The Old Man and the Sea is a heroic tale of mans strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the Old Man and the Sea strives to teach important life lessons to the reader. The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other.
Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiagos feelings. He even offers to go against his parents wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore unlucky. Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend.
Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiagos bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the great fish that we truly see his valor and perseverance.
Through Santiagos actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his luckiness and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself.
This is perhaps his greatest attribute because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant Marlin. Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance. Santiago also draws upon his past victories for strength. After he hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native in what he called the hand game. It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him it was a reminder of his youthful days. His recollections of this event usually preceded a favorite dream of his in which he saw many lions on a peaceful shore.
These lions represented him when he was young and strong and could overcome any challenge. Although he was an old man and his body was no longer like it used to be his heart was still great and he eventually defeated the Marlin. Santiagos perseverance and bravery are further illustrated when he tries to fight off the sharks. He was a fisherman all his life and therefore he knew that the fate of his catch was inevitable yet he persisted to fight the sharks. The battle between him and the sharks was about principles not a mere fish. Santiago was still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until the end.
One of the greatest and most obvious symbolisms in the story is Christianity. From the beginning of the story the reader is shown a unique relationship between Santiago and Manolin. Their relationship parallels that of Christ and his disciples. Manolin is Santiagos disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about fishing and life. One of the greatest lessons that Santiago gives is that of a simple faith. Have faith in the Yankees my son. This type of faith reflects the basic principles of Christianity. Hemingways description of Santiago further illustrates Christian symbolism.
Hemingway gives a reference to the nail-pierced hands of Christ by stating that Santiagos hands had deep creased scars. Hemingway also parallels Santiagos suffering to that of Christ by stating, he settled against the wood and took his suffering as it came. Even more profound is the description of Santiagos response when he saw the sharks, just a noise such a man might make, involuntarily feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood. Further symbolism is shown when Santiago arrives home and carries the mast across his shoulders as Christ carried the cross to Calvary.
Also, like Christ, Santiago could not bare the weight and collapsed on the road. When he finally reached his cabin he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up. Hemingway puts these themes together in such a way that they do not conflict with each other. He does allow Christianity to be a more dominant theme than the other but instead makes it more symbolic than intentional. He does not smother the relationship between the old man and the young boy but instead separates them for a large part of the story.
Finally, he does not make Santiagos bravery a central them by highlighting his weaknesses. In the end the old mans perseverance and faith pay off. He finally gains the respect of the village and succeeds in teaching Manolin the lessons of faith and bravery. In an essay written by a woman named Chira, I found that Christianity was the main focus. The first two pages of this essay were centered on summarizing the story of “The Old Man and the Sea”. The other page and a half was the comparison of the book to biblical references.
I found this to be true as well in the reading of the story. I feel that this story had many lessons to be learned and one of the most important being to believe in God. In an essay published in TIME Magazine in 1962, states that this story has almost none of Hemmingway’s usual truculence but is very straight forward in it approach. TIME also says that any critic, even those of critical cults, will refer to this piece as a masterpiece. This essay also gives reference to the Creator and the underlying theme presented in the book. I found this to be the best critical essay that I read.
In the third essay by a man named Oldello, his main focus was also on the Christian references made in the book. This man took excerpts from the book and compared them to biblical quotes. It was very interesting to see how the book reinforced the messages that are laid out in the Bible. This essay was very effective in the way that Oldello compared and contrasted the “old man’s” struggle with those of people in the Bible. I think that this was the most interesting of the three critical essays that I read about “The Old Man and the Sea”.