Analysis of The Old Man And The Sea Essay

Analysis of The Old Man And The Sea

Ernest Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea is the compelling story of an old man who embarks on a fishing trip that tests his will to succeed in his profession as a fisherman, and in his quest to live as man with great integrity. The protagonist, Santiago, is a man who refuses to accept the idea of defeat, and struggles against the forces of nature and with his own desire to succeed. Hemingway once told a friend, The worst death for anyone is to lose the center of his being, the thing he really is.to retire from what you dois to back up into the grave. He illustrates his meaning of this quote through the character of Santiago, a man who has been a fisherman his whole lifeit is what he does. Although he has recently had bad luck and hasnt caught anything for 84 days, Santiago refuses to accept his misfortune as his fate, and literally almost meets his grave at sea as he fights to bring home the biggest catch of his life.

Throughout the story, Santiago emerges as a tragic hero who embodies Hemingways quote that what you do makes you what you are. Santiago has to go on this fishing trip; fishing is his life, and he needs to reclaim his lost dignity. To retire from what he does would kill his spirit and that would mean certain death for him. He is a man on a mission, and will not allow himself to fail. As the hero states in the book, Man is not made for defeatA man can be destroyed but not defeated (Hemingway 78).

One of the main heroic characteristics of Santiago is his belief that a man should act with honor and dignity, even in the face of danger. This theme is illustrated repeatedly throughout the book. For example, He is faced with fighting the giant marlin on his own, without his faithful companion Manolin. Yet, he finds the strength to do it on his own, without feeling sorry for himself. He reflects at one point, But you havent got the boy. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now (44). Another example of Santiago showing bravery is when the fishing ropes cut into his skin. He feels pain, but he remarks to himself, Pain does not matter to a man (65).

Another main characteristic of Santiago is that while he is an old man, his spirit and heart are more like those of a young man. Early in the story we are told that Everything about him was old, except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated (13). He dreams of lions, a symbol of youth and male virility.

The tragic hero Santiago places a lot of emphasis on the role of fate in his life. He believes man must be humble, and accept his fate. Perhaps I should not have been a fishermanBut that was the thing I was born for (43). He is unlucky and yet must continue to fight the good fight. In another excerpt he says Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for (36).

Worthiness is another trait that plays a large part in shaping the character of Santiago. He speaks about his cramped hand, and how it is unworthy of it to be cramped. He feels that this is shameful for a man with dignity. He does not want the fish to think of him as anything less than a hero. He also dwells on his worthiness when he finally sees the great marlin. He thinks to himself, I wonder why he jumped.He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But then he would see the cramped hand (52). Throughout the book, he seems to be obsessed with the idea of proving himself a worthy slayer of the marlin. At one point, Santiago declares that he will show the fish what a man can do and what a man endures (53). Santiago also feels that the marlin is a noble creature. He says, You are killing me, fishBut 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 who (92).

Santiago tries to measure up to his idol, the great baseball player Joe DiMaggio. At one point he says to himself, But I must have the confidence and I must be worthy of the great Joe DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel (68). He refers again to DiMaggio when he thinks, I think the great DiMaggio would be proud of me today (97).

Another characteristic of this tragic hero is that he goes out to sea and faces adversity, but is able to face his problems with grace and dignity. He sees storms, he goes out to sea too far, his hands get cut up holding the rope, and he gets a terrible hand cramp. Throughout it all, Santiago talks to himself with encouraging words. Santiago tells himself, Keep your head clear and know how to suffer like a man (70).

Is Santiago Christ-like? Hemingway uses a lot of symbolism to compare our tragic hero Santiago with Christ, perhaps the most tragic hero of all time. Both Santiago and Christ were fishermen, and both lived simply with very few material possessions. Both had believers and doubters. Christ had the 12 apostles who believed him and the Roman Empire who doubted him, and Santiago had Manolin who was his faithful companion, and Manolins parents and the townspeople who doubted him. Throughout the story, Santiago must struggle with what he believes is his mission, his fate, just as Christ did. His faith is tested over and over again.

After he has returned home from his great adventure at sea, he is exhausted, and falls over and lies with his arms extended, palms up, like Jesus on the cross. Hemingway even recalls the time when the fishing lines cut into his hands, like the wounds Christ received during the crucifixion. Further, we are struck by the courage with which both Jesus and Santiago deal with their fates, and the similarity of Jesus struggling with the cross and Santiago struggling with the mast.

Unfortunately for Santiago, he does not bring in a successful catch at the end of the story. The beautiful marlin that he caught merely represents what could have been. Santiago certainly second guesses himself about going so far out, and maybe he should have played it safe by staying closer to home. And when he caught the tunas, maybe he should have brought them backat least it would have been something. But he did go out too far, and he did make the catch of a lifetime. So when he goes to sleep at the end of the story and dreams about lions, the reader wonders if he is feeling pride in his winning the struggle with the marlin, or guilt over going out too far and killing such a beautiful creature and paying for it by losing it to the sharks. In the end, he remains true to his calling as a fisherman and talks to Manolin about the next fishing trip. After all, it is what he was made for.

References

Dupuis, Kelley. Homing To the Stream: Ernest Hemingway in Cuba 02 March 2008

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and The Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952