Boundless Sand Quotes

Boundless Sand

A man alienated, trapped, and held captive at the bottom of a pit. Niki Jumpei is confined with a widow in a pit and desperately is determined to escape. To survive, they are to shovel cascading sand constantly, which turns into work that never ends. In the novel, Woman In The Dunes, the author, Kobo Abe, is able to incorporate the use of sand as a symbol of existentialism, destruction, and the work ethic of the protagonist, Niki, as he struggles with being “trapped” and alienated from society.

Kobo Abe is able to use sand as a symbol of existentialism throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Niki, goes venturing to find insects and bugs as a hobby and stumbles into a village at the bottom of a sand pit. He starts

to, “...mused on the effect of the flowing sands, he was seized from time to time by hallucinations in which he himself began to move with the flow,” (15).

This is significant because sand is constantly flowing and moving by the wind. This relates to existentialism by the constant flow and movement. Humans are believed to drift with the path life leads them. Just like sand, humans are moving and continuously changing. Because, “the sand never rested,” (14), it’s implying how in life, it’s an endless flow and leads us in different directions. Niki Jumpei is endlessly being covered and ingesting bits of sand every day. Because he’s surrounded and enclosed in an environment with sand being present, he can never escape. Jumpei, “...could not get rid of the gritty taste. No matter how be emptied his mouth the sand was still there, “ (44). This reveals how we are all trapped as humans and enclosed in every way. Even though we try to “escape” and break free, we will always have a taste and feeling of being confined. As Niki Jumpei flees from the village, he turns back around to discover that his footprints in the sand has vanished. The author includes this to demonstrate the alienation with

society. As he escapes, there is not any evidence and physical proof of what he left behind like the footprint. Footprints shows our existence by leaving a mark behind. As the sand washes away Niki Jumpei’s footprints, it shows his detachment with society and the real world. In a state of isolation, people may feel as if there is no purpose and fall into regression. Niki Jumpei is forced to stay in the pit and adapts to the environment, as months pass he stops trying to escape and decides to stay instead of leaving.
Even though sand is usually viewed as calm, harmless, and pure, Kobo Abe uses sand to signify destruction and disaster.

The novel takes place in the bottom of a pit being completely surrounded by nothing but sand. Sand, “invaded and destroyed the surfaces of the earth,” (14), and isn't suitable for life. Early in the novel, the houses are unstable because of the rotted wood caused by the sand. This shows the destructive property of sand and how the little things can cause damage. Sand is used in a negative aspect when the woman tells the story about her husband being buried by sand by using words like, “...awful! Horrible! The sands are frightful,” (29). This shows the dangerous and fearful side of sand, which is usually seen as calming and unharmful. The author describes Niki Jumpei thoughts as, “His own viewpoint in considering the sand to be a rejection of the stationary state was not madness… a 1/8-mm. flow… a world where existence was a series of states. The beauty of sand, in other words, belonged to death. It was the beauty of death that ran through the magnificence of its ruins and its great power of destruction,” (182). Kobo Abe uses sand representing the negative and dark side of sand. A small grain can not do much damage, but when a pile of sand is present, it becomes dangerous and threatening. Being trapped in a dangerous environment represents how humans face situations in an everyday life. As Niki Jumpei tries to escape from the village, he finds himself stuck

in quicksand and desperately calls for help. Quicksand is used as another way to further demonstrate being trapped and detachment with the real world. While stuck in the quicksand, Niki Jumpei is useless and can not do anything to save himself. This is significant to how humans feel stuck, enclosed, and can not escape. Even though Niki Jumpei tries to escape and reconnect with society, he gets caught and is once isolated from reality. Once he finally sees the outside world and says the air, “irritated his throat and did not taste as he had expected,” (238). From this we can see that he has accepted the environment and adapted to it. This shows how Niki Jumpei lost his identity because he feels that there is no point in escaping anymore.Kobo Abe also writes, “Sand, which didn't even have a form of it's own. Yet, not a single thing could stand against this shapeless, destructive power. The very fact that it had no form was doubtless the highest manifestation of its strength, was it not?” (31).
There is also a connection between sand and work. Jumpei and the woman constantly have to do laborious shoveling of sand in order for survival. Sand represents work because when Jumpei does as he’s told, the people give him water. The constant shoveling of sand is similar to Sisyphus because they have to complete the same task over and over. This subject of work plays a major role in the novel because the Japanese culture value and honor work. As Niki Jumpei works in order to survive, he comes to realize, “Work seemed something fundamental for man, something which enabled him to endure the aimless flight of time,” (158). Japanese people find a sense of duty while working. Work ethic in Japan demonstrated loyalty to their company, strong devotion, and viewed work as a privilege. Similar to Jumpei and the woman work on shoveling in order to survive. Soon Niki Jumpei remembers the Mobius man’s words when he said, “The only way to go beyond work is through work. It is not that work itself is valuable; we surmount work by work. The real value of work lies in the strength of self-denial," (159). People find a sense of duty and purpose with the ability to work. Niki Jumpei is starting to lose his identity by being isolated from society and views work as a way to make use of his time. By doing so, he is being controlled by the villagers making him lose his capability of control.
In the end, isolation, alienation, detachment are major roles in society. Sand is used throughout the novel, The Woman In The Dunes, to represent multiple symbols. The novel demonstrates the use of sand with the idea of existentialism, it’s physical properties, and work ethic. Niki Jumpei is isolated and detached from society while being trapped in the bottom of a pit. The author, Kobo Abe, is able to use sand to demonstrate the idea of isolation, separation, and being trapped throughout the novel. With these factors, the protagonist is able to change the idea and view he has with the life around him.