Paranormal Activity On April 1, 1983, James Sevigny set out to climb Mt. Deltaform which is located in the Canadian Rockies. On this morning, the climb seemed to be going smoothly but what came after was unexpected. An avalanche came out of nowhere and swept Sevigny two thousand feet to the base of Mt. Deltaform. He laid there unconscious from the mob of snow that was now threatening his life. After a hour, Sevigny regained consciousness, but he knew that he was severely injured and dying. When it felt like all hope was lost, a presence appeared. He heard a woman telling him to get up and follow the trail of blood that Sevigny’s nose had left back to the camp. The woman’s voice was guiding and protecting him. When he arrived back to camp the …show more content…
As Santiago is fighting off the sharks that are fighting him for the marlin, he is filled with unrealistic strength. This strength is brought from the anger of the shark’s declaration over the marlin. Santiago knows that he cannot give up on his fish; he can’t just leave it to be demolished without a fight. An old man should not be able to punch and kill a shark with his bare hands. The shark is bigger and stronger than the old man, hence the old man should not be able to obliterate the shark like it is nothing. Santiago has to defend his prized possession. Hemingway wants his hero to “fight nature, danger, fear, [and] even death” (Walsh). Santiago fights his fear effortlessly because if he didn’t, all of his hard work would have been for nothing. Furthermore, Santiago becomes supernatural when he hangs onto the marlin for dear life. When Santiago and the marlin wrestle back and forth on the boat for five days, the only major damage that was done was to his hands. Strangely, Santiago is very old and it is not possible that he could wrestle a “eighteen feet from nose to tail” fish with little injuries (Hemingway 122). Hence, wrestling with a fish of that size, Santiago should not be able to hold onto the marlin for a second. Throughout the five days that Santiago was with the marlin, he was granted superhuman …show more content…
This is exemplified through Santiago’s determination to catch the marlin. Before Santiago begins his journey, he is filled with optimism due to the “erosions in [his] fishless desert” (Hemingway 10). He takes all the suffering and loss that he has experienced and turns it into determination. He no longer wants to be the ‘runt of the litter’. The other fishermen come in on their boats with numerous fancy catches and Santiago no longer wants to be the one who comes in with nothing. Thus, when Santiago catches the marlin he is optimistic, but the marlin is not happy to be caught. He is stubborn and makes Santiago work for his goal. After five days the marlin is finally brought into the boat, but “it was an hour before the first shark” (Hemingway 100). The sharks are meant to take away the marlin that Santiago has worked so hard for. Their harshness towards Santiago “work[s] powerfully and elegantly to represent life as it is” (Walsh). They want Santiago to realize that life does not work out perfectly, and doesn’t always go as planned. Consequently, Hemingway is urging everyone to be appreciative of these signs such as supernatural occurrences. When he was younger, Hemingway wanted to work on a farm and to not have to be able to rely on anything. He had no desire “to be a millionaire or a rich man” (Ernest Hemingway: A Storyteller’s Legacy). Hemingway does not like rich
One can make a Biblical connection to the prose on the very first page of the novella, which states that Santiago went forty days without catching a fish before Manolin was forced to abandon him, and then another forty days alone (Hemingway, 9). The number forty has a significance within the Bible, particularly when describing the struggle to survive. For instance, Noah in the book of Genesis sailed through a flood that wiped out most of the earth’s popu...
Having the option to leave it, he chooses not to take that path because he is staying challenged with the fish and doesn’t want to fail at it. Through exhaustion, dehydration, and phlegm, he gathers the courage to stay with this fish that has continued such a battle for so long. Hemingway’s usage of dialogue between Santiago and the fish highlights their will to keep fighting. “I wonder why he jumped, the old man thought. He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was I know now, anyway, he thought. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am”(pg 63) The fish is trying to intimidate Santiago almost conveying that he will not give up without saying a word. Santiago senses this and wishes he could show the fish how “big” he is. “‘Fish,” he said softly, aloud, “I’ll stay with you until I am dead.’” (pg. 51) Santiago is declaring that he will not give up, not directly to the fish but more so to himself, reassuring that he will not give up. Both Santiago and the fish are determined to win their great battle but only one of them can be the
The quote, “Nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him an inch. His line was strong and made for heavy fish and he held it against his back until it was so taut that beads of water were jumping from it. Then it began to make a slow hissing sound in the water and he still held it, bracing himself against the thwart and leaning back against the pull. The boat began to move slowly off toward the north-west.”(44) creates in depth meaning into how the old man is strong because the fish possesses a determination equal in magnitude to Santiago’s. Santiago has a large amount of endurance, and is using it in the midst of following the fish. Another example of Santiago’s endurance throughout the novel is his strength with the physical pain he feels. For example, the old man has a lot of back pain while following the fish, and catching it, especially. “...”( ).........The old man also experiences physical pain when his hand is cramping and when it gets cut. The author states, “The old man would have liked to keep his hand in the salt water longer but he was afraid of another sudden lurch by the fish and he stood up and braced himself and
and commitment. His faith clearly follows and reflects that of the author, Ernest Hemingway. His pride was challenged and broken into humility. This simple story of an unlucky fisherman remains a classic today because it provides us with a clearer image of Hemingway’s view of man and our struggle against nature and our own shortcomings. Adversity and failure are only wasted to those who refuse to learn from hard-fought battles whether goals are reached or snatched by defeat.
