The ocean symbolizes the power of nature and the inevitability of death, making it key to the theme of The Acceptance of Impermanence and Death. The unpredictability of the ocean—its waxing and waning storms and waves—is itself a demonstration of the world’s changeability, while the danger that unpredictability poses reflects the broader danger of life on the islands of Japan. The novella thus uses the geography of the Japanese archipelago to explain and evoke the Japanese cultural attitude of bravery in the face of death, as well as the Buddhist emphasis on the impermanence of all things. For example, Kino’s father argues that everyone who lives by the shore must learn to accept the coming and going of the big wave, just as they must learn to accept the births and deaths of loved ones. Jiya learns this lesson forcefully through his trauma and eventually embraces Japanese ideals of stoicism in the face of death, as apparent in the house he builds.

Another notable aspect of the ocean’s symbolism is Buck’s use of personification. Various characters give the ocean the human characteristics of anger and cruelty even as these same characters remain in awe of its beauty.