How Does Hemingway Present Santiago As A Part Of The Human Condition

The Old Man and the Sea is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1952. It became an exceptional success for the writer shortly after his previous work, Across the River and Into the Trees, induced an overwhelmingly negative reaction from the critics. The novel was a veritable breakthrough that helped revive his reputation as a writer of unparalleled acclaim. In fact, the novel was acknowledged as such a tremendous achievement that two years later, in 1953, Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Moreover, The Old Man and the Sea undoubtedly contributed to Hemingway’s Nobel Prize award in 1954. The novel was the last major work published before his suicide in 1961, and Hemingway spoke about it with great pride. It marks the

Throughout The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway portrays Santiago as a man of exceptional determination and courage. Fighting the sharks, he had lost his harpoon and his knife. By the time of the last attack, there was little left of the fish, and Santiago “knew the fight was useless”; but he fought anyway, clubbing the sharks with all the strength he had left (53). During life’s journey, every person encounters seemingly unsurmountable obstacles; and the only rationale behind human resilience in these situations is represented by the old man’s hope against all odds. This example demonstrates that the novel’s story can be applied to many aspects of human

Although Hemingway clearly pits his character against nature, he also shows Santiago’s intimate relationship with it. The old man feels no detachment form the world around him; instead, he experiences a spiritual connection with nature. When he reminisces about his earlier years on the turtle-hunting boats, Santiago deeply empathizes with the turtles, to the point where he identifies with the sea animals, not with other humans. Indeed, he has the same beating heart; and his “feet and hands are like theirs” (40). Thus, rather than describing a conquest between the man and nature, The Old Man and the See portrays a conquest between two animals, one slightly more skillful and strong than the