Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea": An Analysis
Everyone has an arch enemy. Batman had the Joker, Superman had Lex
Luthor. But without their enemies, they would be unimportant, just like anyone else. One could say that they needed their enemies, that their enemies were almost friends. Similarly, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, is a love story about the relationship developed over the years between a man and his lifelong friend and foe, the sea. Within the following paragraphs, it will be proven that the man needed the sea, that the two respected each other, and were very close.
The old man respected the sea, unlike some of the younger, richer fishermen. They referred to the sea as a man. "...spoke of her as el mar which is masculine." (p.30) This was considered improper to the older fishermen, as it was spoken of like a place or a contestant. The old man always referred to the sea as a female, like a mother. "He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her." (p.29) He saw the sea as a woman, a woman that gave or withheld favors. She was unpredictable beacuse "The moon affects her as it does a woman." (p.30) The sea was like a second home for the man, who fished every day. La mar provided the man with food, a living, an enemy, and a friend.
When he was out on the sea fishing, he was at home. The sea, la mar, was like his mother. The fish in the ocean were like his brothers and sisters.
When he heard the dolphins playing in the night he thought, "They are good...they are our brothers like the flying fish." (p.48) He had almost reeled the giant marlin in when he realized what he was doing. "You are killing me, fish. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful...thing than you, brother." (p.92) Even as he ate the fish that he would catch, or as he killed scavengers trying to get the marlin, he was apologizing or talking to his "family".
The old man saw the sea as a person, as a woman, and the fish were people, also. Thinking that way, he kept an open dialogue with his surroundings.
Throughout the several days in which he tried to catch the marlin, he constantly spoke to it. He had just eaten a fish to get his strength back when he said, "How do you feel, fish?
Seafarer” is a monologue from an old man at sea, alone. The main theme in The Seafarer is
“The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”
‘The Sea’ followed a different people and it also gave the reader some back story on things and people that were brought up through the book.
From the very first line, the speaker associates the "femme" with the Sargasso Sea, and this
Another major factor influencing the medieval view of the ocean is the ideology of the Desert Fathers. The desert fathers were holy men that lived in the near east, who became disillusioned with the materialistic culture of the time and wandered out into the desert as hermits. They were seen as heroes in their time and were revered as wise men. They were sought out by people wanting guidance and gradually became famous for their way of life. They went out to the desert for solit...
Her life, however, not only ended in the sea, but began in the sea. The ocean refers
In the first line of the poem, Heaney says Lady with the frilled blouse and simple tartan skirt. At first, it simply appears that he is describing her clothes. Tartan, however, has a second meaning of a small ship. Therefore, before Heaney even mentions the sea, he compares the lady in the poem to a ship. In the next line, he uses several words related to the sea and ships, such as rode,anchored,rocked,balance,and unmoored.î
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.
out on the water for days, all alone, trying to catch the giant marlin. He continuously thinks of
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 takes in place in Havana, Cuba and the fishing waters off the coast of Havana. The Spanish names, Santiago and Manolin, are typical in Cuba. Cuba is mostly Catholic so this accounted for Santiago's devotion to Jesus Christ. The year seems to be around the 1930's and 1940's because Santiago is a big fan of Joe DiMaggio who played during these years. In the 1930's and '40's, the city of Havana was booming with population and business. Seafood is one of the most popular foods in Havana so to meet the rising demand of fish, many young boys learned how to be fishermen as Manolin did.
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.
As a child, Hemingway spent summers with his family at a cabin on Lake Walloon, in Michigan. Here he spent his time exploring the surrounding forest, where he hunted small game such as squirrels. He also enjoyed fishing, and other activities on the lake. This love for outdoor activities carried on into his adult life. One reading discussing Hemingway said, “Hunting and fishing remained two of Hemingway’s favorite pastimes throughout his life” (ErnestHemmingwayCollection). Another article said, “He was Hemingway of the rugged outdoor grin and the hairy chest posing beside a marlin he had just landed or a lion he had just...
Brenner, Gery. The Old Man and the Sea- The Story of a Common Man. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1991.
... middle of paper ... ... For the seaside woman is truly a balance of all the women before her. “Her eyes had called him, and his soul had leaped at the call.