Hemingways Themes
“Hemingway’s greatness is in his short stories, which rival any other master of the form”(Bloom 1). The Old Man and the Sea is the most popular of his later works (1). The themes represented in this book are religion (Gurko 13-14), heroism (Brenner 31-32), and character symbolism (28). These themes combine to create a book that won Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributed to his Nobel Prize for literature in 1954 (3).
“Santiago’s ordeal, first in his struggle with the big fish, and then in fighting against the sharks, is associated by Hemingway with Christ’s agony and triumph,” (Bloom 2). When Santiago sees the second and third sharks coming, he shouts “Ay,” and Hemingway notes: “There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just such a noise as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hand and into the wood” (Waldmeir 28).
“Santiago is often regarded [as] a Christ figure, and his love for all living creatures and forbearance in physical pain are attributes that support this [idea].
However, Santiago shares few traits with Christ (Brenner 38). In his book The Old Man and the Sea: Story of a Common Man, Gerry Brenner states:
Christ is a fisher of men, but Santiago is merely a fisherman; Christ is a figure with a divine mission, Santiago one with a secular mission (to bring back an oversized fish); Christ is a martyr who willingly but reluctantly dies for his convictions, Santiago is a persevering champion who is willing to die only to win a battle with a fish; Christ is a teacher of spiritual and ethical wisdom, Santiago is a professional with skill and slogans to impart (38).
The Hemingway hero is often religious, but their religion is rarely central to their lives (Gurko 13). Santiago is Cuban, at once devout and credulous (13). However, neither his religion nor his superstitious beliefs play a role in his ordeal with the great marlin (13).
God is sometimes prayed to by the Hemingway hero in a time of crisis, but He is never depended upon (Waldmeir 29). When Santiago says his prayers, he also says, “I am not religious,” even as he says his prayer (29). After forty-five hours of struggle have passed, Santiago says, “I’ll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Mary’s. But I cannot say them now.” (Waldmeir 29-30) For those ...
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..., Mrs. “Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea” Lecture: 2000. Timms, David. “Contrasts in Form: Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Faulkner’s ‘The Bear’” Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999: 45-52.
Wagner, Linda W. “The Poem of Santiago and Manolin” Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Ed. Harold Spreng 8
Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999: 45-52.
Waldmeir, Joseph. “Confiteor Hominem: Ernest Hemingway’s Religion of Man” Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999: 45-52.
Wilson Jr., G.R. “Incarnation and Redemption in The Old Man and the Sea” Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Ed. Harold Bloom.
Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999: 45-52.
Young, Philip. “The Old Man and the Sea: Vision/Revision” Modern CriticalInterpretations: Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Ed. HaroldBloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999: 45-52.
...that the old man survived those long days at sea, and even caught the marlin successfully. Santiago’s credibility as a fisherman and survivor are restored. In this way, he is resurrected as a new, respectable man.
One observation that can be made on Hemingway’s narrative technique as shown in his short stories is his clipped, spare style, which aims to produce a sense of objectivity through highly selected details. Hemingway refuses to romanticize his characters. Being “tough” people, such as boxers, bullfighters, gangsters, and soldiers, they are depicted as leading a life more or less without thought. The world is full of s...
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was written as Hemingway 's comeback book. Hemingway was a great writer, according to “11 Facts About Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea”, written by the website mental floss, before The Old Man and the Sea his last best book was For Whom the Bell Tolls which was written in 1940. Hemingway went a decade before he wrote and had another book published. In 1950 Hemingway published Across the River and Into The Trees, but it was not very good so people said that Hemingway was done with his years of good writing. In 1952 Hemingway published The Old Man and the Sea and it was his comeback book. Throughout the book, Hemingway uses Santiago and his long time out in the sea to show that it is important to never give up.
In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1208-1209. Hemingway, Ernest. A.
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).
The Cambridge Companion to Ernest Hemingway; edited by Scott Donaldson; Cambridge U. P.; New York, NY; 1996
Waggonner, Eric. "Inside the Current: A Taoist Reading of The Old Man and the Sea" Hemingway Review Spring 1998.
”(page 111). Santiago had plans for him already but failed to accomplish them. Some will argue that he won because he gained spiritual victory. This , in a way, is true; but fishing is his job and only way of living. If the case had been different and Santiago was only fishing for his personal entertainment, which wasn’t, it could be seen as a new experience or story to tell.
Moderation is fully evident in Hemingway’s characters. Santiago, the protagonist of The Old Man and the Sea, firmly balances two contrasting qualities - his humility and pride. Santiago reveals his humble nature when Manolin asserts that he is the best fisherman to which Santiago replies “No. I know others better.” (The Old Man and the Sea 23). Meanwhile Santiago’s attempt to capture the fish and prove that he is a capable man despite his old age signifies that he retains a certain level of pride for his masculinity. Humility is the antithesis of pride, yet, the old man has the ability to retain both through moderation. Emotions are not the only characteristics to be moderated; actions as well as speech must be balanced. In “Indian Camp”, the father explains a mature topic –the act of givin...
In the novel The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway develops the concept of
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" (...
The great stories behind The Old Man and the Sea are what make it so wonderful. Because of this novels success released in 1952, it helped Hemingway ring in the Nobel Prize for 1954 for Hemingway (Hurse). He had a way of writing a good hearted, high spirited hero, who seemed in many ways to be at one with nature and himself. It is believed that Hemingway conjured up the character Santiago from a 92 year old man who crossed to Florida with other Cuban refugees (Baker 910). This makes sense considering Santiago is the main character, who is of old age. His characters although having many great qualities, still had struggles. Santiago is the man of hour, when speaking of The Old Man and the Sea. H...
As it can clearly be seen, Earnest Hemingway has reflected his life throughout his works. This outlet of expression has proven to be worth the time and effort he had put forward in crafting these stories. It is unfortunate that factors such as human suffering as well as intimate harm were present in Hemingway's life, but it is thanks to those themes that such great works came about. In the short stories "Indian Camp," "The Old Man at the Bridge," and "Hills Like White Elephants," Hemingway has proven that he was indeed the voice of his generation and has crafted a path for future authors and writers to write in a similar manner and style.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print. The. Hemingway, Ernest. A.
The Old Man and the Sea, was written by Ernest Hemingway. In the novella, the old man, Santigo and the young boy Manolin has a relationship that goes dar beyond friendship. They have a soul bonding relationship. The boy needs the old man as a teacher and the old man needs the boy was family. Hemingway creates a very powerful, poignant relationship between the old man and the young boy throughout his novella using dialogues.