The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961)
Type of Work:
Symbolic drama
Setting
North Coast of Cuba; early twentieth century
Principal Characters
Santiago, an old, weathered fisherman Manolin , a boy, Santiago's young fishing companion The Marlin, a gigantic fish
Story Overveiw
Eighty-four days had passed since Santiago, the old fisherman, had caught a fish, and he was forced to suffer not only the ridicule of younger fishermen, but
near-starvation as well. Moreover, Santiago had lost his young companion, a
boy named Manolin, whose father had ordered him to leave Santiago in order to
work with more successful seamen. But the devoted child still loved Santiago,
and each day brought food and bait to his shack, where they indulged in their
favorite pastime: talking about the American baseball leagues. The old man's
hero was the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio. Santiago identified with the
ballplayer's skill and discipline, and declared he would like to take the great
DiMaggio fishing some time.
After visiting one particular afternoon, the boy left Santiago, who fell asleep.
Lions immediately filled his dreams. As a boy he had sailed to Africa and had
seen lions on the beaches. Now, as an old man, he constantly dreamed of the
great and noble beasts.
He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of Great occurrences, nor
of great fish, nor fights nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only
dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach ... He loved them as he
loved the boy.
Before dawn of the next day, the fisherman, as usual, hauled his salt-encrusted
skiff onto the beach and set out by himself. But today, in hopes of breaking his
unlucky streak, he was determined to sail into deep waters, out much farther
than the other anglers would go. He followed the sea birds and flying fish; they
would tell him b y their movements where the fish congregated.
He watched the turtles swimming near his boat. He loved the turtles, "with their
elegance and speed... "
Most people are Heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for
hours after he has been cut tip and butchered. The old man thought, I have
such a heart too ...
Early on, Santiago managed to land a tenpound tuna. Thinking this a good
omen, he used the fresh meat to bait one of his lines. By n...
... middle of paper ...
...ng manly courage, endurance, and noble suffering.
In fact, the novel would be little more than an adventure story were it not for
Santiago's dialogues with himself - his repetitive and symbolic musings,
daydreams and plottings.
Unlike other fishermen, who see the ocean merely in terms of economic gain,
Santiago looks on the sea and its inhabitants with love and respect. Notably, he
prefers to call the sea "la mar," its feminine form, rather than the harsher,
masculine "el mar."
Some readers may see Christian symbolism in the story: Santiago means St.
James in Spanish; the battle with the fish lasts three days; Santiago, arriving at
the shore, carries his mast, like a cross, on his shoulders, and, like the biblical
Christ, stumbles under its load. Later, the fisherman lies down exhausted on the
floor of his hut with his arms stretched out stiffly and the palms of his hands up.
But the giant fish - representing the hopes and dreams of mankind - and the old
man's relationship with it, is what creates the extraordinary pathos of the novel.
And, in the end, even Santiago's (humankind's) modest expectations are
snatched from his grasp.
In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago has gone eighty four days without catching a fish. He decides he is going to go as far out in the water as he needs to catch the biggest fish he can find. Santiago 's friend Manolin is a boy who loves Santiago and does everything he can to help take care of him. Manolin helps Santiago get everything ready for Santiago 's big trip out into the sea. When Santiago takes of Manolin can not go with him. As Santiago is moving through the sea
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
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.
Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion is a text that is given new meaning when viewed from differing perspectives. Readers approach the text with their own unique past and experience, which influences their perception and interpretation of the novel. Two such interpretations are the Post-Modern and Post-Colonial readings of In the Skin of a Lion. These two readings give the text more dimension, and with the awareness that this novel can be interpreted in numerous ways, a reader's understanding is strengthened and deepened.
In 'The Secret Lion'; by Alberto Alvero Rios, the young boys are filled with wonder and fascination about the world. Throughout this story everything in these boys' lives changes.
The fish withholds a great part in this book. The Old Man and the Sea is a book that’s about a small town where the residents revolve their lives around fishing. The fish is a symbol of beauty and it is a greatly admired creature to these people. An example from the book is on page 49. Santiago has been fishing for 84 days and decides not to return home without a fish on the 85th day. On the 85th day, alone in the boat, he manages to hook an enormous marlin, the biggest fish he's ever seen in all his life. The fish is larger and stronger than Santiago. Santiago's experienced fishing skills and his will to catch and survive push him to pursue the fish for many days and many miles out to sea.
The movie starts off with the rising sun in the African Sahara jungle. You hear a loud yell followed by feedback from back up singers as a choir began to sing what would now be a memorable opening theme in cinema history. As a kid I didn’t know what I was watching as all different types of African animals began to ascend across the land to a huge rock. On this rock we see a Lion couple smile as a weird monkey appears and halts up a young lion cub and all the animals cheer in the presence of the young cub. Watching this as I child I was very confused and didn’t really understand what I was watching. Now that I’m older I realized that the gathering of the animals and the cheering for the new lion cub was a celebration of royalty and celebrating the future lions rein. This scene is very similar in history like we see when royal couples, like Prince Harry’s marriage. We get a huge celebration for what would be the next couple in power in England; the entire world was watching the wedding as t...
At first he does not seem content with his seafaring life. During the early descriptions of his time there, it is painted as a life of hardship and penance. Images and adjectives of the sea and life there are harsh and foreboding-"ice cold", "hung round with icicles" , "fettered with frost". The sea is seen as cold, and not just in the physical sense .It is remote, a place of despair , an earthly purgatory, where there is "always anxiety …. as to what the Lord will bestow on him"2. The narrator is cut away from the comforts ...
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.
The mariner reconciles his sins when he realizes what nature really is and what it means to him. All around his ship, he witnesses, "slimy things did crawl with legs upon the slimy sea" and he questions "the curse in the Dead man's eyes". This shows his contempt for the creatures that Nature provides for all people. The mariner begins to find his salvation when he begins to look on the 'slimy things' as creatures of strange beauty. When "the mariner begins to find his salvation when he begins to look on the 'slimy things' as creatures of strange beauty" he understands the Albatross is a symbol of nature and he realizes what he had done wrong. The mariner is forgiven after sufficient penance. The mariner's experience represents a renewal of the impulse of love towards other living things. Once he reconciles his punishment is lifted. The bird, which is hung around his neck as a punishment, falls into the water and makes the change from punishment to penance.
He couldn’t get to his main goal. But , exactly what was his goal, one may ask? He wanted the fish, he was not fishing as a hobby or sport; he planned to sell the fish and get some money to eat, it was his way of surviving. Santiago’s only way of income was fishing and he knew that. He mentions: “ He was a fish to keep a man all winter.
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 old man and the sea is a novella about an old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin fish. Throughout the novella, Santiago is portrayed in different perspectives. He is tough and refuses to give up at any time. He withholds the will to continue and the courage to overcome what is believed to be the impossible. His persistence and confidence, his absolute determination and his unique way of accepting the reality makes him a noble hero.
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 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...