Woman In The Dunes Allusion

In Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes, the protagonist, Niki Jumpei, finds himself as the Sisyphus of the sands, stuck with the onerous task of removing sand in order to survive. The sand is more than landscape; it is a representation of death. Endless, and universal to all, it causes Jumpei to change from an egotistical glory-seeker to a resigned, yet satisfied man with purpose. Abe uses unique characterization, cryptic allusion, and dramatic irony to show that despite the instinctive fear of death, purpose pushes us to survive.

First, Abe conveys this through characterization. Jumpei is a prideful schoolteacher, leaving everything to go on an expedition in search of a rare beetle. If he succeeds, he will achieve his dream: to become forever

Thus, he will never be forgotten; in other words, immortal. Despite the dangers of his quest, Jumpei’s purpose is what pushes him. Jumpei is a meticulous man, shown by his definition of the sand: “Sand: An aggregate of rock fragments.”(13.) Similar to sand, death has a clear definition: the end of life. As Jumpei muses over the sand, he states this important line: “There is no escaping the law of the sand.”(17.) Similarly, there is no escaping the law of death: everything is meant to die, and nothing is eternal. As Jumpei’s journey continues, he ends up meeting a woman, whom houses him. After their initial meaning, the two have an argument over the sand; Jumpei considers it something that represents “purity and cleanliness”, whereas the woman considers it irksome. The same can be said with death. Some consider death to be something evil, the ultimate punishment; others consider it to be pure, the ultimate mercy. After Jumpei

Jumpei wanted to become immortal by capturing a beetle in the sands – but in the end, it was he who was trapped by the sands. Trying to become immortal, death became his only obstacle. Another example of irony is through Jumpei’s perception of the sand; at first he considers it something in the background, something inconspicuous. (“An aggregate of rock fragments.”) The same is said with death. It is everywhere, all around, and it is simplified to nothing but the ending of life. The irony is also shown with Jumpei’s machine he creates at the end of the novel, called Hope. The machine is aptly named; if it succeeds, he will be free from the sands, and free to return to his escapade to become immortal. However, as he adjusts to his monotonous life living in the sand, he time devoted to ‘hope’ lessens and he begins to make a small, sheltered life for himself. When he finally receives the chance to escape – to be free – to be immortal – he declines. He’s used to his life, with a new purpose – thus, he has lost his fear, his hatred of the sands. Inasmuch, he has lost his aversion to death – like the sands around him, he has accustomed to it. The final bouts of irony are in the beginning of the novel – one is after being missing for seven years, he is declared dead. Thus, the journey he went on to become eternal was what caused him to be forgotten. The other is the quote at the start of the book;