BA English Novel'The Old Man and the Sea' by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway s' Philosophy

The novella was published in 1952 and only after

two years of its publication it was awarded Nobel Prize.

Much regret for those who are of the view that story

is nothing. Basically, if we want to enjoy the novel first we should

know of the philosophy of Hemingway. If we understand

well the philosophy of Hemingway, novel will give us

pleasure. The central philosophy of the novel is that ," A man

is not made for defeat.A man can be destroyed but not defeated. "

If one goes through the novel from the very first word

till the very last word, the whole novel prove this philosophy

of Hemingway. The old man is determined to achieve his goal

but the hostile forces of nature try to destroy the old man but

but he is not ready to be defeated.

To achieve any thing is not success. The real success is continuous

struggle. If one compares this statement to the ending

of the novel that is much controversial, one can say that the ending

is quite justified.As per this philosophy Santiago is highly successful.

The Old Man and the Sea
Major characters of the novel
Santiago
He is the central figure of the novel. He is the severe victim of the loneliness. He  lives in a small cottage near the shore. He goes without fishing for the last 85 days but he does not lose heart. On 86 day , he catches a big fish , Marlin but at the end is de[rived of the fruit of his life by the cruel attacks  of the sharks

Manoline
He is  a young boy who is the only pupil and friend of the old man at the sea. First forty days , he accompanies the old man but after forty days, his parents shift him to another boat saying that the old man is a Salao. But he still loves and respect the old man  and helps him. He is very attached to the old man. He brings food for him, have gossip with him and encourages the old man.
Marlin, the Fish
It is a very huge fish caught by the old man. It gives very tough time to the old man. It pulls the old man along with his skiff for three days and nights. It is 18 fat long and has purple strips on the body. At the end it is eaten away by the sharks

Sharks
In the novel , sharks represent the hostile forces of the nature. They attack the fish one by one first and in the  packs later on. They deprive the old man  of the fruit of his long efforts. Old man kill some of them but as thy were large in numbers, so they defeated the old man outwardly.

Sea
Sear plays a  very important role in the progress f the novel. Hemingway has treated the sea as  a living being. It  is very kind and provides subsistence to the human. But  sometimes, it become very cruel and harsh. The importance of its role  cannot be denied.


Describe the themes of the novel, “The Old Man and  the Sea”?

“The Old Man and  the Sea” is an very interesting novel by Ernest Hemingway. In its main outline the story is quite simple. Some of us may think that the story is nothing because it ends at the failure of the old man..But this is not the correct approach to the novel. The story leaves an ever lasting impression on the readers. The struggle of the old man from the beginning till the end is the real charm of the novel
The story may be interpreted in different ways but three themes seems to  be outstanding The first is that success and failure are two important aspects of human s’ life. second theme projects man s’ dependence on other fellow beings. Third one  tells that ceaseless efforts are the essence of the life.

First of all the novel tells that success and failure are the two important of human life. They always go side by side throughout the life. One may not always be successful yet one should always work for it. Santiago, the old man goes on for fishing  without ant success but he does not lose heart. After forty days of his struggle, he is even deprived of his only companion, Manolin whose parents shifted him to another boat saying that the old man is an unlucky.

The old man ,however, was not disappointed he continued to work all alone. On the eighty fifth day, he went far out in the sea and was able to hook a Mrlin. The Marlin continued  pulling his boat for three days..Eventually , he was able to kill the fish but his success was transformed into failure by the attack of the sharks and he had to returned to the shore only with the skeleton of the fish. But this did not disappoint him and he was again ready to make a new effort.

The second theme is that human beings always depend on others..A lonely man can hardly make any achievement in his life. Man needs company and without the help of others, no success is possible. Santiago also realizes this. We find him missing the young boys always and feeling that his company would have made his work easier. The third theme of the novel projects the idea that to  achieve  something is not real success but the real success is the continued struggle in the life. If one gives up the struggle , he is a loser. The old man is character who projects this Hemingway philosophy from the beginning of the novel till the last word of the novel. In the novel , the old man is struggling hard throughout the  story. he never gives up the struggle.

Discuss the most exciting incident of the novel, The Old Man and the Sea.”

The novel, “ The old Man and the sea” is full of thrill and excitement but there can be no  second opinion about the fact that the brave fight of the old man with the great fish marlin for three days and his eventual struggle to kill the fish is the most exciting incident of f the novel. It was very important for the old  man to kill the fish and to take it to the shore as the symbol of his success because he has been going for fishing for the last  eighty for days without any success.

