Symbolism in “The Old Man And The Sea”

• Paper No. 10 : The American Literature:• Unit-3 : The Old man and The Sea• Name: Trivedi Hezal K.• PG Reg. No. PG15101040 • Roll No:32• M.A. – English Regular, Semester-1 Year: 2015• Submitted to: S.B. Gardi Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University (Gujarat – India)

Introduction

The Old Man And The Sea is a novel written by Earnest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It is one of his famous work and it centres upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who struggles with a giant Marlin far out in the sea.

What is Symbolism?Symbolism is something that gives a

special meaning to an action, person, place, word, or object in a piece of

literature. Authors of stories use symbolism to make a point about an

emotion or mood instead of just saying it.

Symbolism in The Old Man And The Sea

The Old Man, Santiago Manolin

The Mast Harpoon

Sharks The Sea

The MarlinLions

Joe DiMaggio

The Old Man, Santiago

In the novella Hemingway call Santiago as old man and it has very symbolic meaning that shows that he has lost his youth.

Old man’s struggle represents and compared with the struggle of Jesus Christ

The biblical influence of the story shows that the old man and Jesus Suffered in many of the same ways. The Old Man was the fisherman of fish and Jesus was the fisherman of souls.

The Sea

The sea represents life and the struggles that every person must endure.

According to Hemingway, man was most able to prove himself worthy in isolation. The sea, in the novel, represents the life and Santiago’s isolation in the universe.

It is as sea, with no help and no reorganization, that Santiago faces his ultimate challenge.

The novel, in this regard, is an example of Naturalism in Literature.

The Marlin

The Marlin represents a worthy opponent of Santiago. The Marlin provides a contrast to the sharks which are unworthy opponents not worthy Santiago’s efforts.

Magnificent and glorious, the Marlin symbolizes the ideal opponent. In a world in which “Everything kills everything else in some way,” Santiago feels genuinely lucky to find himself matched against a creature that brings out the in him: his strength, courage, love, and respect.

Manolin

Manolin symbolizes pure love, compassion and circle of life. Between Manolin and Old Man there is vast age differences between them it’s symbolizes their skill of fishing.

“The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him” – Symbolizes as a Christ and one of his disciple.

Manoliin is the symbol of hope.

Sharks

The sharks are one of many symbols in The Old Man And The Sea. The sharks in the story represent struggle and obstacles of life.

Many people would overlook the sharks when thinking about the symbols in The Old Man And The Sea.

Symbolized the opposite of the marlin. Santiago considers the sharks base predators, not worthy of glory. They represent destructive forces in life that serve no purpose.

However, the sharks are in great contrast to marlin. The shoved hosed sharks have attacked the marlin thoughtlessly.

The lions

The use of lions is symbolic for old man’s memory of his youth. They represents vitality and youth. The lion imagery at the end of the novel represents hope of eternal life.

The dream that Santiago has about the lions on the beach is a major symbol in the story. Since lions are strong, proud animals, the author uses them to symbolize Santiago’s childhood and his strength and pride when he was a young boy.

Lions are strong creatures, predators, hunters just as the old man hunts the marlin.

DiMaggio

DiMaggio symbolizes the value of enduring through pain and suffering. And symbols of motivation for Santiago. DiMaggio represents Santiago’s pride and strength

Joe DiMaggio also represents hope that the old man has for Manolin. Santiago wishes that the boy will grow up and be like the great DiMaggio strong and young so that he will not be a poor fisher like he is

“ But i think the great DiMaggio would be proud of me today. I had no bone spurs. But the hand and the back truly hurt” (Hemingway 97)

The Mast

The Mast is an obvious allusion to the cross of Jesus. It is on his skiff, where stands the mast, that Santiago suffers. Santiago suffers at sea for three days with painful injuries to the palms of his hands and his back.

“ Then he shouldered the mast and started to climb” (Hemingway 121)

The Harpoon

Santiago loses the Harpoon as he fends off sharks, symbolic of individuals who lose their faith as life’s woes attack. Much like Santiago without a harpoon, those without faith are defenceless.

Other Symbols

Numbers

The Bird

Christianity

Conclusion

• The novel is representation of life as struggle against unconquerable force of nature.

• This novella, the symbolism has far deeper significance and Hemingway symbolized person, place or thing to represent the real meaning of his writing.