The delicate balance between pride and modesty that Hemingway illustrates in The Old Man and the Sea allows the reader to understand their own place within the natural world through prideful and modest actions.
The feeling of pride is essential to the makeup of humans as a species; the superior range of emotions and knowledge have categorized homo sapiens to the top of the hierarchical system amongst animals. In many ways, the ability to feel pride is a double-edged sword. In some instances, being prideful shows accomplishment and achievement as a success that should be celebrated by the community. In other circumstances, being prideful portrays a sense of superiority that does not resonate well with the community. In general, we strive for
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When Santiago’s pride is high, he is trying to match that of the marlin to seem as strong and as capable as possible; when Santiago’s modesty is high, it is because he understands the beauty and greatness of the sea and respects it.
By doing so, Hemingway has made a situation where Santiago can’t help but seem humane and relatable to the audience. Santiago’s actions are justifiable, as explained above, because he understands the world and either tries to match it or respect it.
The balance between pride and modesty is one that Hemingway has learned to perfect over the course of The Old Man and the Sea. The audience can very easily see the delicate balance that humanity must find within its own world even by looking at a remote Chilean fishing village; although the audience does not live here, the elements of pride and modesty are so identifiable in the characters that the ideas become applicable in the everyday lives of the readers.
Essentially, Hemingway has created a situation where the audience sees themselves within the novel as Santiago and the marlin, and in doing so, Hemingway has made the reader one step closer to understanding themselves and how they’re acts of pride and modesty fit into the natural
The great war was a major impact throughout the world, as Canadians fought through each battle defeating enemies in their way as well as reconquering land. Vimy Ridge was one significant battle which Canada fought by their allies the Great Britain Arthur Currie was a general for the battle of Vimy Ridge as the success for the battle he created a tactic strategy on defeating the Germans off the hill, which was the “creeping barrage” this tactic was used by soldiers would shoot and distract them while other soldiers would go behind and kill them. As with massive amounts by General Arthur Currie of detailed planning required to achieve the operation, it was essentially the most sophisticated stratagem that depended on the success of soldiers following
Throughout the whole book Santiago shows many signs of courage. In the beginning, Santiago gets in his boat and sails out into the sea. He usually stays near shore, like all the other boats. However, today “He elects to risk all by reaching beyond man’s reach by going ‘too far out”’ (a readers guide 192). He is not a man with a lot of strength. He is very old and has to have someone help him do certain tasks. His hands are very brittle and there is times where he can not rely on them. They bleed and get stuck in the fist position when he does too much manual labor. Often times his left hand is what gives him the most trouble. However, none of this ever stops him from doing what he believes in. Hemingway uses this quote to show readers that Santiago can still do anything he wants, “I will handle him with the right arm alone” (16). While his left hand is not much use, Santiago does not let that stop him from holding onto the line with only his right hand. In the end, after the fish dies he is finally on his way back home. With him being such full of courage “he did not need a compass to tell him where Southeast was. He only needed the feel of the trade winds” (Hemingway 27). He is not scared at all about getting lost. He knows exactly how to get himself home. He does not need anyone or anything telling him which direction he needs to travel. As he was relying on the trade winds he finally makes it back
Have you ever been on vacation and was scared to go into the ocean because of sharks? Since many people are unaware of the potential danger of the ocean, they would be enlightened to know about the deadliest sharks, ways to prevent attacks and even about Bethany Hamilton’s horrific story!
“But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated. (Hemingway 103).” This quote, written by Ernest Hemingway in the short story The Old Man and the Sea, captures the theme perseverance in numerous ways. This quote describes when the old man Santiago was struck down physically, with the injuries of his hands and the pain of staying awake for a number of days. However, he mentally kept pushing forward, leading to his ultimate survival and his arrival home. Ernest Hemingway wanted the readers of this story to learn about the rewards of perseverance because of the hardship Santiago and the marlin had to endure, rather than themes such as luck, pride, and suffering.
