Classic English Literature Notes

Comment on the theme or background idea of the novel “The Old Man and the Sea” by Hemingway.

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Discuss briefly the social and moral values preached by Hemingway through his novel, “‘The Old Man and the Sea.”

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Discuss the Old Man and the Sea as a symbolic story or an allegorical tale.

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Elaborate Hemingway’s attitude towards life as illustrated through his novel, “The Old Man and the Sea”. Was he an optimist or a pessimist?

            The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway is a thoughtful novel with a message of life. It may be called an allegory of human life on earth. The novelist has glorified human struggle for a noble cause and the difficulties involved in it. He has emphasized the greatness of man and his potentialities of character which he can use to fulfill high ambitions of life. Its hero is the embodiment of valour, determination, intelligence and endurance—the valuable human qualities essentials for all kinds of successes in the world. The most admirable thing in man is the heroic spirit that remains undaunted against the heavy odds and tights against all challenges with courage and determination. Hemingway wants to demonstrate through the tenacious struggle of his hero that man is not made to be defeated and that he has vast possibilities of ingenuity and action and great capacity for endurance. Success and failure do not matter much as these are in the hands of fate. The real thing in life is to be desirous of achieving something great, to do one’s best under the circumstances and not to be discouraged by the adversities. Life is full of problems and trying situations, which require men of exceptional caliber to surmount them To show one’s worth and come out victorious in the· battle of life is what makes man truly great and honorable.

               These ideas have been illustrated by Hemingway through a parable or fable. He has told the story of an old fisherman named Santiago who possesses rich experience and skill in fishing. He is also a man of great physical strength and endurance. He had defeated a Negro in the hand·game when he was young. But he is considered a ‘Solao’ or unlucky person as be has failed to catch any fish during the past eighty four days, However, he does not feel discouraged and is confident of angling some big fish some day. At last he sets out on a fishing errand and goes far into the deep sea where no other fisherman has ever ventured. He succeeds in hooking a big marlin that refuses to come to the surface and gives him tough time for two days and nights.

The Old Man displays a wonderful fighting spirit and great capacity for endurance and finally succeeds in killing the baited fish. But when he is returning home with his booty, hordes of sharks attack his marlin and tear away its whole flesh. The Old Man faces these invaders bravely and succeeds in driving away many of them. But he feels helpless in view of the insufficient weapons with him and returns home with a bare skeleton of the big fish.

              The novelist has used symbols to illustrate his philosophy of life. The Old Man is a representative of all valiant fighters in various fields of life. The big marlin is a symbol of lofty aims and objectives of human life. The novelist mu wants to show that only daring and ambitions persons can make remarkable achievements in life, they break the bounds of the routine type life and try to do something extraordinary. The sea is the symbol of the world of Nature that is full of prospects as well as hazards for mankind. Man depends upon nature for his sustenance and struggles hard to snatch something from its cruel hands.

            The sharks symbolize the unforseen distresses and adverse circumstances that spoil the fruit of human struggle and leave a hitter taste in the mouth. The Old Man passes through the ordeals of catching and losing the big fish all alone, without enjoying the aid of the apprentice boy Manolin. It shows Hemingway’s belief that in the struggle of life every individual is essentially alone and un-aided. Even the near and dear relatives of a man cannot share his burden of life and can render him no help at the hour of distress. Santiago’s wish that young boy Manolin should have been with him symbolizes his wish for his lost youth and physical vigor which he needs badly to match the powerful marlin that proves to be too strong for an old fisherman like him. Santiago’s dreaming of lions on African shores stands for his desire to gain vigor and vitality, essential for his struggle of life. Similarly the Old Man remembers his favorite base-ball hero Di-Maggio who fights and wins the game in spite of having a bone spur in his heel. The thought of this great fighter acts as a spur for the old fisherman when his hand is cramped.

              In short, The Old Man and the Sea is a glowing tribute to the heroic impulse in man. Hemingway wants to show that this world is a battlefield where the daring, the determined and ambitious persons like Santiago can make remarkable achievements to get honor and prestige. It is true that the game of life is not without pain, suffering and despair, but the feelings of pride and the satisfaction of ego can sustain man to continue his nerve-breaking struggle. The man is shown pitted against the forces of Nature which are callous and far stronger than him. Yet the real thing is to wage the struggle and refuse to be defeated. lt is true that the Old man loses the big fish caught after such a hard struggle and returns home empty handed. Yet he remains disillusioned throughout and feels amply rewarded to get the applause and recognition from Manolin and other fishermen who were wonderstruck to see the skeleton of the gigantic Marlin.                        Therefore, we can say that the Old Man and the Sea ends at a note of affirmation rather than despair as compared with the previous novels of Hemingway. The story of this novel does not excite pessimistic feelings and does not leave negative impact on the mind of the reader. The world is not painted as a trap where man is doomed to struggle, to suffer and to die an ignoble death. Rather it is a battlefield where man can show his worth and can attain emotional satisfaction and personal glory. Life is not without tragedy, indeed, but its grimness and bleakness has been diffused by the noble purpose in the mind of the tragic hero. The reference to the crucification of Christ is meant to show how man gets mortified at the hands of miseries of life.