Many people have been in a situation where they thought that they were the complete opposite of another person. Most would probably believe them, too, until they got a closer look at the two people and saw the several similarities that they have in common. This is true when it comes to the characters Lotus and O-lan in The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. In this novel, Wang Lung has a wife named O-lan and a mistress named Lotus Flower. Lotus and O-lan are very similar characters, but they have many characteristics that differentiate them. Many people do not see this until they truly stop and compare the two women.

O-lan is "a dark woman, her skin ruddy and brown when she worked in the fields" (253). O-lan is Wang Lung's wife. She is very hard working and resourceful. No matter what happens to her or her family...