РефератыИностранный языкOlOld Man And The Sea And Santiago

Old Man And The Sea And Santiago

Essay, Research Paper


The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea is a heroic tale of mans


strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old


Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of


three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the Old Man and


the Sea strives to teach important life lessons to the reader. 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 young, yet they share an


insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not


treat Manolin as a young boy but rather 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 parent s


wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an


outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than


eighty-four days and is therefore unlucky . 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. 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. This is perhaps his greatest


attribute 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 draws upon his past victories for strength. After he


hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native in what he


called the hand game. It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him it was a


reminder of his y

outhful days. His recollections of this 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 any


challenge. Although he was an old man and his body was no longer like it used to


be his heart was still great 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 therefore he knew that the fate of


his catch was inevitable yet he persisted to fight the sharks. The battle


between him and the sharks was about principles not a mere fish. Santiago was


still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until the end. One of the


greatest and most 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 Santiago s disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about


fishing and life. One of the greatest lessons that Santiago gives is that of a


simple faith. Have faith in the Yankees my son. This type of faith reflects the


basic principles of Christianity. Hemingway s description of Santiago further


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 also parallels Santiago s suffering to that of Christ by stating that


he settled K against the wood and took his suffering as it came. Even more


profound is the description of Santiago s response when he saw the sharks, just


a noise such a man might make, involuntarily feeling the nail go through his


hands and into the wood. Further symbolism is shown 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 puts 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 other 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 them by


highlighting his weaknesses. 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 lessons of faith and bravery.

Сохранить в соц. сетях:
Обсуждение:
comments powered by Disqus

Название реферата: Old Man And The Sea And Santiago

Слов:1033
Символов:6478
Размер:12.65 Кб.