The sea in a way is like a living being. The way it rhythmically carries itself, showing all of its majestic beauty. The sea has such power, each wave coordinately smashing against whatever stands in its way. Sea erosion, most commonly known as coastal erosion, is the slow process of wave action constantly shaping and reshaping the coastlines of our world. In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway portrays nature as a continuum–an endless progression of the invention and destruction which is ultimately balanced in perfect unanimity. Within this continuum in each living thing pursues its destiny set forth by the laws of nature. Thus, Santiago like the coastlines is molded by the seas into the expert seaman, able to read the sea, sky, and its respective creatures that make the old man a champion among fisherman. Hemingway's short fiction is quite simple. A Cuban fisherman, Santiago, after eighty four days' fished a very big marlin, approximately "eighteen feet from nose to tail," but in all its size it took the old man three days to conquer his brother (122). On his way home, he and the marlin were attacked and although the old man fought furiously against the sharks, he was not victorious in warding off the thousands of frenzied razors. It can be interpreted that the marlin is the antagonist, but in fact the marlin is a companion and a similar character to the old man, revealed by his thoughts on the voyage, "Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or
Literature Analysis 3
The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway. It was published by the Charles Scribner's Sons in 1952, and contains 127 pages. The genre is literary fiction. The story is about an old man named Santiago who fishes alone in the Gulf Stream and has been very unsuccessful for the past 84 days. A simple tale, this takes timeless themes of courage of one man's struggle and personal triumph.
The author's purpose was to write both a realistic and allegorical story. The author did live in Cuba and was afisherman himself. It is also to write a parable in which an old man achieves greatness and yet continues to suffer with dignity. This does somewhat mirrors his career as a writer. The main...show more content... Another character is the young boy named Manolin. He had fished with Santiago since the age of five. He cares for the old and stays devoted to him, even though his parents force him to go on a different fishing boat due to Santiago's recent bad luck. He looks up to Santiago as his mentor. The distinct tone is factual but sympathetic. The old man's struggles are felt by the author. The story shows not a lot of humor, and the whole fishing endeavor is taken very seriously.
The story begins with an old man named Santiago. For eighty–four days he has not caught any fish. He has been so unlucky, that his young apprentice, Manolin, has been forced to leave the old man to fish in a more prosperous boat. Santiago tries to resolve his unsuccessful streak by sailing out further than usual the following day. While out there, he catches a really big fish known as the marlin. He cannot pull it in, as the fish starts to pull the boat. The old man holds the line for two days without stop. On the third day, the fish tires and Santiago manages to bring it close enough to kill it. He lashes it to the boat and sails back home. On the way, sharks attack the boat and eats away at the marlin. The old man tries to fight them back but fails. When he reaches the shore, there is only a skeleton left. The next day, a crowd of fishermen sees the carcass of the fish, thinking that it's a shark. The young boy goes over to the old man's house to see if he's okay.
Schwake–Rios
American Literature Honors
18 April 2012
The Various Themes of The Old Man and the Sea
I.Introduction A.The story of a battle between an experienced fisherman, a marlin, and the struggles the old man has to overcome to be victorious.
B.In Santiago, the central character of Old Man and the Sea, Earnest Hemingway has created a hero who personifies honor, courage, endurance, and faith. II.Honor A.As Santiago goes too far trying to catch the marlin, he ignores all the hardships involved in his duel, eventually catching the fish, justifying his pride and self–reliance. B."You are killing me, fish, the old manthought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or...show more content...
B.In the novel, one was able to tell of the courage it took to kill the marlin. One can contrast this with Santiago's killings of the sharks, which took little to no courage to do. C.For one brief moment, Santiago accepts defeat, saying, "I never knew how easy it is when you're beaten." But, of course, Santiago is not beaten. He has the courage left to return home, to drag himself to his hut, to face Manolin, and to accept the loss of his greatest catch. IV.Enduring A.A big example of Santiago's endurance is his will to stay out on sea and fish, even though he has been unlucky. He doesn't catch great fish like he used to, and can barely even feed himself, but stills finds it in himself do what he is passionate for.