He was able to hook the marlin on the eighty-fifth day. But it proved to be a n unusually strong fish. After taking the bait, the marlin started pulling the skiff and created untold miseries for the old man. He had never come across such type of fish. The fish continued swimming in deep water in the North, pulling the skiff with it for three days.

The old man had been holding the line all the time. His hands had been injured and cramped by the fast movements of the line. He made t e line  pass across his back to  support his hands..He had been in this miserable condition  for three days and the fish still continued pulling the boat. It appeared as if the fish would never tire but the old man as determined as before in spite of the fact that   he was extremely tired and black spots appeared before his eyes .

However on the third day, the marlin eventually started circling. It indicated a sign of good luck for the old man. Suddenly the fish started jumping. The old man feared that it might throw out the hook any time. Then the marlin started hitting the wire leader of the line and the old man was afraid that the line might be damaged.

The old man  continued handling the fish for a long time till at  last it came on the surface only thirty yards away from the boat. It huge body with purple strips was quite visible now. The old man pulled the line  but the fish was still beyond his reach..He tried to bring it alongside the skiff so that he could kill it with the harpoon but each time the fish escaped cleverly. At last the fish came so close to the skiff that the old man hit it with his harpoon. He drove the harpoon forcefully into the marlin s’ heart. The marlin jumped high in the air vertically exposing the whole of his body. It remained in the air for a moment and then it fell into the water. It was floating dead in water.

The old man s’ struggle was over but a lot of slave work was still to be done. He tied up the fish alongside the boat and set off towards the land. He had made  a great achievement but he did not know what to come thereafter.

Describe the brave adventure of the old man  against the sharks?

The old man was eventually successful  to hook a marlin on the eighty fifth day of his struggle. He was very happy over his success. But the marlin gave him a very tough time. After being hooked it started moving toward the deep sea along with the skiff.

The old man continued holding the line across his back for three days in order to control the fish and to stop it from moving ahead..At last on the third day the fish started moving in the large circles. It was after every  long and hard struggle that the old man  was able to bring the marlin close to his skiff and was successful in killing the marlin with his harpoon..He then lashed the fish to the skiff from the tail, from the head and in the middle and started his homeward voyage.
He was extremely tired. He had nothing to eat. He ate a few shrimps and drank some water to recover himself. He was happy because he hoped that the fish would fetch him a good income.

The fish continued moving for some time when a shark appeared suddenly .The old man knew that it would happen. The shark had been attracted by the marlin s’ blood spreading in the water. It was very large shark with long teeth and the old man idemnti9fied that it was Mako. The shark approached the fish just near the tail. At the  same time the old man hit it at its head with his harpoon and killed it. But it had already taken  a big piece of flesh with it The shark had also taken away his harpoon along with the line. The old man prepared a new weapon by lashing his knife to the butt of an oar. After killing the shark, the old man absorbed in philosophical thoughts.

After about two hours, the old  man saw two sharks, moving towards the skiff. They were’ Galanos’ and the old man hated them. One of them went under the boat and started eating the lower part of the marlin s’ body while the other hit the marlin where he had already been hit. He killed it with the blows of his knife. Then he made the other shark come out and killed it as well but it broke his knife  and the old man was left unarmed. However , he armed himself with a short club  and was again ready to face the further attacks of the sharks.

At sunset, two more sharks attack the fish. They were both ‘ Galanos’ and the old man injured both of them with his club but he knew that half of  his fish  had been destroyed by them..By now, he was almost fainting with tiredness. At midnight, the fish was attacked again by a pack of sharks. The old man did his best to fight against them in the darkness. He even lost his club and by the time he hit the last of the sharks, they had eaten all of the marlin s’ flesh and there was only the skeleton left . There was nothing more for them to eat.

The old man was utterly beaten. He was past everything now..He put the skiff on its path and was anxious to reach home as soon as possible


But  a man is not made for defeat a man can  be destroyed but not defeated.”Discuss these lines of the novel,: the old man and the sea”

After having killed the marlin  and lashing it to the side of the skiff, the old man was extremely tired .He had nothing to eat. He ate a few shrimps and drank some sea water to recover himself. He was happy  because he hoped that the fish would fetch him a good income. The skiff continued swimming for some time when a shark appears suddenly. The old man knew that it would happen. The sharks had been attracted by the marlin s’ blood spreading in the water. It was a very large shark with long teeth and the old man identified it as Mako.