Hemingway lived an interesting life, which allowed him to take past life experiences and tell them through novels. He does this exclusively through subtle symbolism in works like The Old Man and the Sea. As with all his other works, Hemingway incorporates a past experience into The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway does this in the largest scene in the book by using birds, the sharks Santiago fights off, the marlin itself, and the other fish in the sea as symbols. In the book, Hemingway uses the birds to represent his friends and mentors, the sharks being the critics of his book, the marlin being The Old Man and the Sea, and the other fish representing Hemingway's other works. Hemingway uses symbolism when he writes, “‘You are killing me, fish,’ the old man thought. ‘But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills wh...
To begin with, the old man is determined just as the fish is. When Santiago first hooks the fish, he states, “‘Fish,’ he said softly, aloud, ‘I’ll stay with you until I am dead’” (Hemingway 52). This shows how he will risk his life to prove that he can catch this marlin. Santiago was fixed on catching this fish and ending his bad luck streak. And, as the marlin doesn’t have much of a choice, he will fight until he dies as well. They are both very
Secondly, Santiago experiences material success because of the augmented physical strength he attains from the obstacles that he is forced to face. The old man is walking home to his shack after he returns from his strenuous journey, “He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack” (121). The old man is exhausted from his trip because he had spent so much energy catching the fish. Plenty of strength must have been gained from the exertion of this much energy. During the shark attacks, Santiago is optimistic about what good the bleeding from his hands will bring. “The bleeding may keep the left from cramping” (111). The old man is so strong that he uses the bleeding pain to suffocate a different source of pain. Not only that, but just the fact of keeping a positive attitude about a situation like this is a great accomplishment which can only be obtained from strength.
The marlin’s blood has reached two ravenous shovel-nosed sharks who are more than insistent on getting a taste of the marlin. Santiago manages to kill these two as well, but in doing so loses his knife, which had been his only weapon. Once the shovel-nosed shark are gone, Santiago has a brief window of time during which he goes back to mourning the fish. Due to these attacks, Santiago now further laments the marlin’s death, for he believes, had the marlin been alive, he would of been able to easily defend himself against the savage sharks. The old man goes on to say that he no longer likes to “look at the fish” for he has been “mutilated” (Hemingway 103). He also mentions that, “When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself [Santiago] were hit.” (Hemingway 103). This tells us that Santiago deeply valued the fish, not only as a source of pride but as a companion as well.
He has faith in his ability to reel in the fish, yet he doubts the amount of strength that he will have to return to shore with the fish. When he finally conquers the fish and kills him, he thinks about why he decided to kill something that he shared such admiration: “You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after” (Hemingway 106). However, when he is towing the fish back to shore, sharks begin to eat the flesh and meat off the fish.
Nature is man’s greatest struggle besides himself. Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea constantly endures struggles against nature the affect him externally and internally. There are many examples of the hardships of man versus nature that Santiago endures. Santiago struggles with nature in order to catch the giant marlin in the Gulf Stream. He also struggles with himself and his abilities that have collapsed with his aging body. Santiago also faces struggles with the shark that attacks his prized marlin. The story has more beneath the surface with many layers of internal and external struggle that interconnect, and the battle that will be fought by all, physically and psychologically.
In the story Santiago’s bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the “great fish” that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his “luckiness” and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself.
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...
In a flashback Santiago describes a battle between himself and the great negro from Cienfuegos. The negro was known as the strongest man on the docks, but that did not scare Santiago off from challenging him to the hand game. After a rough two day battle Santiago defeated him and was given the title Santiago El Campeon. Later that spring there was a return match, "After he had a few matches and then no more. Santiago decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough" (Hemingway 70). This shows that Santiago has great strength and he knows that, but he does not feel the need to prove his strength repeatedly to the rest of the people on the docks.
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.
The relationship between animal and human in this text shows as a relationship of appreciation and respect. Santiago loves everything about being a fisherman. He is lonely at sea and his sea friends are his companions. He has great respect for the sea as well as the inhabitants that swim and live in it. He does not love all creatures of the deep, blue sea, however, does show respect for each one. Santiago has a particular relationship with the marlin. He comments that the marlin is “wonderful”, “strange”, “strong”, “wise”, and “that is fight has no panic to it” (Hemingway 48 -49). Based on his description of the marlin, Santiago loves and respects him as a worthy opponent and brother, “Now we are joined together and have been since noon” (Hemingway 50). Santiago is not only literally linked to the marlin, but also figuratively because the outcome of this battle will determine both their fates. The old man says, “The fish is my friend too,” he said aloud. “I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars” (Hemingway 75). He starts to imagine impossible feats like killing the moon or the sun and feels lucky that his task, in relative terms, is much simpler. Although he is sad to kill the fis...