B."'Fish,' he said softly, aloud, 'I'll stay with you until I am dead.' He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light.'" (52–53) C.'I must save all my strength now. Christ, I did not know he was so big.' 'I'll kill him though,' he said. 'In all his greatness and his glory.' Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures." (66) V.Faith A.His faith is shown at the beginning of the book when we found out that he has gone through eighty–four days of bad luck. Everyone knows that Santiago has lost his touch, but he still manages to go out every day, to fish, and do what he has been for his whole lifetime. His faith Get
Many challenges come along in the life of those who are passionate. It is natural that these challenges will hinder people from their goals, but whether or not these challenges can completely defeat them is their choice. In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, an old man faced many challenges while fishing because had not caught a fish for eighy–four days. Because everyone thought that his career as a fisherman was over, Santiago, the old man, wanted to prove them wrong, so on the eighty–fourth day, he went out to fight the seas and bring home a big fish. He overcame many challenges to catch a beautiful marlin, but when he did, sharks attacked the man and the fish. After the first shark attack the old man said, "A man can be destroyed but not defeated" (Hemingway 103). Even by the end of the book, the old man remained undefeated because he fought with all his strength. Santiago showed courage and effort from the beginning of his fishing trip. It took him days, just to catch that one marlin. He spent all those sleepless days with some food and little rest, and he even had to catch fish for food "He felt the line carefully with his right hand and noticed his hand was bleeding" (56). The old man had cut his face and hands but he still didn't give up on the fish. He kept going on, portraying his true strength, even in his old age. A little while later, the old man's left hand got cramped. He was disgusted by it because he felt that a hand was no use if it didn't work.
3. Stylistic Analysis of Hemingway's Language–style by applying Iceberg Theory: To Hemingway, writing is the fight for emotions expressed just by white and black as well as by writing machine (Hotchner, 1978). In all of the works of Hemingway, his great novel, "The Old Man and the Sea" is one of typical due to his uniquest style of language. The language of this novel is simplest as well as natural and it has great effects like directness, freshness and clarity. The main reason of it is that Hemingway selects concrete, common, specific, Anglo–Saxon, conversational and casual words. He also uses abstract nouns and adjectives but seldomly and does not use complicated sentences and syntax.Hemingway's style's power lies in short and simple sentences...show more content... Furthermore,it also mounts a great crescendo in the form of un–prosaic adjectives' inversion.The dialogues are also the combination of realistic and artificial. The Old Man and the Sea possesses a very peculiar language syle rather than his (Hemingway) other works or writings. The main reason of it is that this novel is Spanish's English version that Mandolin and Santiago speak in their real lives. We realize that the old man and Mandolin couldn't speak like it because English isn't his language, however, other dialogue's artificialities are more acceptable. The speaker is distanced to the reader at certain degree. Although, their language takes king's epic dignity. Yet, its convincing power is not lost even because of strange exchanges. Apparantly the language ignores the profundities hit by the repeated rhythms and the simplest sentences. The simplecity is greatly suggestive as well as connotative and seldomly reflects strong emotions in the depth. Infact, the readers watch the simplest characters. In "Death in the Afternoon", Hemingway has used a superb metaphor in order to describe his style of writing. If the prose writers know enough that what he's writing about then it would be felt that he omits things the reader knows and if the writers are writing truly then they will feel all those things strongly as had been stated by the writer. An iceberg's
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The Old Man and the Sea Callie Dorfman 1031099 Amanda Cockburn (Remake) 1 In the book The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway uses the flashback technique in order to characterize Santiago and develop key themes of the novel, such as Santiago's connection with nature and what it means to be a hero. Hemingway employs several flashbacks as an effective technique that develops Santiago's character as he recalls past occurrences in order to renew his strength of will. There are three flashbacks in particular that are critical to the development of this story. The first flashback describes a time when Santiago associated himself with the marlins. The second flashback occurs when Santiago arm–wrestled the town's strongest...show more content...
In both competitions, Santiago demonstrates a great sense of will power and perseverance. For example, the arm wrestling match was also a test of endurance, just like his battle with the marlin: "They had gone one day and one night with their elbows on a chalk line...the odds would change back and forth all night...but [Santiago would] raise his hand up to dead even again" (70). Similarly, he fights the fish for three long days and does not give up. After this twenty–four hour arm wrestling game, "everyone called him The Champion" (70). This defeat was important for Santiago because it proved that Santiago once had enough strength to beat the strongest man on the docks, who is implicitly compared to the marlin. It is also interesting to note that during this part of the narrative, Santiago also remembers another worthy opponent: Joe DiMaggio, another hero who shows an amazing strength of will that helps him overcome adversity. With this flashback, then, Hemingway establishes a sense of heroic virtues as spiritual rather than physical qualities. 3 In fact, the emphasis on spiritual achievement versus material achievement is a prominent theme throughout the novel, and one that is symbolized by Santiago's dreams of the lions. One of the first flashbacks in the book is about the lions he dreamt about in Africa when he was a boy. He tells Manolin "when I was your age
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The Old Man and the Sea
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...show more content...