The shark approached the fish and fixed its long teeth  in the marlin s’ body just near the tail. At the  same time the old man hit it at its head with his harpoon and killed it..But it had already taken a big piece of the marlin s’ flesh with it. The shark had also taken away his harpoon  with the line.

The loss of the harpoon and the mutilated condition of the marlin disappointed the old man. When the fish had been hit, it was as though he himself was hit. He remained absorbed in deep thoughts for some time but soon he recovered himself saying, “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

 This gave him a new courage and a new determination which enabled him to face the subsequent attacks of the sharks boldly. We find him fighting against the sharks even after losing his  harpoon. His determination led him to prepare a new weapon like  a knife lashed to the butt of an oar.    Even when his knife was broken, he  was not disappointed and started fighting against the sharks with the club.

When the fish was attacked by a pack of sharks, the old man continued fighting against them bravely. He even hit the last of the sharks. Although the old  man was utterly beaten yet he  was not at all disappointed. He wanted to go for fishing again  with a new determination because he believed that man is not born for defeat.
The sentence, “But man is not made for defeat” reflects his greet determination and it is not only a verbal or emotional declaration by the old  man but his entire behavior in the sea is a practical expression of this belief.

Discuss the novel, The Old Man and the Sea” as a tragedy?

The old man and the sea” is a tragedy because it describes the sufferings of the old man at the sea and tragic end of his great struggle. The novel describes the heroism and bravery of a Cuban fisherman, Santiago who ventures alone in the deep sea for a long time to hook  some fish. After a long and hard struggle , he is able to hook a marlin but in the end, he is left with nothing because all his hopes are shattered when the marlin is eaten up by the sharks  and it is very depressing  to see the old man completely  helpless against the sharks in spite of all his daring efforts.

A tragedy is usually a story describing the great struggle of the hero and ends either the death of the hero or in the absolute faille of his great struggle. In spite of the great qualities of bravery, courage and patience shown by the hero, he comes across a failure. The  failure is caused because of bad luck, society, nature of chance. F we look at the novel, “ The Old man and the Sea” in this context, we find it a perfect tragedy.

When the novel begins , we find the old man exposing superb qualities of bravery, courage and patience. He was not an ordinary fisherman. He possessed exceptional skills of fishing and was greatly expert in his profession. Although he was old yet he acted as a young man  and faced all odds boldly..He looked very impressive as a fisherman. He showed great patience  when the marlin pulled his boat for three days.

 He was not ready to accept defeat. He would prefer death to defeat. He had great determination and he even triumphed over his inner conflict with his strong determination.
After having lashed the marlin to his boat, he wanted to reach home as soon as possible. The tragedy started when the sharks attacked the marlin. He did his best and fought boldly against the sharks but he became quite helpless when the sharks attacked in a pack and reduced the marlin to a skeleton. All his great struggle had failed because of his bad luck but Santiago considered himself responsible for his failure. He thought that he should not have gone too far in the sea..It was eighty fifth day of his struggle that he had been able to hook a marlin and it was very great tragedy for him to have been deprived of the fruit of his great struggle.

Describe the relationship between Santiago and Manolin?

The relationship between Santiago and Manolin was very deep one. The young boy mandolin was the pupil of the old man and the old man had taught him the art of fishing. In spite of great difference in their ages, the two were always very happy to be together. Manolin had great affection for the old man. He was always ready to serve him in one way or the other. The old man also loved him like his own son.

The old man had been going for fishing for the last eighty four days without any success. For the first forty days mandolin had been with him but then his parents sent him to some other boat because they thought that the old man was an unlucky person. Manolin did not like it and he still continued his relationship-p with the old  man and served him a usual. When the old man came each day empty handed, the young boy helped him and encouraged him. He still wanted to work with the old man but he could not disobeyed his parents also. When Santiago went to sea for fishing , the boy always saw him off in the morning and waited for him in the evening.

 On the eighty fifth day, he saw him off as usual..When the old man returned after many days, he went to his shack and made all the arrangements so that the old man  should recover as soon as possible. He always encouraged him. He was not disappointed of his failure..He told him that once he  had caught a fish after eighty seven days of failure. He also told Santiago that if  the world was against him, he  was with him.

Santiago also loved him deeply. He had shaped up his personality and character. Manolin  was now very responsible and careful young man..Although he wanted Manolin to be with him yet the old man allowed him to go away  to obey hi s parents, command. We find him missing the young boy many a time during his struggle in the  sea. It is pathetic to find him saying, “ No one should be alone in the old age.”.The boy was his only company and he always missed him when he was away. He was living without wife, children, brothers , sisters and friends. Manolin was everything for him in the whole world  and he was always in high spirits in his company.


