Since Abe is often compared to Franz Kafka, read Kafka's Metamorphosis and compare this with Abe's The Woman in the Dunes. Both of these works are allegories. What does each work represent? How do they differ from one another? How are they the same? How do the endings differ?
Critics often refer to Abe's novel as being affected by the philosophy of existentialism. Research this mode of thought and define what existentialism is. Who were some of the most influential thinkers of this philosophy? What writers infused their work with existential thought? Then explain how Abe's novel explores this philosophy.
Read Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, which was written before the war. Focus on the way.....
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