Everyone that is, except for Manolin. Santiago is Manolin’s idol and he sticks by him through thick and through thin. I loved how the book ended with Santiago being respected by everyone for catching the biggest marlin anyone had ever seen but still keeping to himself and spending time with the boy. This shows that the old man remembers who stood by his side when times were rough and not just when the village accepted him and that is an attest to the type of person he is.
In my opinion, Santiago represents the ideas of honor and pride. Pride can motivate a man to greatness and that is exactly what happens in this book. His sense of pride would not let him be defeated by the villagers and certainly not out on the boat while wrangling with the marlin for so long. He also upholds honor, which is especially apparent when he is fighting the marlin and doesn’t see it as just a fish but he views it as a worthy opponent. He also fends off the sharks trying to attack his prize catch because he has respect for it. Santiago is a very exceptional man and he stands for all things good. In conclusion, the hero figure of the novel is indeed the old man, Santiago. He is true, honorable and hard working. He takes nothing for granted and he takes a Get more content
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self" Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea
By: Ernest Hemingwayand Between the World and
Me By: Ta–Nehisi Coates are very similar in many different ways. The comparison of each book is shown well in the setting, theme, and in Symbolism. In the setting, both books provide that the main character is a "little fish in a big sea". What that means is that the setting is very large. The character is only a small part of the area but is trying to make a difference. In Hemingway's Novella, he says that the setting takes place in Havana, Cuba. This place is where the main character, Santiago lives. What could be said as the real...show more content...
It has more force in the evening too. But in the morning it is painful." The weakness of Santiago really defines how he takes on fighting the marlin. One other thing that shows his suffering is the loss of the marlin to the sharks when Santiago was on his way back to Havana after catching the marlin. Coates way of showing suffering is in how everybody around him would have the ruthless, hatred of African Americans. How all these people would do anything to annihilate them at all costs. Coates really shows how he feels all of the whites treat him. One thing that coates shows is how Prince Jones was shot and killed to death. This really affected Coates and really changed his as a person and as a man after Jones' death. Both the books show how suffering can really change a character for the better or for the worse. Symbolism is shown for each novel in The Marlin in The Old Man and the Sea and Race in Between the World and Me. The symbols are something that someone reallys want to get. They have working for something of this value for their whole lives. The Marlin is this magnificent creature that every fisherman only dreams of catching. Once Santiago finally catches this fish, he almost thinks of the fish as a brother. He was with the fish 2 straight days, in that time, all he was doing is trying to reel in this beast of a fish. He felt like this fish was one of the closest things that he has ever had to him before. In Between the World and Me, a
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Hemingway went to Havana, Cuba in 1944, where he got his idea for "The Old Man and the Sea". There he met a man by the name of Gregorio Fuentes, who for more than twenty years was the captain of Hemingway's fishing boat "Pilar". Navarro in her article says, "he claims to have inspired "The Old Man and the Sea". Navarro tells "but it was Mr. Fuentes's own exploits that were immortalized in The Old Man and the Sea, Mr. Fuentes".
The story of "The Old Man and the Sea" is about a old man named Santiago who has to overcome the great forces of nature. Things seem to always go wrong for him because originally he started out going to fish for some dinner. Then he caught the biggest marlin ever, and it pulled him out in the bay of Cuba...show more content... They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbor and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out...(page 22)
The boats are the people in life, and most of the boats are silent. They paddle within the areas they know to be safe and always are cautious not to upset the life that they have established for themselves. Hemingway is explaining that most people don't raise a commotion, they just allow life to happen to them. The old man is testing his limits, he is challenging the ocean, and rowing where he wants to go, not where the ocean wants to take him "Santiago shares many traits with the best of Hemingway's heroes, Jake Barnes and Robert Jorda. He does not admit to a limited set of hopes for man; there are no impossibilities" (Warner 284).
