The old man and the sea

The old man and the sea

“The old man and the sea” is one of the most famous novels written by Hemingway and won the Nobel prize in 1954.The author creates a hero who is an old Cuban fisherman Santiago has a battle with marlin. “A man is not made for defeat man can be destroyed but not defeated”. This is the old man’s belief. the spirit made a strong impression on me . I think it influence on me in my later life. Fellow I would introduce the novel briefly and then analyze the character of the old man and some symbols meanings.

In the novel no one can fail to see the spirit of the noble in Santiago. Especially from the fright with giant marlin and sharks. In my eyes ,I admired his strong willpower and his optimistic attitude the man called Santiago fisherman in Cuban lived by fishing and pound by fishing. However ,at present ,he hadn’t catch a single fish for eighty-four days, the people in the village thought he is “salao” which is the form of unlucky and even the boy who ever helped him have to leave at his parents order. But the old man didn’t feel discouraged. He went for out into the sea and hooked a giant marlin at eighty-fifth day. After a desperate struggle , Santiago killed the fish and tie it to his boat . on his way home , he had a more desperate fight struggle with dangerous sharks. At last the sharks eat up the marlin only to leave a skeleton. Santiago brought the skeleton to home and went to bed.

When Hemingway created the character of unyielded man. He didn’t choose the young with strong physical power. On the contrary he just chooses an old man

in practice. The author had his won purpose the old man have with drawn from the life struggle, but in the novel author entrusted such great challenge to him and strong willpower. Thus unwillingly he won the more and more readers’ sympathy and respect. The author stressed the old man‘s willpower by ordinary description. Santiago doesn’t have strong physical power like young man. He is unlucky he is a failed hero in the struggle between man and environment. He got nothing in the successful eighty-four days. Although he was lonely as the boy left him. He risked his life in the sea with any help. What waiting for him is hunger, cold, and even the unexpected fate. However the old man didn’t give up with the strong willpower he depended on himself and conquered the dangerous conditions for using his willpower. He was rounded by the difficult of life, it is hard to keep his good character but he has done it. So he is great.

When he really wait a marlin, although the giant marlin is strong he still keep it. Here Santiago said fish I will stay with you until I am dead Santiago would rather scarf ice his life than give up. He thought as a fisherman this is what he should have done. When the shark attracted again, he tried his best to defeat at last his harpoon. Although the fish-marlin was eat by shark only to skeleton. Nothing can destroy his will to pull the fish to home. At that time the shark ate about 40 ponds marlin fish the old man said “man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated” this sentence is famous. As Santiago strong willpower, he is great.

His optimistic attitude to life is value us to learn . when all the village people think he is so unlucky. But Santiago thought his lucky will come at last. He should

ready for his luck. Here Santiago thought “I keep them with precsion, only I have no luck any more but who knows? May be today, every day is a new day .it’s better to be luck, but I would rather be exact then when luck comes you are ready.’’ He totally believed that his luck will be come some day. The little boy leaving ,Santiago felt lonely many a time, but he said to himself he needn’t felt lonely in his old age, it’s fair anyone may meet this situation at their old age. He encouraged himself made his life better and take care of better to make him strong. Here Santiago thought and said “no one should be alone in their old age he thought but it’s unavoidable I must remember, no matter how little you want to that you must eat him in the morning remember he said to himself’’ When the shark eat about 40 ponds fish, Santiago didn’t have pity or felt sad about lose 40 ponds fish. Whereas he relieve his grief by telling himself “if I lose 40 ponds fish ,his boat will be slighter and he woud back home sooner. In our daily life we should keep this mood at any mood we should be optimistic like Santiago.

In this novel, there are some symbols, next I will introduce some symbols meanings in this novel. The sea is the symbol of environment that Hemingway lived in. the sea is full of various fish and sharks and full of lucky and dangerous the sea is cruel, savage and insidious just like real world where the author lived. In both the sea and the life ,there are many possibities hidden from the common. Some are gifts to be treasured and some are treasured and some are trouble to be defeated. the reality of Americas at that time, we can see the democratic power was suffered oppression cruely. All-Americans were covered by the atmosphere of worrying and being nervous . in fact the sea is just like society only a man face and fights on it with enough courage can he defeat the unchangeable fate and

become the strong in one’s life.

The shark stands for the evil side of natural world. It symbolize destructive force of the society and the world. When Santiago was fighting with the marlin the sea calm, beautiful which is harmonious with the nature .but the shark smell the taste of blood ,they come up one by one then the harmony is destroyed. Santiago hated them because they destroyed his achievement—marlin. At American background the shark may be is similar to such as unjust laws or income tax or something else.

The giant marlin stands for the achievement. In contrast to the shark which stand for a bad part of nature, however the marlin is the better part of nature, it is becomes a symbol of the ideal in life that challenges those who is eager for it. Most part of the novel, Santiago was fighting with this giant, mysterious—marlin. In the beginning his skiff was pulled out to the sea by the fish and he didn’t know what it look like. He just imaged it’s strength, size, and determination. Yet he didn’t give up fighting when the old man actually see the fish he was surprised at it’s great size. He said “never have I seen a greater or more beautiful or a calmer or more noble thing than you better’’ the old man thought he loved the fish as if it was his brother. But he still decided to hook it because the marlin is his ideal in life only by killing this giant fish. Santiago can showed that he was born for. If one wants to prove himself with dignity he can prove his abilities, their dreams or goals just like marlin, no matter how difficult, we will try our best to get it.

In the novel