“The Old Man and The Sea” Celebrates Life and Humanity”-Discuss.
The Old Man and the Sea is a notable literary work by Ernest Hemingway. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of The Old Man and the Sea.
Answer
“The Old Man and The Sea” celebrates life and humanity”-Discuss.
“The Old Man and the Sea” is a 1952 novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). The novella tells the story of Santiago, an aging fisherman, and his long struggle to catch a giant marlin fish.
Essentially, Hemingway celebrates life and humanity with Santiago’s story in his Pulitzer Prize-winning (1953) novella “The Old Man and the Sea”. Santiago’s struggle encapsulates the human spirit’s resilience, the beauty of simplicity, and the interconnectedness of humans and nature.
Tribute to Human Spirit: The story follows Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, and his struggle to catch a great marlin deep into the sea. Santiago is old and a skilled fisherman. However, he is without luck for 84 days, unable to make a catch. Nonetheless, he is confident and determined. He takes great pride in his work and himself.
Santiago fights for three days and three nights to finally kill the giant 18-foot marlin. After that, he fights with the sharks till the very end to save his catch. Santiago refuses to yield to despair or defeat. Despite the limitations of his old age, weary body, and cramped hands, he fights valiantly. Santiago dreams of the lions of the coast of Africa, which he saw on a voyage in his youthful days. The lions are the symbols of his youthful energy and pride.
He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach.
He also remembers the time when he defeated a great negro in arm wrestling, which continued for a day and a night, and everybody called him “the champion.” Santiago also draws inspiration from his role model, DiMaggio, a baseball champion.
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.
Through Santiago’s struggle to catch the marlin and fight off the sharks, Hemingway celebrates human endurance, perseverance, and the indomitable will to overcome challenges. As Hemingway says,
A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
Life and Nature: Santiago’s profound connection with nature highlights the bond between humanity and the environment. Santiago loves all creatures. He acknowledges himself as a part of nature, just like the marlin fish. Santiago admires the marlin’s beauty and endurance and considers it a “noble” adversary. He tells the fish repeatedly that though he loves it, he must kill it.
Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.
In Santiago’s love for the marlin, readers witness a deep respect for life in all its forms. Here, Hemingway celebrates the inherent value of every living creature. Besides Manolin, Santiago considers his only friends to be the sea, the fish, and the stars. In his conquest over the marlin, Santiago exhibits exceptional determination and endurance in the face of physical and psychological pain.
To wrap up, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea” is a timeless exploration of the human condition. The novella celebrates life, humanity, and the indomitable spirit of the individual. In Santiago’s battle, the readers find a reflection of their own struggles and triumphs.