The relationship of Santiago (the old man) and Manolin (the young boy) is a story of brotherhood. Santiago always treats Manolin as equal, besides he is only a boy. The old man wants to teach the boy about independence, in contrast to other fishermen whom Manolin went to fish with treats him as inferior. We can see Manolin's concerns for the old man, taking care of everything, water for the old man, the soap and towels. Santiago tells us about three things that are brothers: the fish and the two hands. Brenner says "this implies that Santiago's wishes for Manolin to be with him are wishes for
A Man Can Be Destroyed But Not Defeated–The Struggle of Life in "The Old Man and the Sea"
A Man Can Be Destroyed But Not Defeated– The Struggle of Life in "The Old Man and the Sea"
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A Man Can Be Destroyed But Not Defeated–The Struggle of Life in "The Old Man and the Sea"
I. Introduction
The Old Man and the Sea is one of the finest works of literature of the 20th century, and was published in 1952 after the bleakest ten years in Hemingway's literary career. It helps the authorErnest Hemingway win a Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. It is the deceivingly simple story of an old...show more content... Weeks. His notorious 1962 piece, "Fakery in The Old Man and the Sea," presents a series of points that he claims show how the novella is a weak and unexpected divergence from the typical, realistic Hemingway. In juxtaposing this novella against Hemingway's previous works, he explains that: The difference, however, in the effectiveness with which Hemingway employs this characteristic device in his best work and in The Old Man and the Sea is illuminating. The work of fiction in which Hemingway devoted the most attention to natural objects, The Old Man and the Sea, is pieced out with an extraordinary quantity of fakery, extraordinary because one would expect to find no inexactness, no romanticizing of natural objects in a writer who loathed W.H. Hudson, could not read Thoreau, deplored Melville's rhetoric in Moby Dick, and who was himself criticized by other writers, notably Faulkner, for his devotion to the facts and his unwillingness to "invent". (7)
2. Symbolism in the sea life
2.1 The soul of the book, Santiago He is an old fisherman in Cuba who, when we meet him at the beginning of the
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The old man and the sea "But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." "Pain does not matter to a man." These quotes are from the old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway. The novel tells the story of the old man going out to sea leaving the boy behind. He lost the marlin by a swarm of sharks and returned home with nothing but the bones from the marlin. This story shows what truly defines failure and defeat. The novel shows that failure is defined by not completing one's goal, not getting satisfaction from a goal, and feeling like one let their self–down.
The first way the novel defines failure is by not completing the goal one has set. The novel quotes, "Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready."
Santiago loses all luck because he did not catch the fish that day, but he still has hope because everyday is a new day to make a change for the better. "Half fish," he said. "Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear on your head for nothing." This quote defines failure because his fish got destroyed by the sharks and Santiago went home for nothing but in the end, he did some good by defeating the sharks but still went home with nothing. Not competing a
In American Literature, especially during the 1900s, authors used their characters' actions to indirectly mention topics that were unspeakable during their eras and to describe what can occur if you make the wrong decision, which are both evident in "The Old Man and the Sea" and in the "Great Gatsby". In the "Great Gatsby" and the "Old Man and the Sea" I condemn the actions of Santiago and Jay Gatsby because they were not the brightest decisions and their actions caused detriment on both of their behalves. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" Jay Gatsby decides to love Daisy, which turns into a conflict between him and Tom Buchanan and it also leads to his death, which is a decision that I berate. In the beginning of the story, the...show more content...
Now, Tom Buchanan knows that Gatsby and Daisy are having a love affair, realizing that he too has made a bad decision having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. The decision of Gatsby to love a married woman reflects the opposition of divorcing in the 1920s, being a taboo topic back then. So, Fitzgerald is using Gatsby's relationship as Daisy to prove that a divorce can happen, despite strong hatred towards it. At the end of the story, Jay Gatsby pays the ultimate price for choosing to fall in love with a married woman. However, a misunderstanding occurred which led to his death because he drove the car that killed Myrtle Wilson. However, Mr. Wilson knew that his wife was having an affair, but he did not know who she was having it with, so he assumed she had the affair with Gatsby, so he decided to shoot Gatsby and then "the touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water" (Fitzgerald 162). So, Gatsby died as a result of his bad decisions and he could have easily prevented it by falling in love with a single woman. However, Gatsby felt a special connection with Daisy that she had once felt in Louisville, but she eventually went back to her husband, Tom, and moved away so that she could forget Gatsby. In "The Great Gatsby" Jay Gatsby decides to love a woman that is married, which
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The epic journey of "The Old Man and the Sea" describes struggle, discipline and manhood. The main characters relationships exemplify how faith and skill overcome man's adversity during life on the sea. Santiago's growing relationship with the boy idealizes his statute as a father figure and develops his integrity and values towards the boy. Hemmingway shows us how an old fisherman's will to overcome the sea's obstacles proves his manhood to himself and the young boy. His skills and knowledge of the sea provide apositive influence for the young boy to become a great fisherman someday.
