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Symbolism in the old man and the sea
The old man and the sea fish
The old man and the sea fish
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Life is a dramatic subject that many writers choose as a topic. Life is not only an ocean of melancholy but also offers real joy. Earnest Hemingway successfully won a Nobel Prize on this theme by writing The Old Man and the Sea. The old man, Santiago, was the main character of the story. During his lonely journey out at sea, he learned that life offered him an undeniable joy, plus frustration. Honor, heroism, and struggle were obstacles Santiago encountered which provided him courage and faith.
For instance, Santiago’s life was filled with honor. The past and the present were memories for which the old man was most proud. The old man endured tremendous physical pain and leading him to almost give up. To encourage himself, the old man remembered the time when he was El Campeon, which mean The Champion in Spanish. “For a long time after that everyone had called him The Champion” (pg. 70). The memory of being a victor revived Santiago’s stamina, encouraging him to seek another goal. His next goal, the Marlin, ultimately challenged him. “Fish…I’ll stay with you until I am dead.” (pg. 52). At the moment when Santiago harpooned the Marlin through the heart, he knew that he was victorious. This act realistically sobered Santiago; he gained more honor and self-confidence. As a result, Santiago’s life was filled with a feeling of nobility.
Furthermore, Santiago often talked about his hero. It was Joe DiMaggio, a famous and eminent baseball player. Joe DiMaggio directly and indirectly affected the old man. His actions and his attitudes contributed to the old man’s life. “But I must have the confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio.” (Pg. 68). Thinking about DiMaggio showed the old man the way to victory. His worship of DiMaggio woke the courage that was within the old man’s heart.
As Santiago thought the ultimate challenge was over, the worse was yet to come. The shark had sensed the Marlin’s blood and moved after it. It approached and ate the Marlin. The old man had to fight back with them. “Fight them. I’ll fight them until I die.” (Pg. 115). Santiago used all of his supplies to fight with the shark: harpoon, tiller, etc. By the time Santiago came back to Havana, the Marlin now was just a carcass bone. The sharks played an important role in the story.
The marlin’s blood has reached two ravenous shovel-nosed sharks who are more than insistent on getting a taste of the marlin. Santiago manages to kill these two as well, but in doing so loses his knife, which had been his only weapon. Once the shovel-nosed shark are gone, Santiago has a brief window of time during which he goes back to mourning the fish. Due to these attacks, Santiago now further laments the marlin’s death, for he believes, had the marlin been alive, he would of been able to easily defend himself against the savage sharks. The old man goes on to say that he no longer likes to “look at the fish” for he has been “mutilated” (Hemingway 103). He also mentions that, “When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself [Santiago] were hit.” (Hemingway 103). This tells us that Santiago deeply valued the fish, not only as a source of pride but as a companion as well.
Hemingway lived an interesting life, which allowed him to take past life experiences and tell them through novels. He does this exclusively through subtle symbolism in works like The Old Man and the Sea. As with all his other works, Hemingway incorporates a past experience into The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway does this in the largest scene in the book by using birds, the sharks Santiago fights off, the marlin itself, and the other fish in the sea as symbols. In the book, Hemingway uses the birds to represent his friends and mentors, the sharks being the critics of his book, the marlin being The Old Man and the Sea, and the other fish representing Hemingway's other works. Hemingway uses symbolism when he writes, “‘You are killing me, fish,’ the old man thought. ‘But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills wh...
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
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.
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...
Santiago was an elderly Cuban fisherman. For eighty four days, he caught nothing. However, he persisted in wanting to catch the “big fish” that will feed him and put money in his pocket.
Reading through the novel The Old Man and the Sea one, as a reader, can perceive several themes in the book. Hemingway suggests certain subjects for discussion which built up the whole plot, therefore giving us options to choose the one we believe is the main one. In the past weeks we have been discussing, in a debate, which is that main theme. My group’s theme was “Man Defeated” and although it is hard to affirm that this theme was the prevailing one of the book, we firmly defend it. Various arguments were established. Some argued that the novel’s theme was Santiago’s struggle, the friendship with the fish and other characters; Santiago’s perseverance and that he really ended up as a triumphant man. But to argue that those were also the main themes of the book is also a difficult thing to do. Even though Santiago fought and kept on with his struggle to catch the fish, he was defeated because he lost it at the end.
The simplicity of Santiago’s house demonstrates that the old man lives in poverty and can barely support himself. He has no possessions, no food or money, yet he never complains. This serves the purpose of drawing a clear distinction between external, material success and inner, spiritual success. Santiago does not focus on the material world or take pleasure in simple luxuries and comforts. While he lacks the former, his inner strength and indefatigable spirit prove him to be worthy of the latter.
Nonetheless, Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him, he wants to help his friend. Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak, it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio, is injured with a heel spur. In this way, Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith.
After a long, hard fought battle, “Santiago eventually wears down the marlin, and on the third day, he kills it with a harpoon" (Old). At this point in the story, Santiago has finally gotten his big catch. He has finally proved to himself that he is capable fisherman, and that being patient, sometimes is one's best
... 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.
Throughout The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway portrays Santiago as a man of exceptional determination and courage. Fighting the sharks, he had lost his harpoon and his knife. By the time of the last attack, there was little left of the fish, and Santiago “knew the fight was useless”; but he fought anyway, clubbing the sharks with all the strength he had left (53). During life’s journey, every person encounters seemingly unsurmountable obstacles; and the only rationale behind human resilience in these situations is represented by the old man’s hope against all odds. This example demonstrates that the novel’s story can be applied to many aspects of human
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was written as Hemingway 's comeback book. Hemingway was a great writer, according to “11 Facts About Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea”, written by the website mental floss, before The Old Man and the Sea his last best book was For Whom the Bell Tolls which was written in 1940. Hemingway went a decade before he wrote and had another book published. In 1950 Hemingway published Across the River and Into The Trees, but it was not very good so people said that Hemingway was done with his years of good writing. In 1952 Hemingway published The Old Man and the Sea and it was his comeback book. Throughout the book, Hemingway uses Santiago and his long time out in the sea to show that it is important to never give up.
The Old Man and the Sea, was written by Ernest Hemingway. In the novella, the old man, Santigo and the young boy Manolin has a relationship that goes dar beyond friendship. They have a soul bonding relationship. The boy needs the old man as a teacher and the old man needs the boy was family. Hemingway creates a very powerful, poignant relationship between the old man and the young boy throughout his novella using dialogues.