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Symbolism in the old man and the sea hemingway
Symbolism in the old man and the sea hemingway
Symbolism in the old man and the sea hemingway
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In Hemingway’s The old man and the sea, Santiago was a “code hero” who exemplified the admirable quality of perseverance through his actions. Santiago was an example of perseverance when he fights the marlin for three days. Santiago went out to the sea as far as he could to catch a big fish. On his first day, he adjusts the line on his fishing pole so everything is perfect. Then, he sees a dolphin and a bird compete for food. Next, Santiago feels something pulling on the line, and he knows it is a big fish. The fish starts to pull the boat against the current. Santiago wishes the boy was with him to help him and so he can teach him how to catch a fish. On the first night, the marlin pulls the boat very far and Santiago can’t see land
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson.That quote is my favorite because it shows you that everyone is the same ,but there is some people that stand out more than others like my hero Fernando Valenzuela.
The death of the marlin was the dramatic high point of the novella, The Old Man and The Sea. A good example of this is seen when the marlin was showing Santiago his great length and width and all his power and beauty. The only issue was that the sea was discolouring with the red of the blood from the marlin’s heart making Santiago feel discomfort and sick. However, Santiago realizes that the fish will now have a new, better life than before. The following statement Santiago told himself which was, “Keep my head clear...But I have killed this fish which is my brother” (95). The quote clearly shows the connection Santiago had with the marlin since transcendence relates in Santiago's own life. It also represents Santiago conquering the fish and
Paragraph 2: Another important factor that made survival possible for salva is perseverance. In chapter 9 on page 52 it says, “After only a few minutes Salva had to kick off the flapping shreds and continue barefoot.” That shows perseverance because despite the fact that the sand was scorching. Salva didn’t give up and instead of complaining through the hike across the desert. He endured his pain from the thorns stabbing his feet and stubbing his bare toe on the rock which resulted in his whole toenail coming off. On top of that, the hardest thing Salva had ever done, was taking tiny sips when his body sobbed for huge gulps of thirst- quenching water.
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
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
In the timeless novel The Old Man and the Sea, the hero is undoubtedly the old man, Santiago, whom us as readers become very acquainted with. Santiago is a hard-worker and perseveres through every problem nature brings to him. He is in the midst of a horrendous fishing drought, during which the townspeople laugh and ridicule him. Santiago just lets the criticism pass him by because he is confident that the fish of his lifetime is coming soon. In a sense, Santiago represents the ideas of honor and pride. He is also a hero to a young boy named Manolin who conveys the image that the old man is whom he would rather live and spend time with rather than his biological father.
Starting from the very beginning of the novel, Santiago was defined as someone struggling against defeat. He had gone eighty-four days without catching any fish. However, the old man refused defeat every time; he made up his mind to sail out past all the other fishermen to where the bigger fish usually were. He finally caught a marlin after a difficult three-day battle, and even after that he continued to fight off sharks from eating his prize, even though he knew the effort was useless. Both Santiago and the marlin showed pride, honor, and bravery, and both were victims of the same general rule: they must kill or be killed. Santiago realized this as he reflected upon a tired warbler flying towards shore, where, he believed, it would surely
Santiago endured through all the hardship the fish could offer including dehydration, severe cuts to the back and hands, and exhaustion. “The Old man would have liked to keep his hand in the salt water longer but he was afraid of another sudden lurch by the fish and he stood up and braced himself and held his hand up against the sun. It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh, but it was in the working part of the hand.”(Hemingway 57). Here is a small amount of the suffering Santiago endured, as painful as this was Santiago never accepted defeat or lost hope. Unlike Gatsby he lived to return to his village destroyed but not defeated, and pass his teachings on to Manolin and to fish another
In conclusion, the inspiring and thought-provoking story of “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway teaches that failure is giving up and is a complete loss, but the old man’s experience was not failure, it was, in fact, a small setback. It is important to know that the difference between failure and success. Success is what the old man had received for hard work, repeated failure, and determination, failure is giving in surrendering and loosing hope, which the old man didn’t do. At the climax of the story, when the sharks ate the Marlin, it showed sometimes what seemed to be a failure can actually be a success, which was hidden. The Main character gained much respect form the catching of the Marlin, which made it a success and not a failure.]
Santiago is a poor fisherman who goes out to fish and endures pain and hardship for no result. He returns, defeated and vows that he is unlucky. When all is lost, Manolin appears on his doorstep and helps him realize he indeed has a reason to hope. “‘No. I am not lucky. I am not lucky anymore’ The old man said. ‘The hell with luck,’ the boy said. ‘I’ll bring the luck with me’” (Hemingway 124). Santiago has given up hope of ever fishing again. He believes himself to be unlucky. The old man lost the fish that could have brought everything to him. Manolin believes in Santiago when he is at the trough of his existence. Santiago finds hope.
In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway’s main character Santiago is an old, cuban fisherman who goes on a quest to catch a substantial fish to feed himself and others in his community. In the beginning of the book, Santiago and his young apprentice had gone eighty-four days without catching any fish. Later the young boy’s parents forced him to leave the old man and find a boat with more luck. The old man believed that on the eighty-fifth day his prolonged period of misfortune would end. Santiago decided that he was going to go farther out than any other fishermen. Several hours after he left a massive fish called a marlin takes the old fisherman’s bait. Unfortunately for Santiago, the marlin was so large when he tried to escape, he pulled
How do both Santiago and the marlin each display qualities of pride, honor, and bravery? I think that Santiago and the marlin both display many qualities of pride, honor, and bravery. I think that Santiago displays lots of qualities of pride. When Santiago catches the Tuna he is proud of himself because it was his first fish in 84 days. Then when Santiago Hooked up on the marlin he was proud of himself because he knew that he had a big fish on the line. In those two occasions Santiago showed qualities of pride. At one point in the story the marlin jumped and Santiago was so proud of himself cause he knew it was the biggest fish he had ever hooked. I think that that was my favorite part in the book. This point in the story showed qualities 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...
In the story Santiago’s bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the “great fish” that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his “luckiness” and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself.
“What makes a hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity? Are these the traits that truly show and create a hero? Is the light truly the source of darkness or vice versa? Is the soul a source of hope or despair? Who are these so called heroes and where do they come from? Are their origins in obscurity or in plain sight”(Fyodor Dostoyevsky). Santiago expresses the old ways of Cuban culture. He lived with his passion for fishing. Santiago was a true hero. Santiago was not like the others and is unique in his own way. Ernest Hemingway’s stories consist of the same theme. Hemingway’s main characters express the theme. The characters are also defined as “Code Heroes”. In “The Old Man and the Sea” there were many examples in which