Discuss The Stylistic Analysis Of The Old Man And The Sea By Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway is known for his unique style and theories of writing, especially the iceberg theory. In the Death of the Afternoon, Hemingway says that “The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.” (92) Simple words, vivid images, rich emotions and deep thoughts are the four basic elements of the iceberg theory. Talk about how these stories illustrate four elements of theory. In both short stories, Hemingway describes scenery and characters with simple words directly to give readers a vivid image. Under this sketch, readers can know characters’ emotion and get the theme through their imagination and analysis.

Ernest Hemingway’s writing reflects the historical landscape and artistic movements of his time. As the world changed, the flourishing age of Victorian writing transformed into the era of Modernism. One can see this noticeable change through the structure of Hemingway’s signature writing style, as well as his focus on the great internal and external struggles presented at the turn of the century. Hemingway’s In Our Time fits cohesively within the expression of visual art, poetry, and prose--including the artist’s willingness to break out of the typical structure and traditional form of storytelling.

The epic journey of “The Old Man and the Sea” describes struggle, discipline and manhood. The main characters relationships exemplify how faith and skill overcome man’s adversity during life on the sea. Santiago’s growing relationship with the boy idealizes his statute as a father figure and develops his integrity and values towards the boy. Hemmingway shows us how an old fisherman’s will to overcome the sea’s obstacles proves his manhood to himself and the young boy. His skills and knowledge of the sea provide a positive influence for the young boy to become a great fisherman someday.

The words and works of an author are like a fingerprint. They are unique, distinct and enable you to identify the owner. Some writers choose to remodel techniques, while others choose to create their own. This is the case with Ernest Hemingway. I chose this author because he not only respects his audience but, trusts them to discover the true meanings of his works. Between each line and word is an emotion and purpose that transcends the dialogue. The former reporters roots have caused him to create his own style of writing now coined as “The Iceberg Theory”. This direct, minimalistic style leaves and enduring impression on the reader and has made his writing instantly recognizable. In Hemingway’s works, the dialogue brilliantly executed technique subtly exposes the reader to his theme that revel dark parts of the human psyche when it comes to war, love and humanity.

During the time period Hemingway was writing The Old Man and the Sea, fear was present in society, e.g. The Red Scare. The fearless perseverance of the novel’s main character, Santiago, contrasts the feelings of Americans during the forties. Through reverse psychology, the valiant actions of Santiago in his perils with the marlin he was fishing, alleviated some of the unease present in American minds. The instilled the thought process of not blanching what is possible. Santiago narrates his moral correction along the lines of the same topic, “Now is no time to think [fear] what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” The quote elucidates Hemingway’s opinion of apprehension and how he found no place for it throughout the sixty-one years of his life. Events concurrent with the lives of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in their personal lives and the views of the public gave way to the formation of the plots in The Great Gatsby and The Old Man and the Sea. The structure of both novels adds to the claim: Fitzgerald and Hemingway are two of the best modernists in their

Hemingway’s story relies primarily on dialogue. During the three page story, there are really only four sections that only provide description -- not counting small details like “he said” or “she said” or one sentence paragraphs like “The girl did not say anything” (Page 2). It is interesting that he chose to do this when considering it artistically. Descriptions of the characters, of the environment, of the objects people interact with are often major points of the story that reveal something to the reader. If nothing else, these descriptions fill out the story and make the world in which it is occurring feel real. Hemingway’s choice to use only dialogue shows the reader that they need to pay close attention to what the character’s are saying. The story lies in their words, not in the movements they make or how the

Santiago of The Old Man and the Sea is the quintessential “Hemingway Hero”-a type of fictional character created by Hemingway in all of his books whose basic response to life appealed very strongly to the readers. The Old Man begins the narrative with all the elements of such a hero despite his senescence and poverty. He shows strength, determination, and dedication to himself despite his struggles. Santiago relates back to readers as a strong failure who picks himself up repeatedly.

Many authors, critics, and everyday social readers define Ernest Hemingway as the prime example of 20th century American literature. Hemingway’s works transcend time itself, so that even readers today analyze and criticize his works. His works, of course, have drawn praises and animosity from all corners of the globe. Critics often applause Hemingway on his short simple prose, for which many people recognize him for. His writing builds upon the masterful usage of “short, simple words and short, simple sentences” (Wagner, 3) to create clear and easy to

In the story “A Clean, Well- Lighted Place” by Earnest Hemingway begins with the main character and his co-worker in a café. The two are analyzing, and discussing a deaf, drunk Oldman, who is their last customer of the day. As the deaf old man insists on having more whiskey, the main character informs the young waiter as to why and how the old man tried to commit suicide. They began to converse about the Oldman’s depressed life. The younger waiter is in a rush to go home to his wife, while the older waiter is patient and he stands up for the Oldman, being able to relate to him. Hemingway’s sentence structure and writing style represents the comparison and contrast between setting, people, and objects, along with emphasizing how it is to have and be nothing.

In Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago demonstrates the traits of the code hero. The Hemingway’s code hero covers the principal ideals of honor, courage, and endurance in a misfortune life. Throughout the novel, Santiago shows a contrast between opposite attitudes and values which associate his behavior with the guidelines of the code. In this case, the depiction of conflicting values, such as dignity despite humility, perseverance despite despair, and victory despite defeat are aspects that help to describe and understand the role of Santiago in the novel, and reflect the reason why this character is perfectly suited to the heroic conduct established by Hemingway.

Hemingway has a way of making his readers believe that the feats and strengths that his characters obtain in his novels are actually possible. Although this statement may be too critical, and maybe there is a man out there, somewhere on the coast of Cuba who at this very moment is setting out to the open sea to catch a marlin of his own. The struggle many readers have is believing the story of Santiago’s physical powers and his strength against temptation bring forward the question of whether or not The Old Man and the Sea is worthy to be called a classic. Hemingway’s Santiago brought Faulkner and millions of other readers on their knees, while to some, believed Hemingway

Many of Ernest Hemingway’s stories are either literally or figuratively based on his life experiences. The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Bimini, Bahamas, and published in 1952. It was the last major work by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. Its writing was influenced by his life around him. This is shown through the way the novella is written and key events and parts within it. The Old Man and the Sea can be interpreted as an allegory of Hemingway’s life and career at the time he wrote it.

“Hemingway’s greatness is in his short stories, which rival any other master of the form”(Bloom 1). The Old Man and the Sea is the most popular of his later works (1). The themes represented in this book are religion (Gurko 13-14), heroism (Brenner 31-32), and character symbolism (28). These themes combine to create a book that won Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributed to his Nobel Prize for literature in 1954 (3).

Throughout the book, The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway uses a writing style known as stream of consciousness which entails using uninterrupted thoughts and feelings of the main character. This writing style shows through the character Santiago while he is at sea. Santiago talks to himself which essentially correlates to how he feels at that moment. The usage of the technique stream of consciousness engages the reader into how the character feels during that moment making the reader connected to the character. Hemingway uses this technique to its fullest in the novel when the author shows Santiago talking to himself about DiMaggio and to then eventually thinking that he wanted to be the marlin.

Hemingway's writing technique is an interesting way of writing. His “Iceberg Theory” is influential to writers today. His theory is composed up of 10% conscious mind and 90% of only subconscious mind. He was an authentic writer. His writing is relatable and believable because of the silences he would use and short sentences. Hemingway’s writing was is close to everyday encounters and situations. He is widely known for his writing and stories. He gave a new flavor to writing and touched people's hearts in a personal way. Because of his special writing, his structured way of writing will live out for generations to come.