The forces of the universe have crucified both Santiago and the marlin. We see this when Santiago carries his mast cross-like to his shack and the author's description of his exhausted repose "face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms up" (Hemingway 122). Yet, through this struggle, through this pride that made him go far out beyond all people, Santiago learns the meaning of life in a meaningless universe is humility and love. We see this expressed most clearly in his mentor-like relationship with Manolin. Human solidarity and interdependence may not make a man any more capable of beating the forces of the universe, but they are sustaining as much as the courage and dignity with which Santiago faces life "the boy keeps me alive, he thought. I must not deceive myself too much" (Hemingway 106). Before coming to shore, Santiago recognizes he has gained humility and he is loved. He is appreciative the other fishers will worry about him. They bring him food and newspapers to
Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea has engendered some lively debate in literary circles. Critics have concentrated on everything in the novella from the verity of Rigel's early evening appearance over Cuban skies in September (Weeks 192) to William Faulkner's judgment that Hemingway discovered God while writing The Old Man and the Sea (Bradford 158-62). Yet the most insightful commentary has gravitated invariably toward biblical, natural, and classical imagery in the novel. These images turn an otherwise simple fishing tale into a sublime narrative of human endurance. A reading that examines these images will serve to clarify the hidden significance in
But perhaps the greatest figure of masculinity found in Hemingway’s work is Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea. He keeps his composure and maintains dignity after the fish that he has been fighting is lost to the sharks.
Examples of the “code” hero in Hemingway’s work include Manuel the bullfighter, in “The Undefeated” he fights with a noble dignity even when he is jeered by the crowd and gored by the bull, along with Wilson, the big game hunter from “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” who shows no fear when confronted with a charging lion. But perhaps the greatest figure of masculinity found in Hemingway’s work is Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea. He keeps his composure and maintains dignity after the fish that he has been fighting is lost to the sharks.
There is tension between Santiago and the marlin throughout the entire novel. The old man finds kinship with the fish against a common enemy. “‘Half fish,’ he said. ‘Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear on your head for nothing’” (Hemingway 115). Although he does not recognize it himself, the stakes of the battle with the marlin are so high thanks to
Both Kant and Mill describe morality as a responsibility towards positive impacts. Kant views morality as thought out actions leading to positive outcomes for others through means of using ones conscience (Kant, Immanuel, 2). Therefore, a person’s actions should result in a positive impact on others, and a person should think carefully before doing something to ensure that. Immorality as defined by Kant describes self-centered actions that do not benefit any other human being while Mill’s theory focuses on the majorities’ happiness. However, if the action leads to dissatisfaction and disappointments, Mills regards such a situation as immoral. For both Kant and Mill, moral actions result in a certain level happiness or societal
The word pride in itself isn’t an important word but it’s meaning implies many things. There are several different definitions for pride. Pride can be referred to as a type of plant, a form of body ornamentation, or even a group of lions. The most commonly used definition of pride is being proud, or having a feeling of great accomplishment and feeling self-satisfaction. The word pride both positive and negative meanings that can be seen throughout history.
“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).
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's view of human nature was that happiness was rare and was found within a man and not in his outside circumstances or surroundings. Hemingway illustrates this in three ways. First, he portrays the human nature of Santiago, the main character, as being one of humility and compassion, full of strength and pride. He is shown not as a gleefully happy man, but one who meets life with a serene, quiet resilience. Second, Santiago's fellow villagers are shown as shallow and materialistic, with a narrow view of life compared to his. Their focus on appearances is in sharp contrast to Santiago's focus on intrinsic values. Third, it will be shown that his rare
The immense importance of the short novel finds reflection in that it is a successful attempt to depict the concepts of isolation, individualism, and pride, as well as the reflection on heroism and the human striving for live. In the image of Santiago who strongly resembles the author of the book, Hemingway sought to show “a noble and tragic individualism revealing what a man can do in an indifferent