Santiago Through Nature In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea

808 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The old man and the sea critical essay

Karen Wu
January 21, 2016
Der Sarkisian
A Reflection of Santiago Through Nature in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a story of the relationship between an old fisherman named Santiago and nature. For eighty-four days Santiago has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. On the eighty-fifth day, he set out determined to catch a fish. Santiago catches a marlin, but sharks attacked the fish leaving only scraps and bones. Santiago views the sea as the source of life and meaning. The old man has an unique relationship to and understanding of the natural world. He talks about the sea as though it is a woman and he dreams of lions. He views the birds and fish as his friends. The creatures and the natural world become lens to understand his character.
Santiago sees the sea as his life and meaning to live. He depends on the sea for survival, it provides …show more content…

He holds a conversation with a little bird who landed on his skiff. The old man asks, “How old are you?...Is this your first trip?” (54). He talks to the bird like it could really understand what he is saying. The old man also does this to the fish, later in the story. Santiago has the marlin hooked on to the bait. Both Santiago and the fish tries to hold out against each other. Santiago feels as though the marlin is a worthy opponent and doesn’t want to kill it. “It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers [the marlin].” (76). Here again the reader gets the impression that Santiago views the animals on the same level as himself and gives the reader a sense of brotherhood. Santiago believes that he is just like any other creature in nature. One clearly sees that the old man is not like “most people“ who have no feelings for animals and think of them to be minor or less worthy than a human being. But Santiago still detests the sharks that attacked his boat and takes away the

Show More
Related

  • Great Gatsby-Santiago

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    Santiago is an old fisherman who lives in a small coast town in Cuba. At the time that Hemingway wrote the story, he was also an elderly gentlemen and was such an avid fisherman throughout his life, that books such as "Ernest Hemingway, The Angler As Artist” were written on the sole subject of how this obsession influenced Hemingway's writing. Furthermore, he fished off the coast of Cuba so much that he decided to "buy the 'Finca Vigia' in Cuba, a substantial estate located about fifteen miles from downtown Havana . . .” For entertainment Santiago would "read the baseball." Meanwhile Hemingway often "relied on baseball analogies” in his writing, suggesting that he also loved the game. These similarities between Santiago's lifestyle and Hemingway's cannot be ignored or passed off as coincidence because they are much too precise. Already, from these prominent identical traits it is evident that Hemingway modeled the character of Santiago after his own person.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Archetype In The Old Man And The Sea

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Old Man And The Sea By Ernest Hemingway

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Santiago Mature In The Old Man And The Sea

    1671 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Old Man and the Sea, is about an elderly sailor from Cuba named Santiago who has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. He is "slight and shriveled with significant wrinkles in the back of his neck... his hands had significant wrinkled scars from dealing with several fish on the lines. Nevertheless, none of these scars were new. They were as old as deteriorations in a fishless desert" (10). Santiago's nonappearance of accomplishment, notwithstanding, does not crush his spirit, as his "cheerful and undefeated" eyes show up (10). He has a sidekick, a child named Manolin, who helped him in the midst of the beginning forty days of his drought. After taking forty days , Manolin's gatekeepers assumed the old man unsuccessful and told

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, author’s life background greatly influenced the way he wrote the novel. Hemingway’s experience as a journalist led him to write simple and short sentences. In addition, his struggle as a writer before writing this novel, and his failed relationships with women greatly influenced him to continue to make connections with Santiago and himself throughout the story. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that this great novel clearly reflects the life of Ernest Hemingway. (756 words)

    Read More

  • Inner Happiness in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea

    2777 Words  | 6 Pages

    Poignant circumstances surrounded the composition of this novel, which bring out many of the above points. It is widely recognized that Hemingway was possessed of a turbulent personality and suffered from emotional depression.  This was despite the fact that he enjoyed much critical acclaim.  The Old Man and the Sea was written after a ten-year hiatus of public and critical approval. This period saw much of his work receive negative criticism in literary and journalistic circles.  This affected Hemingway adversely and very deeply (Carey 9).  Therefore, Hemingway's personal battle with seeming failure in his life's work and society's attendant criticism parallel Santiago's stoic resolve in the face of his neighbors' disdain.  The author's struggles symbolically match those of Santiago and set the stage for the writing of this novel.

    Read More

  • Themes in The Old Man and the Sea

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Old Man Conflict

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Old Man and the Sea Essay The Old Man and the Sea is a book created my Ernest Hemingway. Santiago, he has nothing to be happy about. The story is about a fisherman, Santiago, has not caught a fish in eighty-four days. He goes out farther than the other fishermen to catch a fish.

    Read More

  • The Short And Happy Life Of Francis Macomber, By Ernest Hemingway

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novella, Old Man and the Sea, employs many of his stylistic features as well as illustrating how mankind and nature intertwine. For instance, in the middle of their struggle Santiago says to the marlin, “…come on and kill me I do not care who kills who...” (Old Man and the Sea, 84). In the story, the protagonist illustrates his relationship with the marlin by referring to him as a brother, indicating the sense of kinship he feels with the fish. In this writing, the celebrated author exhibited his own deep admiration for nature; he demonstrates how he finds the chance to perish beside nature a noble way to die.

    Read More

  • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Old Man And The Sea and Moby Dick

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Santiago in "The Old Man and the Sea"

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Old Man and the Sea: The Parallel Between Santiago and Jesus Christ

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is never a simple key to any writer worth much attention, but in the case of Hemingway there is something that looks so like a key… that it cannot escape any informed and thoughtful reader’s notice" (O’Conner 153). Ernest Hemingway was one such author. Very rarely did he summarize statements, therefore the only way to solve his puzzle was to take it apart and examine each components. One of the hidden elements that the reader must analyzie closely is the parallel between Santiago and Jesus Christ. In the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway creates connections between Santiago and Jesus Christ that adds religious coloration to the story.

    Read More

  • The Character Santiago in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Santiago Through Nature In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea

Open Document