Throughout the constant struggle between Santiago and the fish, he is forced to prove his skills as a fisherman and conduct his discipline to retain his...show more content...
"He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and into dullness that he mistrusted."(74)
Once both the fish and Santiago had reached the breaking point of conflict the story seemed to slow down in time to exemplify the adverse conditions that both characters were suffering from. The old man proves himself worthy of personal suffering with the cuts and scars on his hands and back along with all of the pulling and slipping the cords had upon his fragile body. Hemmingway shows in a big way how an out of proportioned conflict with an old fisherman and an 18 foot long marlin helps to magnify the significance of Santiago searching for his rebirth to manhood. With constant abstraction describing the fish and the sea in relation to brotherhood create interesting questions for Santiago to ponder. His rationalization for his fishing is that he was born to do it. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." (103) Hemmingway proves that this fish represents all of Santiago's built up tension to total the size of a gigantic marlin that is perceived as devastating but not unconquerable. The old man's hopes and aspirations can overcome the adversity of the marlin's size, along with the conditions of the old, hungry, and exhausted fisherman. Through outright suffering Santiago achieves a goal above his previous manhood by combating pain and Get
In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway uses the literary device of metaphors. Hemingway uses the metaphor of the ocean to symbolize life, and to depict the role that individuals play in life. Hemingway uses the metaphor of the lions to signify people who live their lives as active participants. The tourists in the novel represent the individuals, who in observe their lives and are not active participants. In the novels that Ernest Hemingway writes, he uses metaphors to reflect his life experiences and opinions. The ocean in The Old Man and the Sea is a metaphor, which represents Hemingway 's personal view of life. Hemingway believes that in life everyone must find their own niche and uses the metaphor of the ocean and the...show more content...
'What 's that? ' she asked a waiter and pointed to the long backbone of the great fish that was just now garbage waiting to go out with the tide. 'Tiburon, ' the waiter said, 'Shark. ' He was meaning to explain what dare grapple happened. 'I didn 't know sharks had such handsome tails. ' 'I didn 't either, ' her male companion said." (page 109) these two tourists who speak are hardly differentiated from the group to which they belong. They are all metaphors for individuals who are spectators of the human scene rather than participants in its activity. They see, but they see without fully comprehending. They are only faintly curious, only passingly interested, only superficially observing, they have not been initiated into the mysteries that Santiago understands. These tourists live their lives as tourists, skimming the surface of life, without resolution or clarity. Their life reflects that of all people who live their lives ashore, who dare not grapple with the mysteries of the ocean, or of life. This is the type of life that Hemingway always tried to avoid, to the point of his taking his own life. Hemingway uses metaphors to reflect his opinions of life and the people that he has met in life. The metaphor of the sea symbolizes all of life and the roles that people must choose to have in life. The lions are a metaphor for the
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In The Old Man and the Sea, a man named Santiago and a boy named Manolin have been fishing together for a long time. Santiago taught Manolin everything he know about fishing. They spend many days together fishing, but Santiago has had a very bad streak, 85 days without catching a fish even though Manolin has caught many. Santiago thinks that, on the 87th day, he will catch the biggestfish he has ever caught because it has happened to him before. So on the 86th day he decides to go out into the ocean without the boy because he would not be back until after the 87th day. When he sets out he has a hard time finding any fish. He sees a warbler that actually land on the stern of his skiff on his boat and then starts flying around Santiago's head. He sees the warbler again this time it is fishing so Santiago decides to cast out where the warbler is fishing. The next day is the 87th day, Santiago is waken up by the movement of his line. When he hooks the animal, it puts a big fight with Santiago. After three days of fighting the animal, Santiago actually sees what it is and pulls it in. It was a humongous marlin. The marlin was so big that he could not even get it into the boat as a whole, he had to cut it piece by piece. When he cut the first piece the blood went into the water and sharks from miles away could smell it. Sharks started to come from miles away and Santiago had to fight them off. Santiago was getting weak because he did not have much to eat and did not get much
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Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea to show how you can push through the hardest of times and still not be defeated. The story shows how an old fisherman overcame an unlucky slump with the support from a young boy that loved and helped Santiago named Manolin. Santiago fought through the discrimination of the other old fisherman and refused to give up. Through Santiago's struggles when trying to catch the great marlin, he kept pursuing his goal. Through sweat and tears Santiago never gives up before accomplishing his goal. He endured the pain of slicing his hands on the fishing line many of times in return to pull up the biggest fish he had ever landed.
