Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea

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On the surface, The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an old man trying to catch fish to save himself from poverty, but under the surface are many underlying messages and themes. The setting is in Cuba, in an impoverished fishing village. The old man, Santiago, is a well-seasoned fisherman who takes a young boy, Manolin, under his wing. He has not caught a fish in 84 days and has been relying on the help of others from the village. In, The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway conveys his opinions and his own life through themes and symbolism in the book. Hemingway conveys his idea of success, his view of the artist, free will, and individualism.

Hemingway’s view of success is different than most others. Santiago was defeated by the sharks and lost his marlin. Tourists even mistake the skeleton for one of a shark. The head, which is the only thing left, will be used as bait. Santiago gets no money or food from the fish. He does not receive any material gain from his grueling three day fight with the marlin (Gale). “It appears that the old man has been beaten, but the reality is that he has remained undefeated in his struggle against himself, his exhaustion, and the temptation to abandon the fight” (Pazos). As Manolin tells Santiago, “He didn't beat you. Not the fish” (Hemingway 124). Santiago pushed through till the end and did all he could to keep away the sharks. He did not give in to the temptation of cutting the line and giving up (Pazos). Hemingway shows that success is not always measured in material gain, but in personal gain. The old man tells himself, “You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food...You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman” (Hemingway 105). Santiago does not get the $300 h...

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...d Man and the Sea. Kolkata: Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, 2013. N. pag. Facts on File. Web. 13 May 2014.

Burhans Jr., Clinton S. “THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA: Hemingway's Tragic Vision Of Man.” American Literature 31.4 (1960): 446. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 May 2014.

Gale, Robert L. “The Old Man and the Sea.” Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series, Supplement (1997): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 13 May 2014.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. 1952. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. 10-124. Print.

Pazos, José Gabriel Rodriguez. The Old Man and the Sea. Werlock, Abby H.P., ed. The Facts On file Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literature. Web. 13 May 2014.

Prescott, Orville. “Books of the Times.” The New York Times 28 Aug. 1952. Web. 20 May 2014.

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