Analysis Of The Old Man And The Sea By Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, an icon of American Literature, is known for his own distinct style. He didn’t often waste space in his writing, and when he did it was out of necessity. In relativity he kept things short and sweet, adding detail when necessary but rarely, if ever, dragging things out into over descriptive run-ons. Though he used this uniquely brief style of writing he never failed in developing the aspects of his writing he deemed important. Hemingway may not have flat out told readers about each factor he meant to describe, but in one way or another he got his point across in eloquent fashion. In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway builds vivid characterization around Santiago not by telling the reader about the old man and his background,

He is at home in the water, and show great respect for it and all that is within. He loves and appreciates the sea and what it has to offer. “Some of the younger fishermen… spoke of [the sea] as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of [the sea] as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them” (Hemingway 30). Santiago is a loving man, not one to hold a grudge against nature and her bounty, even after going eighty-four days without catching a fish. His respect for nature is shown not only in his relationship with the sea, but how he treats each of the sea’s inhabitants. He is thankful for the help of the man-of-war bird that shows him to the fish. He refers to the bird as his friend and relates the birds struggle of finding fish to his own hardships. He has respect for not only the animals that help him, but for the animals that contest him as well. The giant marlin that he tries to bring in to his boat is close to his heart in the writing. This is because they share the same struggle, they are both trying to survive. Even once the old man is triumphant over the beast he never suggests that he is any greater than the marlin. “I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave work” (Hemingway 95). After Santiago has overcome the fish

Instead he reveals Santiago’s character and his traits to the reader by showing the old man’s reactions to his situation. It is in the way Santiago confronts his struggles and deals with them that the reader learns what kind of man he is. By reading how he handles his solitude the reader sees that the old man isn’t really lonely, but that he just isn’t surrounded by other men. Though his hardships seem unconquerable, the old man doesn’t complain and meets them with a Godly attitude. Through these different devices Hemingway manages to characterize Santiago in an indirect manner that allows readers to better connect and empathize with the old man than if they had just learned what kind of man he is in the beginning of the