Ernest Hemingway on Life
Ernest Hemingway on LifeErnest Hemingway on Life
“The Old Man and the Sea” is a heroic tale of mans strength confronted with forces he cannot control. It is a story about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant marlin. “The Old Man and the Sea” stresses three important life lessons to the reader through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity;
The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other is young but they share an unmeasurable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy, but instead as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago’s feelings. He even offers to go against his parents wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish in the past eighty-four days and is therefore “unlucky”. But Manolin looks beyond this and is loyal to Santiago even when his parents forbid him, and wants to help his close friend.
Their conversations are comfortable, like two friends who have known each other their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things that they have the 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. In the story Santiago’s bravery is the best trait, but it is not until he hooks the “great fish” that we truly see his heroism and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader 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 discover 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. This is his greatest quality, because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant marlin.
Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance, Santiago also looks back on past victories for strength. After he hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native, which he calls “The Hand Game.” It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him, it was a reminder of his youthful days. His recollections of the event usually proceeded a favorite dream of his, in which he saw many lions on a peaceful shore. These lions represented him when he was young and strong and could overcome anything that was thrown his way. Although he was an old man and his body was no longer like it used to be his heart was still in the right place, and he eventually defeated the Marlin. Santiago’s perseverance and bravery are further illustrated when he tries to fight off the sharks. He was a fisherman all his life, and knew that his prized catch didn’t stand a chance, but he still persisted to fight the sharks off. The battle between Santiago and the sharks was about principles, not a fish. He was still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until there is nothing left to fight for.
One of the more obvious symbolisms in the story is Christianity. From the beginning of the story the reader is shown a unique relationship between Santiago and Manolin. Their relationship parallels that of Christ and his disciples. Manolin is Santiagos disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about fishing and life. One of the lessons that Santiago gives is that of simple faith, “Have faith in the Yankees my son.” (Hemingway 17) This type of faith reflects the basic principles of Christianity.
Hemingway’s description of Santiago illustrates Christian symbolism. Hemingway gives a reference to the nail pierced hands of Christ by stating that Santiago’s “Hands had deep creased scars.” (Hemingway 10) Hemingway also parallels Santiagos suffering to that of Christ by stating that, “he settled against the wood and took his suffering as it came.” (Hemingway 64) Even more obvious is the description of Santiago’s response when he saw the sharks, “just a noise such a man might make, involuntary feeling the nail go through his hand into the wood”. (Hemingway 107) More symbolism is shown between Christ and Santiago when Santiago arrives home and carries the mast across his shoulders as Christ carried the cross to Calvary. Also, like Christ, Santiago could not bare the weight and collapsed on the road. When he finally reached his cabin “he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up.” (Hemingway 122)
Hemingway put these themes together in such a way that they do not conflict with each other. He does allow Christianity to be a more dominant theme than the others, but instead makes it more symbolic than intentional. He does not smother the relationship between the old man and the young boy but instead separates them for a large part of the story. Finally, he does not make Santiago’s bravery a central theme by highlighting his weakness. In the end the old mans perseverance and faith pay off. He finally gains the respect of the village and succeeds in teaching Manolin the lesson of faith and bravery.