Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway and published in 1952. This is a captivating fiction story about a man named Santiago and his adventure when one day, he goes on a fishing journey to catch the big one. However, this adventure quickly becomes one of pain and suffering when things take a turn for the worse.
The Old Man and the Sea takes in place in Havana, Cuba and the fishing waters off the coast of Havana. The Spanish names, Santiago and Manolin, are typical in Cuba. Cuba is mostly Catholic so this accounted for Santiago's devotion to Jesus Christ. The year seems to be around the 1930's and 1940's because Santiago is a big fan of Joe DiMaggio who played during these years. In the 1930's and '40's, the city of Havana was booming with population and business. Seafood is one of the most popular foods in Havana so to meet the rising demand of fish, many young boys learned how to be fishermen as Manolin did.
Santiago is a complex character who learns a lot through the course of this story. He is a very good, humble man and loves Manolin, his apprentice. Santiago is a poor man and is regarded as bad luck by others because he was not caught a single fish in 84 days. One cannot help feel sorry for him because he is very alone. His wife died and the book suggested that he never had any children. Yet he was humble and did not complain at all about his hard life. Santiago is a very persistant and determined character. He fought the huge marlin that he had caught for three agonizing days desopite feeling intense pain. He often had contradictory feelings and thoughts. One that I found strange was when he felt sorry for the marlin while he joyfully pondered how much money he would get for selling the fish.
Mololin is Santiago's apprentice. Since he was a young child, Manolin has accompanied Santiago to learn how to fish. Santiago loves him very much because he sees him as the son he never had. However Manolin's parents stops him from going to Santiago because they think he is cursed and has bad luck.
Santiago is an old fisherman and has been for most of his life. He used to have an apprentice named Manolin but his parents made stop because of the belief that he is bad luck for he hasn't caught a fish in eighty four days. One day he decided that he wasn't going home without catching a fish. So ...
... middle of paper ...
...is telling its readers to look at the positive aspects of things, even if at first it seems like a tragedy. A personal example of this is when my family got our first cat. My mom was in subway on her way to work, she was already late. She was running to catch a train only to see the doors close right in her face. She got on the train worried on what her boss will say. She sat next to a very sad woman with a kitten in a cage. When asked what was wrong she said that she found a lost kitten and since her super doesn't allow cats in the apartment, she was going to the shelter to leave the kitten. My mother said she would keep the kitten and the woman gladly gave it to my mom. Hemmingway's novel goes to show that things aren't as bad as they first seem.
The Old Man and the Sea also expresses humility. Santiago is a fairly poor man and often goes hungry, yet he never complains or protests. Santiago shows his humility many other times in the novel like when he was batting the marlin and he gashed his hand and received other severe wounds. Finally he never said a word of anger when he battled the sharks to save his fish but failed. Humility is a good attribute that many of us don't have.
This may be true in all cases, but it is clearly predominant in Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea. It is evident that Hemingway modeled the main character, Santiago after his own person, and that the desires, the mentality, and the lifestyle of the old man are identical to Hemingway's.
The characters in The Old Man and the Sea are in actuality, major figures in the New Testament. Santiago is an old man, yet he had young eyes. No matter how defeated he was, he would never show it and he would look on the brighter side of things. In my mind, these traits make Santiago a god-like figure. Manolin, which translates into Messiah, is Jesus (Stoltzfus qtd in CLC 13:280). Santiago is the "father" who teaches his symbolic son and disciple, Manolin. After catching the largest marlin, Manolin will leave his parents in order to follow the teachings of Santiago, his master, just as Jesus did (Stoltzfus qtd in CLC 13:280). Pedrico is actually Saint Peter, Jesus' closest apostle and a great fisherman (Wilson 50). Peter helped Jesus fish for souls as Pedrico helped Manolin fish for food. Santiago gives Pedrico the head of the mutilated marlin which symbolizes Saint Peter as head of the Christian church and the first Pope (Stoltzfus CLC 280).
Even with the injury, DiMaggio is a successful baseball player so Santiago believes he can also be a successful fisherman even though he is aging. Finally, there is Manolin, a young boy and Santiago’s close friend who represents youth and the future. Manolin also serves as inspiration to Santiago as he attempts to be successful and pass down his knowledge and experience to
Santiago is put in a situation where he could possibly fail. This circumstance tests Santiago's ability to have elegance in a stressful happenstance. Santiago is an old man with skin cancer, wrinkles, and scars surrounding his face and hands. Despite these setbacks, he fights a mammoth fish all alone at sea
Poignant circumstances surrounded the composition of this novel, which bring out many of the above points. It is widely recognized that Hemingway was possessed of a turbulent personality and suffered from emotional depression. This was despite the fact that he enjoyed much critical acclaim. The Old Man and the Sea was written after a ten-year hiatus of public and critical approval. This period saw much of his work receive negative criticism in literary and journalistic circles. This affected Hemingway adversely and very deeply (Carey 9). Therefore, Hemingway's personal battle with seeming failure in his life's work and society's attendant criticism parallel Santiago's stoic resolve in the face of his neighbors' disdain. The author's struggles symbolically match those of Santiago and set the stage for the writing of this novel.
Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy, but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago’s feelings. He even offers to go against his parent’s wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore “unlucky”.