In the end Santiago had the obstacle of beating away multiple sharks...show more content...
Santiago states that "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." Soon Santiago wonders if killing the fish was a sin. He believed that he killed the marlin for a good cause, which was to feed himself and many others. He claimed that if killing the marlin was a sin then everything was a sin. Two hours later, two sharks arrive at the skiff. After losing his harpoon to the othershark, Santiago fastens his knife to the end of the oar and now uses this against the sharks. He kills the first shark easily, but while he does this, the other shark is ripping at the marlin underneath the boat. After some struggle, he kills this shark as well.
Santiago apologizes to the marlin for the mutilation he had to suffer. He admits, "I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish. I am sorry, fish" (Hemingway 110). Tired and losing hope, Santiago sits and waits for the next shark. The old man succeeds in killing the fish but breaks his knife blade. More sharks appear at sunset and Santiago only has a club with him to beat them away. He does not kill the sharks, but scares them away so they don't come back. Santiago then looks forward to the night so he will be able to see the lights of Havana, which will direct him back to shore. He regrets not using the marlins sword as a weapon when he had the knife and apologizes again to the fish. At around ten o'clock, he sees the light of Havana and steers toward it. During the
Gertrude Stein made a tremendous impact on the author of The Old Man and The Sea, Ernest Hemingway. Gertrude, an American novelist, poet, playwright and art collector, served as a mentor for Ernest. The novelist also served as a godmother to Ernest along with her companion, Alice B. Toklas. Ernest Hemingway used his experience with Gertrude in his 1952 book, The Old Man and The Sea. Santiago and Manolin share a relationship similar to Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Throughout The Old Man and The Sea, Ernest Hemingway provides many details conveying that Manolin and Santiago have a relationship that is more complex than a friendship. Ernest Hemingway portrays Manolin and Santiago's relationship as all of the following: an inseparable...show more content...
Manolin and Santiago no longer need to wish for each other's presence. Besides having an inseparable bond, Santiago and Manolin appear to have a relationship similar to one of a student and a teacher. A teacher is a person who teaches. A student is a person who is studying. Manolin acts as Santiago's student. Santiago acts as Manolin's teacher. Manolin has been learning and absorbing information from Santiago since he was five years old. Manolin recalls a memory from when he and Santiago first went out: "I remember everything from when we first together" (13). From the beginning, Manolin has been retaining memories and skills that Santiago has taught him and one with him. Fishing is a very sacred activity to Manolin and Santiago. Manolin is an angler because of Santiago. The book says, "The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him" (10). Most students and teachers create a special bond; Manolin and Santiago definitely did. Manolin's entire fishing career budded from the information that Santiago provided for him. Because of this, Manolin loves him. After Santiago returns from his journey, Manolin becomes anxious. Manolin has been learning from Santiago since he was very young, which explains why he is very eager to learn more. Manolin expresses his anxiousness through this: "I do not care. I caught two yesterday. But we will fish together now for I still have much to learn" (125). Santiago just returned home
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The Old Man and the Sea
In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway there are two characters who have a great friendship, the old man and the young boy. The old man has been fishing for many years and for the last eighty–four days has not caught a fish. Now the boy who looks up to him is not allowed to fish with him anymore. This boy looks up to the old man as a hero because the old man shows courage, perseverance, and respect. The old man shows courage just by going out all alone everyday and still fishing at his age. Although he showed the most courage when he had to fight the big fish. He could have let the fish go, by cutting the line, but instead the old man was willing to die trying to catch it.
