Hemingway and a HeroErin Elizabeth Ellen FowlerPeriod 3Mrs. HaugheyOutline1. The Hemingway Code is an idea of what all heroes have in common. 2. One of Hemingway’s best novels was The Old Man and the Sea fore it was a story of skill.
3. The Old Man and the Sea was a story of courage from Santiago’s point of view.
4. Also a story of courage from the fish’s point of view.
5. Victory in the soul but in reality, defeat, was demonstrated in this novel.
6. Santiago earned his pride and self-respect from his suffering.
7. Hemingway’s way of writing is directed towards the eye rather than the ear.
8. Fear is always present and Hemingway made sure you felt the momentary truce, of facing a fear, in a hopeless battle.
9. One of the symbols constantly mentioned in the story is that of the great baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
The Old Man and the Sea is a beloved novel because of the style in which Hemingway writes, his idea of a hero, and how he applied it affectively. The code for his heroes way in which they act with courage, always strive to prove them selves one more time, not to complain about their suffering. The writing techniques brought the story in to full multimedia life by letting the reader see what is going on. Finally, the way it all just seems to fit together in the end. The Hemingway code is an idea of what all heroes have in common. In the words of Irving Howe, There emerges…the characteristics hero of the Hemingway world: the hero who was wounded the bears his wound in silence who is sensitive to but scorns to devalue his feelings into words who is defeated but finds a remnant of dignity in an honest confrontation of defeat.(232) This code is a code of honor to all who attain it. Even in today’s life we can find this hero. Take a fireman, there is a fire ripping a building to shreds with its furry. The firemen come in to the blazing wreck insuring that they will get burnt. Bearing their wounds in silence. When they save the last family in that building they would cheer and go on how brave he was and he would think of it as a days work. But, if he did not save that last family member he would find pride in not having all the family members died in the building. What is the Hemingway Code? It’s had the fear of death on your back but you will still fight on. And, even if you do not completely finish the task you still find pride in what you did.
One of Hemingway’s best novels was The Old Man and the Sea fore it was a story of skill. Santiago, the hero, is an elderly man tanned and wrinkled from fishing all his life and from that he is skilled with the art of the task. “He kept the lines} Straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there.”(32) This alone shows how precise he was about fishing, proving his skills of a fisherman. If he did not keep the lines straight down they can all be at the same level. Then, only the fish around that one level, which would a shallower part of water, could smell and maybe take the bait. At that if it was in shallow water where the smaller fish are he cannot have gotten as big as a fish as he did. For, as the author wrote, the fish he caught took the bait closer to the bottom of the gulf. The dolphin and the flying fish, which are smaller, took the bait closer the surface of the water. If Santiago did not have the skill, which you need to be a fisherman, this novel would not have had a point. For, he would not have even caught the fish. Than there would not have been a story, which is, why this story is about skill. The Old Man and the Sea was a story of Santiago’s courage. When Santiago could no longer see Havana he realized that he could not do anything with the fish. With courage he reassured him self that the fish could not do anything with him either so he might as well keep fishing and stay with the fish until he is dead. A little fear raised and with the courage he ignored the temptation of believing he was too old for fishing. Proving yet afraid of the outcome he stilled will sailed on with the fish. Without this factor, again there would not be a novel. If he did not have the courage from the beginning he would have cut the marlin free. Having no hero, having no plot, having absolutely no reason at all to write this story. But, Santiago did have the courage to go on to the very bitter end even when the sharks started to eat the marlin. He had his courage, which got him through the ordeal of the plot. Which help this story to be as great as it really is.
This novel is also a story of the marlin’s courage. The marlin with the hook pulling and tearing the tender fleshing in his mouth still went steadily along in the water. Yet just like Santiago he would have sudden burst of fear but would over come them just as quickly as they came. For instance, when Santiago awoke form a jerk on the line, this was a symbol to show the marlin’s fear. He went steadily alone for hours on end, than all of a sudden he thought that maybe he could not win and panicked. Yet the great fish did recover and return back to his slow stead pace. If the fish did not have his courage he would have just let Santiago real him in. Ending the story without courage. Even with Santiago’s courage you need the marlin’s to show just how important courage is needed on both sides to have a story. If one just gives up the other does not seem to be all that courage’s. Which is why the marlin’s courage is important to have the story too.
