progression of Wang Lung's beliefs in the narrative of Pearl S. Buck. 
Aubrey points to the peasant's simple faith in two gods to whom he offers incense when
he first brings his new wife home.  But, with the experiences of Wang Lung, his beliefs,
too, change. 

When, for instance, Wang Lung and his wife
and children experience the Great Famine, Wang Lung loses his faith in anything, much
like Job in the Bible. he accuses "the Old Man in Heaven" of being wicked.  When he goes
to a temple, Wang Lung spits in the face of the icons.  And, after Wang Lung and his
family finally return from the life in the city during the Great Famine, Wang Lung
believes in only one thing:  the power of the land. Because he has retained some
property, he is able to become successful again.  And, he can buy more land.  However,
as he grows older, Wang Lung finds again some faith in the gods.  As his grandchild is
about to be born, Wang Lung visits a temple to pray that he will have grandson and tries
to barter with the gods.

Ironically, his life runs parallel
to his religious beliefs.  When he has faith in his land, it produces for him, and he
lives well.  After the Famine, Wang Lung loses his faith, like Job.  Finally, in the
end, he seeks to bargain with the gods; however, in so doing, he errs as his sons have
this same bargaining attitude about the land.  They feel it, too, can be bartered, and
they talk of selling one field and another.  It is then that Wang Lung understands.  He
calls to the sons, entreating them to never sell the land, for it will be the "end of a
family."  His sons hold him and assure him they will not, but over him "they look at
each other and smile."

Truly, then, Wang Lung's life has
been a parable with its moral lession that one must live one's beliefs or no child will
undertake them.