"He had seen many that...show more content... However, if he lost his courage, then he would be done for and would never see the fish again. Not only does the old man show courage but he also shows perseverance. This man went eighty–four days without catching a fish. Yet he woke up every morning, way before dawn and get ready for a day of fishing. He knew that if he stuck with it, then his perseverance would pay off in the long run. Ever as he's fighting the fish he shows perseverance. "Fish he said softly, aloud "I'll stay with you until I die""(52) This shows that he was in for the fight of his life and that he was willing for his life to end before giving up. And in the end his perseverance pays off and he finally gets the fish to the boat. The boy also looks up to the old man because of the old mans respect. He has respect for everything and everyone. He respects the boy by treating him like a son, the fish by realizing the beauty of it, and him self by not giving up on trying to catch the fish. "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, more noble thing than you, brother,"(92). This shows the respect and the lover that the old man has for the fish and all things. The old man is a hero to the young boy for all of these reasons. The young boy loves the old man and helps him by carrying stuff for him, getting him bait, and
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961)
Type of Work: Symbolic drama Setting
North Coast of Cuba; early twentieth century
Principal Characters
Santiago, an old, weathered fisherman Manolin , a boy, Santiago's young fishingcompanion The Marlin, a gigantic fish
Story OverveiwEighty–four days had passed since Santiago, the old fisherman, had caught a fish, and he was forced to suffer not only the ridicule of younger fishermen, but near–starvation as well. Moreover, Santiago had lost his young companion, a boy named Manolin, whose father had ordered him to leave Santiago in order to work with more successful seamen. But the devoted child still loved Santiago, and each day brought food and bait ...show more content...
At noon he felt a bite. Testing his line, he guessed that it must be a marlin nibbling at the tuna bait. "He must be huge," the old man thought, and waited anxiously for a strike. Suddenly, the fish took the bait entirely and began to swim furiously out to sea, dragging the boat behind him. The fish was so powerful that Santiago was helpless to stop him; he could only brace himself against the weight placed on the taut line that cut across his shoulders and hold on until the fish exhausted its strength. Darkness fell, and still the fish swam steadily out to sea. The seaman spent a grueling night with the line looped painfully round his back. Though he was weak, old and all alone, Santiago knew many tricks, and possessed skills the young men yet lacked. Besides, he loved the sea with a passion and had faith that she would handle him with reverent, though bitter, kindness. Once, when the fish
gave a sudden tug, the line slashed Santiago's cheek. "Fish," the old man vowed softly, "I'll stay with you until I am dead."
Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and u)ho knows how old he is, he thought ... Perhaps he is too wise to jump. He could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he
As one of the greatest writers in history, Ernest Hemingway is known for writing many novels and novellas with important messages. Hemingway was also known for his courage and bravery during his lifetime. He was a soldier in the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Second World War. One of his most famous books,The Old Man and the Sea, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954 and is based on the true story of an elderly Cuban fisherman. There are many lessons that are in the book, but perhaps the most important that Hemingway wants to convey is to never give up and be persistent in reaching your goals, even if things seem hard. He conveys this message over the book with various characters and one important quote, "A man can...show more content...
As Santiago said, "You are going to die anyway fish, you don't have to kill me too. This quote shows how much work the marlin was to catch even to a fisherman that is strong and experienced. Even when it is almost obvious that Santiago was going to win the fight, the marlin doesn't give an easy fight. It tries as hard as it can to live as long as it can. The marlin's strength to not give up even when all odds are against it is precisely the lesson that Hemingway wants for people to understand. Hemingway has also included a third character that is the definition of determination.
Santiago, the old man himself, is the third character that teaches readers to not give up no matter what. First, Santiago doesn't let the marlin go and follows it around for days, determined to catch it. If he got the marlin, it would give him money and more importantly a chance to prove himself to the other fishermen. He doesn't sleep for a few days with fear that something will happen with the marlin. Even as his hand gets cramped, his hand gets cut from the fishing line, and he doesn't have good food to eat, he goes through it all without complaining just so he could catch the marlin. He goes so far off to sea, he can no longer see the "glow of Havana". Even with all these difficulties he still manages to catch the marlin. If Santiago had just given up the first time his hand hurt, or he was a little hungry, he would never have gotten the marlin. What Get