Victory in the soul but in reality, defeat, was demonstrated in this novel. When Santiago killed the fish he was over joy with happiness. He tried to calculate how much he would get for him. But, alas, disaster hit and when he came to the port he did not have a fish to make money off of. He still was very proud of the battle with the fish and especially winning the battle with him. Yet, he was still defeated in the end. Which is the plot summary of the story. Man goes fishing, man catches fish, man loses fish in and the battle seems worthless yet glad he won. The same, although, can be said about the fish. The fish fought the battle well better and stronger than another fish Santiago has ever seen. The marlin was proud he last that long but, he died after the battle was over and than devoured by sharks he could have won battles against. Fish goes hunting, gets hunted, gets caught, battle strong and hard, and loses, than gets eating for the wrong reason. Without this again there would not be a novel.
Santiago earned his pride and self-respect from his suffering. Every time he went out on the skiff he felt he had to reprove him self. His pride and self-respect is why this story is what it is. If he didn’t care enough but, not being a fisherman and more and to prove him self he wouldn’t have gone fishing in the first place. After the sharks came and took all the meat off the fish he still brought the skeleton home. To prove that it was not just shame that kept him away from home so long. It showed the long tormented hours of backbreaking work what was done. That he won the fight over the fish by him self in his small little skiff after everyone around the town thought he went salao, which is the worst kind of unlucky there is. When the entire fishermen club at the port saw the skeleton they thought what a battle. Than instantly after, to bad he could not hold off the sharks. They all gave Santiago his respect for at least hanging out there as long as he could.
Hemingway’s way of writing is directed towards the eye rather than the ear. In his descriptive writing you can see the waves and the glow of Havana in the west. For example, “The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it. The water was a dark blue now, so dark that it was almost purple.” Hemingway did this through out his novel and his short stories periodically. Letting the reader see what the character sees through his or her eyes. Instead of hearing the waves crash on the shore or the splash of the fish. In fact, there is more description of what is happening than dialog. Which helps this novel to be a great work. The way Hemingway has done this to make the reader think that he is their wetting the line for Santiago for him and want so badly to see in focus what is happening. If Hemingway did not right in this style it would just be a man in a boat with a plain big fish in the ugly, polluted sea. Fear is always present and Hemingway made sure you felt the momentary truce, of facing a fear, in a hopeless battle. This is shown in two ways the fish, and Santiago. Near the end of the novel Santiago finally made the fish circle his skiff. When the fish came dangerously close he would simply turn so Santiago could not get a clear shot of killing him. When the fish did get hit with the harpoon the fish came alive with his death and jumped about until his final breath. His fear got to him at last, though he resisted the temptation of freaking out for such a long time he now realized it was a hopeless battle and death was upon him like the water surrounding him. Facing the fear of fate gave the reality of the story. Thinking that he is afraid and showing he is afraid is a night and day concept in which Hemingway use well and often. At the end of the book Santiago can’t even look at the fish for fear that his beauty that once was isn’t there anymore. Hemingway wrote, “There was nothing more for the sharks} to eat. The old man could hardly breathe now.” Santiago could not breath now because his fear had at last come true. And, in seeing this a reader can pick up on the reality of the story and relate.
One of the symbols constantly mentioned in the story is that of the great baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Although it is not apparent without careful study of the text, it can be seen that the “Great DiMaggio” was a simple fisherman in early life, much like the old man, and achieved stardom despite adversity. The old man has this great battle with an enormous fish, and throughout the whole ordeal, he constantly reassures himself by saying that “the Great DiMaggio” would have been able to pull through this. Just as DiMaggio managed to struggle through the pain of a bone spur, the old man was able to struggle through the pain of his hands, and his immense adversity in the fish. Referring to the meaning, we can see that this relates to life in that we can always struggle through what is painful, so long as we stick to our principles and our guidance’s.
The Old Man and the Sea is a beloved novel because of the style in which Hemingway writes, his idea of a hero, and how he applied it affectively. The code for his heroes way in which they act with courage, always strive to prove them selves one more time, not to complain about their suffering. The writing techniques that brought the story in to full multimedia life by letting the reader see what is going on. In conclusion, this book is perfect. BibliographyWorks CitedButterfield, Herbie. “Ernest Hemingway,” in American Fiction: New Readings. (1983): 184-199. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Richard Gray. Vol 41. Detroit, Gale, 1985, 456-457.
Fiedler, Leslie. “The Death of the Old Men,” in his Waiting for the End. (1964): 9-19. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 3. Detroit, Gale, 1975, 232-233.
—. “An Almost Imaginary Interview Hemingway in Ketchlum.” In Partisan Review. (1962) Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 3. Detroit, Gale, 1975, 232-233.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1952Howe, Irving. A World More Attractive: A View of Modern Literature and Politics. (1963): 65-70. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1975, 232-233.
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