Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, narrates the story of an older man named Santiago who fishes for his living. Frustrated by his failure to catch anything for many days, Santiago ventures out into the ocean, in a very small boat, further than he ever has before, facing multiple struggles and crises. Throughout the story we see references and images to both youth and to the determination to fight great battles against all odds. He repeatedly dreams of seeing young lions playing on a beach in Africa, multiple images of Christ's crucifixion appear throughout the story, and he revels in the stories of an American baseball player who fights through the effects of age to continue playing. Santiago emphasizes his fixation on growing older by calling his young friend Manolin a "boy" when the story indicates that Manolin is actually a young man. Santiago's story is the story of a man doing battle with the one force he can never win: the inevitability of age's effect on the body.
The writer reveals Santiago's struggles with the physical effects of growing old in a variety of ways. First there is his intense interest in aging baseball players and what he admires about them. Then there are Santiago's dreams. The references to Christ's crucifixion evoke other images not only of death but of conquering death. Finally, the author uses the names of major characters to emphasize the issue of age in this story.
Santiago has a friend who clearly is much younger than him by the name of Manolin. Both men's names indicate Santiago's struggles with growing old. Although Santiago repeatedly refers to Manolin as a "boy," this is apparently just an old man's tendency to emphasize that Manolin still has a lot of living left to do, because the author reveals that Manolin is at least as old as...
For Santiago, there is nothing that gives him more pleasure than baseball so he uses it to preserve himself and give him the strength he needs to survive one more day. He is not thinking about pleasing Christ when he refuses to resort to despair but his goal is a more earthly one. He wants to be able to make DiMaggio, his baseball hero, proud. Santiago is an ordinary
Early in the book, the fishermen look at him with sadness, or with derision (Hemingway 1980, 11), but there is still a camaraderie and togetherness in their group that indicates they are all brothers in the same quest for a living. Finally, religion and spirituality is an important aspect of the novel that many critics acknowledge. Critic Bloom continues, "In the Old Man and the Sea, Santiago, the principal figure,
This battle is Santiago's personal struggle and it has meaning to him. In his struggle with the fish, Santiago says, "But I must have the confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel" (Hemingway 68). This shows that the catching of the fish is like a personal test for Santiago. He
The only thing young about Santiago was his eyes, Hemingway wrote - but an alert reader knows that baseball is for the young at heart, age notwithstanding. And also, any baseball fan worth his salt knows that the Yankees had a great player named DiMaggio (Joe), who had his own struggles. Those comparisons of DiMaggio and Santiago are part of the meat of the book. While certainly DiMaggio had hall-of-fame
Old Man and Sea The 1958 film The Old Man and the Sea is based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. The film stars Spencer Tracy, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Tracy plays the Old Man, a fisherman from Cuba who has gone several months without a catch. His lack of productivity calls into question the Old Man's masculinity and virility; as fishing symbolizes his
Graphic OrganizerOriginal Text� The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest HemingwayType of Change� Divergence: Changing the ending so that the fish reaches the shore alive and the old man passes away in his sleep.Setting� Place: The Cuban coast and the old man's hut.� Appearance/Feel: The sea is calm and serene, symbolizing peacefulness. The hut is simple and made of wood and palm leaves and adorned with shells from sea.
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now