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Use of symbolism in the old man and the sea
Character of Santiago in the old man and sea
Santiago as a typical hero in the old man and the sea
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Santiago Hemingway’s Uncommon Code Hero
Ernest Hemmingway’s Santiago in “The Old Man and the Sea” meticulously fits Hemmingway’s code of heroes and accurately represents a classical tragic hero as put forth by Aristotle. Santiago a skilled professional fisherman is endowed with typical Hemmingway heroic characteristics of humility, courage perseverance, experience and pride. However, Hemmingway uses simplistic language, uncommon settings and meek characters, to birth a tragic hero that more than just intrigues diverse audiences. In addition to depicting the tragic flaw of excessive pride, Hemmingway emphasizes that the greatest value of life’s conflicts are the lessons it teaches and enduring with determination and grace is greater gain than focusing on merely wining.
In the beginning of the novel, Santiago appears to be less than a hero. Usually a hero is thought of as a great leader. However, at first glance Santiago is an underprivileged old man, who lives in a shack that needs the aid of a young boy. But this an underlying twists in plot by Hemingway that foreshadows his theme of heroism. Ironically, but most importantly to the plot of the story, Santiago is a reputable fisherman who has met an “unlucky strike”. According to Dr Wheeler, one trait of Hemingway’s hero is that he stands strong in the event of life’s trials by competing with sincerity and determination regardless of the raising level of difficulties (Dr Wheeler’s homepage 1). In order to set up Santiago to fit his code of heroes, Hemingway writes that Santiago is made fun of by other fishermen but he is determine that he will prove he can still catch big fish (Hemingway16). Santiago is courageous and an experience fisherman, willing to go out into the open se...
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Burhans, Clinton S., Jr. "The Old Man and the Sea: Hemingway's Tragic Vision of Man." American Literature 31.4 (Jan. 1960): 446-455. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna Sheets-Nesbitt. Vol. 36. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Mar. 2012.
Davis, Carl. "An overview of The Old Man and the Sea, for Exploring Novels." Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Mar. 2012
DiYanni, Robert, ed. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th Ed. New York: McGraw, 2008. Print.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print
Sophocles. The Oedipus Rex of Sophocles: An English Version by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th Ed. New York: McGraw, 2008. 1307-1347. Print.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1992.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Bernard M. W. Knox. New York: Washi ngton Squ are Books, 1994.
Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999.
Albert, Susan Wittig. "Oedipus Rex by Sophocles." World Literature. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001. 301-71. Print.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. The Oedipus Cycle. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovish, 1976. 3-78.
DiYanni, Robert. Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. McGraw Hill : Boston, Massachusette, 1998.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Paul Davis, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 899-951. Print.
Earnest Hemingway’s work gives a glimpse of how people deal with their problems in society. He conveys his own characteristics through his simple and “iceberg” writing style, his male characters’ constant urge to prove their masculinity.
Waggonner, Eric. "Inside the Current: A Taoist Reading of The Old Man and the Sea" Hemingway Review Spring 1998.
The Old Man and the Sea is a heroic tale of man’s strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the “Old Man and the Sea” strives to teach important life lessons to the reader.
Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997.
Throughout The Old Man and the Sea and “Indian Camp”, Hemingway utilizes Stoicism to portray his characters. Santiago’s discipline and Dr. Adam’s careful diction are an example of moderation in motion. The two’s indifference is bewildering, but enable calm rational operation in demanding situations, exactly why apathy is crucial in Stoicism. Finally, Dr. Adam’s complete disregard for acting humanely contrasting with the old man’s stickler for virtue affirms the significance virtue bears in gaining happiness. The Stoic ideas of moderation, virtue, and indifference are demonstrated in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and “Indian Camp”. Hemingway’s use of Stoicism in his literature embellishes his lauded minimalistic style.
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...
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...