The Universal Order

The concept of the ideal order or "circle of life" is not a new one. However, in The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea, this outline of one's model life is revealed by the protagonist, Noboru. In his mind, the universal order is this:

Noboru and mother-mother and man-man and sea-sea and Noboru...

Although I understand the desire to create a safe, structured diamond connecting the relationships of many people, I don't identity with need to establish an imaginary arrangement that could be destroyed easily. Noboru himself realizes this, recognizing that the destruction of his order would mean "the end of the world" (13). This forces the reader to question the true idea of relationships and whether, subconsciously, we ourselves create a composition that embodies our idea of perfection. To Noboru, the above configuration is rendered perfect. Only later in the novel does he realize the pain stakes that he must endure to keep this state of perfection alive, bringing about the query of what humans will endure to maintain the idealistic view of perfection.