What were he major interests of the fisher man Santiago?
Discuss Santiago s' hand contest with Negro?

Santiago was a fisher man  and fishing was his profession which was his major interest. He  was not and ordinary fisher man. He was exceptionally skilled in his profession and knew the art of fishing more than anyone else .His company with Manolin was also a great charm for him. Manoline came to him in his  childhood and the old man had taught him the art of fishing Now he was a young boy.

 He respected and served the old man in every way. They had been going together  for fishing  for forty days but could not catch any fish. At this Manolin s’ parents shifted him to another boat saying that the old man an  unlucky fellow. But the young man did not think so.

He still kept his company with the old man on the shore. Santoago s’ mind always occupied with his ideas and he constantly thought about Manolin. To be in his company and to enjoy talking to him was a great interest for the old man.

Another interest of  the old man was baseball. He always talked to Manolin about baseball matches. He knew all the teams and had a perfect understanding of their performance in the game. He read the news about the baseball matches in the papers and liked to listened to commentary on the radio. Even at the sea while struggling against the marlin , he thought about the baseball and was anxious to know about the result of the baseball matches. DiMaggio was his favorite baseball player. He believed that he was the greatest champion of the game and that his team would always win. He even  wanted to be as  great an expert in his profession as DiMaggio was in baseball. He had great respect in his heart for DiMaggio because he believed that he was the greatest champion of baseball.

To dream about lions was another interest of the old man. Santiago had once travelled to Africa by ship in his early youth. He had seen lions moving on the shore. he had seen the lins playing like cats on the shore in the evening. In his old age, he often dreamed of these lions. They dominated his mind He always loved talking about them. He did not think about big fish, big cities , women or his wife in his old age. He only thought about lions. He loved them as  he loved Manolin.


Give the character sketch of Santiago?

Santiago, the old fisher man is the hero of the novel, “The Old Man and the Sea”. He is rather the only character of the novel because the other character  Manjolin appears in the novel only in the beginning and at the end. We find only the old man dominating the whole novel.

 The old man  was thin and gaunt with wrinkles  in the back of his neck and brown blotches on his cheeks which went down the side of his face..His hands had deep creased scars by handling heavy fish on the cords. These scars were old  and had recovered. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same colour as the  sea and were cheerful and full of determination.

Santiago was considered to be an unlucky person by the local fishermen and they made fun of him when he returned with empty skiff every day but he  was not disappointed. He continued making effort and believed that one day he would catch a big fish. He was an expert fisherman and knew all the techniques of  fishing.

The old man  was a man of strong determination. He was never disappointed. Without sleep and  without food, the old man struggle all alone against the marlin. He remained  in the most difficult situation for two days and two nights but he was still full of determination and was eventually successful in catching a big fish.

Santiago was highly imaginative person. Being all alone in the sea he often lost in  his imagination and usually talked to himself. He often thought about the young boy Manolin and wanted him to be with him. Sometimes , he thought about the baseball matches and of the great payer DiMaggio who was his favorite. He also remembered his hand wrestling contest with the negro..He dreamed about the lions moving on the sea shore at Africa.
Santiago was a great philosopher also..He first considered the killing of the marlin as a sin but then he justified it as a professional act. In the same way, he justified the killing of the sharks in self-defense.



Discuss sea as a living being?/Symbolic importance of the Sea?

In , “ The Old man and the Sea” the ocean plays its role  as a living being. It has its own relations with other characters of the novel. It has its own tastes, voices, atmosphere and colors..Still it treats old man rather cruelly when the sharks come out of it to eat up the huge marlin. But we cannot ignore its gentle role as well. It gives Santiago continuous supply of food in the form of tunas, shrimps, dolphins and flying fish.

The sea is a great source of livelihood  for the fishermen. It teaches the sailors and the fishermen how to lead their lives. It also teaches the spiritual lessons to the fishermen when they need. Santiago is not a religious man but he learns his religious lessons by the oceans. He prays to God first to let the fish be baited and then release him to sufferings as well as physical pains.
The ocean has its own rules and regulations like the characteristics of a man. Its world is full of weeds, fishes , turtles, gulls,  and clouds. It is a different universe where large creature eats up the small one..Still man rules supreme there. It is oblivious that the old man is not defeated by the ocean but by his own fault that he went too far out in the sea.