Santiago's characteristics are some of what makes him such a unique character. He constantly is a positive person, no matter the situation. After going “eighty-four days” without catching a fish, this would discourage most everyone, but not Santiago (Hemingway 9). He remains positive and goes out to sea anyways. This, in turn, becomes a good choice which wouldn’t have been made, had he not been
Some argued that the novel’s theme was Santiago’s struggle, the friendship with the fish and other characters; Santiago’s perseverance and that he really ended up as a triumphant man. But to argue that those were also the main themes of the book is also a difficult thing to do. Even though Santiago fought and kept on with his struggle to catch the fish, he was defeated because he lost it at the end. Defeat, according to the Larousse Chambers English Dictionary, is when you are overthrown in a battle, you lose a game and therefore you don’t win: you don’t gain or reach your goal. As we can see Santiago, in spite of the fact that he persevered and struggled, starving, for three days lost the battle.
The Old Man and the Sea is novella written by Ernest Hemingway in 1952. It tells the epic journey and struggles of the old fisherman, Santiago, and his younger fishing partner, Manolin. The story goes into detail the day to day life struggles that a fisherman off the coast of Africa endures. The majority of the story focuses on one particular trip out sea. In life, one will go through a number of stages in life. Infancy, Youth , Adulthood, and Old Age are all key stages. As one grows, they mature through these various stages. When one reaches old age, there is often a lot of doubt surrounding their lives. Serenity, and independence are often the two most questioned. These are some questions that Santiago has to ask himself as well.
In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, pits his strength against forces he cannot control. We learn from Santiago's struggles how to face insurmountable odds with bravery and courage. Though we find an indifferent and hostile universe as Santiago's stage, his unwillingness to give in to these forces demonstrate a reverence for life's struggles. Santiago's struggle is for dignity and meaning in the face of insurmountable odds. His warrior-like spirit fights off the sharks full-well knowing the fate of his marlin. Santiago loses his marlin in the end, but his struggle to keep it represent a victory because of the dignity and heroism with which he carries out his mission. However, as Santiago acknowledges, he is almost sorry he caught the marlin because he knows the animal and he have a great deal in common as fellow beings in nature. However, he only caught the marlin "through trickery" (Hemingway 99). Santi...
Santiago can be compared to a Christ figure on the basis of his relationships with other characters in the novel. People look up to Santiago, as would a follower to Christ, hereby setting up a comparison between the two. (transition) Since the age of five, Manolin has aided the old man by working alongside him as an apprentice. Manolin is loyal to Santiago and looks up to him as if Santiago was his real father. According to Delbert Wylder, "Santiago has, in a sense been the boy’s spiritual father" ( 219). Manolin is in awe of the old man, who the town recognizes as an honorable fisherman. The boy states, "There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you." Like Santiago, Christ was also a spiritual father to his town; the town of Bethlehem. He performed miracles to heal the sick, and fed thousands of starving people. As Jim Auer says, "This demonstrates Santiago’s relation to Christ. They are both extremely unique, and were father figures in their communities" (15). ?The people of Bethlehem looked up to Christ as a father figure, and they had love and admiration towards him.? Likewise, "The love of Manolin for Santiago is that of a discipline for a master in the arts of fishing, it is also the love of a son for an adopted father" (Wagner-Martin 307). Through Manolin’s caring of the old man, he shows his love for Santiago. Even though Santiago is not Manolin’s biological father, he cares for him as though he was. "The old man was asleep in the chair and the sun was down. The boy took the old army blanket off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and over the old man’s shoulders… and when he woke up he fed him supper" (...
Hemingway has a way of making his readers believe that the feats and strengths that his characters obtain in his novels are actually possible. Although this statement may be too critical, and maybe there is a man out there, somewhere on the coast of Cuba who at this very moment is setting out to the open sea to catch a marlin of his own. The struggle many readers have is believing the story of Santiago’s physical powers and his strength against temptation bring forward the question of whether or not The Old Man and the Sea is worthy to be called a classic. Hemingway’s Santiago brought Faulkner and millions of other readers on their knees, while to some, believed Hemingway had swung his third strike. As we look further into Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we can analyze the criticism and complications of the character Santiago. He is portrayed as a faulty Jesus, an unrealistic and inhuman man, and again still a hero to those who cannot find happiness in their life.
The old man just holds on and tries to pull the marlin into his small boat, but he just could not do it. This paper examines the nature of relationships in this story. There are three relationships in this story, Santiago with Manolin, Santiago with the sea, and Santiago with the marlin. The first relationship I'll tell you about is the one between Santiago and a young boy named Manolin.
Manolin is the innocent side of Santiago 's personality, sharing many of his interests but looking on them with fresh eyes. Santiago, for his part, sees Manolin as someone who should aspire to greater things than Santiago did in his own life, but also enjoys the boy 's attention and loves him as a son.
The Old Man and the Sea focuses its plot mainly on Santiago’s struggle against the marlin. Existentialism makes its appearance when Santiago chooses to pursue the marlin, stay with it the entire way, and fight tooth and nail at the end. “My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people,” is how Santiago explains his actions to challenge the fish (Hemingway 50). He mentions how he was born to be a fisherman, and by chasing the marlin, he will give his life the meaning for existence. Santiago also insists on staying with the fish until one of them is dead, which exemplifies his will to fulfill his goals in life. He endures obstacles such as nausea, cramps, and sleep deprivation because he does not want to give up and surrender his fate. When it comes down to the final struggle, Santiago pits all of the pain, strength, and pride he has left against the fish in order to bring it down. Despair begins to creep in when Santiago finds it hard to pull in the marlin, but he overcomes it with every ounce of will he has. He knows that it is up to him to create this important moment in his li...