The House of Sand and Fog

The House of Sand and Fog

House of Sand and Fog is the story of an Iranian political refugee family who struggles for a better life in the United States. The novel opens by introducing Massoud Behrani, a former colonel exiled from Iran after the Iranian Revolution who now works as a trash collector and convenience store clerk. For a while, he's been living with his wife and teenage son in an expensive high rise apartment in Berkeley. They've been keeping a wealthy appearance as though they still lived in Iran. This is because they wanted their daughter to marry well, and she has recently. Now, Behrani knows that he can't keep spending the last money they have. He decides to take a job as a respectable businessman and purchase an auction property since he is unable to get a job in Corporate America. "Of course, all of the best aero companies are here in California but in four years I have spent hundreds of dollars copying my credentials; I have worn my French suits and my Italian shoes to hand deliver my Qualifications; I have waited and then called back after the correct waiting time; but there is nothing "(The House of and and Fog P.17). His aim is to buy a house, fix it up, and sell it for much more than what he paid for it. With that profit, he'd buy another house and do the same thing, until his family is able to live in the manner to which they were accustomed to in Iran. In the second chapter, we meet Kathy Nicolo., who was just getting her life together, beating drugs and booze, when her second husband leaves her. Too afraid to admit defeat and risk family reticule, she cleans houses to make ends meet. One morning, she is informed that she must leave the house, because she is late on her property taxes. Not only is she being evicted but the house is being sold. She swears it is a mistake, that the house was wiled to her and her brother .Unable to prove that the county is wrong; Kathy is wrongfully forced out of her home. The sheriff deputy escorting the rep feels bad for Kathy and offers to help her vacate and find a motel until things can get sorted out. The house sale goes through and is purchased by Colonel Behrani. It will take a ton of money and time for Kathy to get her house back, neither of which she has. Both parties' determination and desperation to keep the house made it clear that this would not be a happy ending.

The drive to provide a home for one's family is central among the many themes and is a social issue explored in the book House of Sand and Fog. The title is instructive, because the two images of "sand" and "fog" perfectly symbolize the ironies inherent in the actions of the characters as they seek to satisfy this basic drive. Each of the three main characters--Kathy Nicola Lazaro, Colonel Behrani, and Lester Burdon--wants the security of a home, the experience of a family, a position in the community. The situation of each is similar at the beginning of the novel; Kathy wants this house because it holds sentimental value. Colonel Behrani wants the house because he sees it as a way to command the respect he once had as an officer in Iran. Lester wants Kathy to have the house because he wants to help her partly because he feels pity for her and partly because he has a hero's complex. House of Sand and Fog is a tragedy, a novel about the destruction of decent but flawed people who basically had good intentions and normal desires and dreams. Their weaknesses of temperament, judgment, and emotion are what capture the readers .Readers will identify with the characters and thus feel pity and terror for them .In the book , Dubus tells his story in a focused, linear fashion but clearly portrays the characters intentions .This is because of the moral conflict it contains. The tragedy appeals to the emotions and destroys the moral fiber of the audience as the story unfolds you know that these people are doomed from the start yet were captivated to see the storyline to the end.

The main symbolism in the story was clear: the house itself, built on a beach surrounded by fog. Fog obscures, changes perception, blurs definition. Fog also drifts indiscriminately, much like fate. Very good-hearted people can be destroyed as quickly as criminals. All the while, fogged vision perpetuates misperception. Tricked eyes betray good and hurt hearts, whether they are deliberately or accidentally tricked. A common result is illusory inevitability. Characters' choices lock them into tragic beelines; hope of alternatives wilts. This is symbolized when Behrani hires workers to add a terrace and widow's walk to the house. The workers tell him that the kitchen window Nadi so loves must be sacrificed. "This window must be obstructed," Behrani hesitantly says. A worker replies, "I don't see any other way." Behrani accepts. (Andre Dubus III). Everyone happiness was dependent on the house. What they failed to realize is that a house is only as good as its foundation, and a foundation made of sand is not strong. They were surrounded by the fog of desire and delusion--thinking that the house would bring them joy and fulfillment, when in actual reality it only brought sorrow and death. The house itself represents the American Dream; if you work hard everything you want will come to pass. The law will work out for the righteous. But, this fog would consume each character until they are willing to risk anything, even their lives. The characters do not realize until it is too late