house of sand and fog

In the novel, House of Sand and Fog, the author Andre Dubus develops the idea that individuals are constantly struggling to balance their external and internal demands. The Most common external demands that individuals have is the desire to achieve a loving marriage, own a home, have a decent job that provides respect, to be financially stable and to be proud of oneself, within family and community. On the other hand, the most common internal demands are to have happiness, love and strength to cope with problems that arise in life. The main idea that connects the three characters in the novel is their drive to achieve comfort and personal well-being. They desire home, family and security but their choices led to disaster and a tragedy. The title house of sand and fog foreshadows the turmoil that will take place because fog symbolizes confusion and the potential danger as it causes to lose sense of direction and causes a lack of clarity which leads to wrong choices which will eventually result in a disaster. Sand is found under the sea, and goes from one place to another because it doesn't have one fixed place just like how there is no fixed owner of the house as it changes with time. Sand is very irritating and abrasive in texture and this relates to how the house causes irritation and discomfort to the character. House symbolises a place that provides protection to human beings and keeps family united. We can clearly understand that if a house is of sand and fog; the house will not provide protection in fact it will give the opposite to the people that live in it because sand can be seen as something that is not united because it is in pieces, just like how the character in the family don't relate to one another and are drifted apart by their lack of confusion which is caused by their mental “fogginess”. Human beings have complete potential to pursue their personal well being by maintaining a balance between their internal and external demands.

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