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achievement motivation can best be veiwed as a
perseverance is the key to success
perseverance is the key to success
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When one is extremely dedicated, he might be more likely to achieve his goals. Santiago remains devoted to catching fish, which helps him to reach his aspirations. In The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago shows dedication to overcoming his struggle with fish through the pain he suffers, the long journey taken, and the time without fish.
Being dedicated to achieving one’s dreams, despite excessive amounts of pain suffered, can help to ensure success. Santiago experiences extreme amounts of pain, yet he still remains devoted to catching fish: “He leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was…cutting badly” (Hemingway 82). Santiago puts up with excessive amounts of pain; he does not let his fatigue become an impediment to his battle with the fish. His hands are cutting badly while the fish pulls him relentlessly. Santiago’s pain means that he is acting in a devoted manner to catching the fish and is willing to experience pain in order to reach his goal. His tranquil manner in dealing with the fish and the pain it induces in him proves that Santiago’s ambition to catching the fish will help him to achieve his ultimate goal—reel in the fish. Santiago’s willingness to put up with pain shows his dedication to his job as a fisherman, and its positive effect on his goal of catching the fish. Furthermore, Santiago’s dedication to catching the fish is demonstrated when he says that “‘pain does not matter to a man.’ He took hold of the line carefully so that it did not fit into one of the fresh line cuts and shifted his weight” (Hemingway 84). Santiago says that pain does not affect him, and that he will focus on reeling in the fish. He shifts the line to avoid an...
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...r chance of achieving his goals.
One may be more likely to reach his goals if he is greatly devoted to these goals. Santiago is persistently dedicated to being a fisherman, and he learns that this helps him catch fish. In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago demonstrates ambition toward overcoming obstacles when he suffers through pain, takes a long journey, and has time without fish. If everyone in the world would remain dedicated to their aspirations of their own volition, then people would benefit because of the potential they possess to annul the obstacles restricting them. Transferring a major portion of one’s attention from diversions to directing himself along a path to obliterating his obstacles may help that person to achieve his goals. With a world full of ambitious people, much more definitive action would be taken and imparted.
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.
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
Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952, the last of his fiction stories to be published before his death in 1961 (Lombardi). The novella is still celebrated to this day as a riveting tale of man versus nature under the most dire of circumstances. The story’s protagonist, Santiago, is a man with supreme determination and hope. His battle with the great marlin is an illustration of human strength, physically and mentally, at its finest. These qualities about him, along with the decisions he makes throughout the novel, give him similarities to Christ, while other elements of Hemingway’s prose can arguably serve as Christian symbolism as well.
Covered in sweat and desperation, the boy pulled back his aching arms and casted the reel, again. Under the huffing of his breath, one could hear his hushed swears. Glazed over eyes and blistered hands, made up what was left of him. His mind boggled at what could happen if he failed once more. His parched throat leads him to remembering his jug of water in the corner of the dinghy. Perhaps he could reach over and grab the water; however, he had his eyes set on the bait and just as he nearly glanced away, the bait jerked under the water. His eyes engulfed in tears as he reeled in his prize, a 6 pound ilish fish. Now he could drink his water in triumph and pride, one day further from famine. Many individuals struggle with reeling in fish to save themselves from hunger, but if they are determined to catch what they desire most, almost nothing can get in their way, even if their conditions are harder than others, like when the boy that was fishing had to conquer hunger or in The Lacuna. Accordingly, perseverance is essential in many situations, whether these situations seem easy to overcome, or not. Likewise, the best theme of The Lacuna is: it is imperative to use persistence in order to achieve one’s goals, due to the struggles Harrison Shepard has to overcome in order to surpass his obstacles, similar to the fishing boy.
Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea shows this needless ambition through the risks he put himself through to catch the fish of his dreams. After 84 days of not catching a fish, Santiago goes out to sea to find one. While he is successful in catching a huge marlin, the risks he went through to keep it were anything short of insane. After hooking the fish and realizing it would put up a great fight, he decided to still keep the fish on the line and rest that immense pressure on his back for several days, his suffering documented clearly within the story: “It encouraged him to talk because his back had stiffened in the night and it hurt truly
Santiago’s psychological processes in Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea are exceptionally eloquent and cultivated and reach deep levels of pride and self respect that he refuses to abandon. For example, the old man advocates not catching the fish by claiming that the fish has not been in the correct position to be caught. Santiago is overwhelmingly prideful which can ultimately affect his means of survival. The old man’s sense of deep self preservation just about crosses the line between having too much pride and coming off to others as arrogance. The old man refuses to accept help from anyone but the boy that he had taught how to fish years before, which even then he is hesitant to accept help. The million dollar question to ask is why
Santiago endured through all the hardship the fish could offer including dehydration, severe cuts to the back and hands, and exhaustion. “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 held his hand up against the sun. It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh, but it was in the working part of the hand.”(Hemingway 57). Here is a small amount of the suffering Santiago endured, as painful as this was Santiago never accepted defeat or lost hope. Unlike Gatsby he lived to return to his village destroyed but not defeated, and pass his teachings on to Manolin and to fish another
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.
First, the old man receives outer success by earning the respect and appreciation of the boy and the other fishermen. The boy is speaking to the old man in his shack after the old man’s long journey, “You must get well fast for there is much that I can learn and you can teach me everything” (Hemmingway 126). The boy appreciates the fact that the old man spends time to teach him about fishing. He respects him a great deal for he knows that the old man is very wise and is a magnificent fisherman. The fellow fishermen also show respect towards the old man as they note the size of the fish after the old man returns home, “What a fish it was, there has never been such a fish” (123). The men admire the fact that the old man has caught the biggest fish that they have seen. Many fishermen resented Santiago at first, however their opinion changed once they realized what the old man has gone through. Being admired by others plays a major role in improving one’s morale.
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 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.
... minds of many with the great strength and patience: the passion that Santiago has for life, for nature, and for the harsh judgement of fellow fisherman.
Hemingway's view of human nature was that happiness was rare and was found within a man and not in his outside circumstances or surroundings. Hemingway illustrates this in three ways. First, he portrays the human nature of Santiago, the main character, as being one of humility and compassion, full of strength and pride. He is shown not as a gleefully happy man, but one who meets life with a serene, quiet resilience. Second, Santiago's fellow villagers are shown as shallow and materialistic, with a narrow view of life compared to his. Their focus on appearances is in sharp contrast to Santiago's focus on intrinsic values. Third, it will be shown that his rare brand of happiness comes from within.
For three long days, the boat is alternating pushes and towed by the huge fish in an almost dream-like state. Only the killing os the fish and the attacking of the sharks interrupt the monotony. The monotony becomes one of the pressures that the old man must endure in order to maintain his grace. However, because Santiago never gives in to the monotony or the depression, he becomes the hero in the story against innumerable odds. His tenacious determination leads him to a sense of hope amongst the monotony and depression.
The Old Man and the Sea focuses its plot mainly on Santiago’s struggle against the marlin. 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. When it comes down to the final struggle, Santiago pits all of the pain, strength, and pride he has left against the fish in order to bring it down. Despair begins to creep in when Santiago finds it hard to pull in the marlin, but he overcomes it with every ounce of will he has. He knows that it is up to him to create this important moment in his li...