Ernest Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea" - analysis. Ernest Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea" - analysis Going to sea
The first three associations when we hear the name Hemingway: wine, gun, “man's prose.” The last definition is very important, because now “boyish prose” is in use, and Ernest Hemingway is a “male” author. A man always remains a man, even in old age. The work of the American classic “The Old Man and the Sea” tells us about this. His analysis hurries with all possible speed to appear before the bright eyes of the reader of this article.
Plot
The story is about old man Santiago and his fight with a huge fish.
Small village in Cuba. The elderly fisherman was no longer lucky; for almost three months he had not known the sweet feeling of satisfaction from the caught catch. The boy Manolin went halfway through disappointment with him. Then the parents informed the younger partner that Santiago was no longer friendly with fortune and their son would be better off looking for another company for going to sea. Besides, you have to feed your family. The boy yielded to the wishes of his parents, although he himself did not want to leave the old fisherman, he really liked him.
And then the day came on which, as the old man felt, everything was about to change. And indeed, that’s what happened: Santiago managed to hook a huge fish. The man and the fish fought for several days, and when the prey was defeated, the old man dragged it home, tying it to the boat. But while they were fighting, the boat was carried far out to sea.
On the way home, the old man was already mentally counting the profits from selling fish, when he suddenly noticed shark fins on the surface of the water.
He repelled the attack of the first shark, but when the sea animals attacked in a flock, the fisherman could no longer cope. The predators left the boat alone only after they had almost completely eaten the fisherman’s “reward” (all that was left of the fish caught by the elderly man was a trophy - a huge skeleton).
The old man did not bring his catch to his village, but he proved his worth as a fisherman. Santiago, of course, was upset and even cried. The first to meet him on the shore was his faithful companion, Manolin, who was torn away from the old man only by parental orders and the need to get food for his family. He consoled the old man and said that he would never leave him again and would learn a lot from him, and together they would catch many more fish.
We hope that the reader did not find the retelling offered here incomplete, and if he suddenly asks: “Why is the content of the work (“The Old Man and the Sea”) short?” “Analysis also requires space, dear reader,” we will answer him.
For such a not too complicated story, Ernest Hemingway received in 1953 and in 1954 the Nobel Prize in Literature, which recognized the entire work of the writer.
Let the reader not be angry for the long prelude to the study, but without the plot of the story called “The Old Man and the Sea,” it is difficult to carry out an analysis, because it must be based on facts presented at least concisely.
Why is the story called “The Old Man and the Sea”?
Hemingway is a wonderful writer. He was able to write a story in such a way that it delighted specialists and more than one generation of readers, and in the work the writer raised the eternal theme of man and the elements. “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis carried out in this article confirms this conclusion) is a story, first of all, about the struggle of a decrepit, old man and an eternally young, strong and powerful element. In the story, not only the fish is important, but also nature in general. It is with this that a person fights and does not lose in this battle.
Why was the old man chosen as the main character?
The study of the book “The Old Man and the Sea” (its analysis) suggests an answer to this, in general, obvious question.
If the fisherman were young, the story would not be so dramatic, it would be an action movie, like, for example, “To Have and Have Not” by the same author. In the winning work, Hemingway managed to squeeze out of the reader a stingy male tear (or uncontrollable and loud female sobs) about the sad fate of the old sea wolf.
Hemingway's special techniques that immerse the reader in the atmosphere of the story
There is no exciting development of events in the book of the American classic. The work has almost no dynamics, but it is full of internal drama. Some may think that Hemingway's storytelling is boring, but this is not the case at all. If the writer had not paid so much attention to detail and had not described in such detail the suffering of the old man at sea, then the reader would not have been able to fully feel the suffering of the sailor with his own gut. In other words, if there had not been this “viscosity and stickiness” of the text, then “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis of the work proves this) would not have been such a heartfelt composition.
Old man Santiago and boy Manolin - a story of friendship between two generations
In addition to the main theme in the book written by Ernest Hemingway, there are additional reasons for thought. One of them is the friendship between an old man and a boy. How touchingly Manolin worries about Santiago, how he encourages him during failures. There is an opinion that old people and children get along so well because some have recently emerged from oblivion, while others will soon get there. This common Motherland, from where some come and others are about to leave, brings them closer together on an unconscious and intuitive level.
If we talk specifically about the two heroes, it seems that the boy simply feels that the old man is a master of his craft, a seasoned sailor. Manolin probably believes that he actually has a lot to learn from him, and while he is alive, this opportunity should not be missed.
All that remains for us in the story “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis of the work is almost completed) is to consider only the issue of discrimination. He was hardly concerned with Ernest Hemingway when he wrote a masterpiece that is very topical at the present time, but the story provides food for thought in this direction.
Discrimination and “Old Man...”
At all times, it has been customary to treat children, the elderly and the disabled with condescension: some can do little else, others are no longer suitable for something serious, and still others are placed outside the usual framework by nature itself.
But Ernest Hemingway didn’t think so at all. “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis given in the article confirms this) says that all people written off by society still have hope for salvation and accomplishment. And children and old people can even unite into an excellent team that can outshine many.
The experience and old age of the fisherman in the story of the American classic are presented as advantages. Indeed, imagine if the fisherman were young and full of strength, he most likely would not be able to withstand the fight with the fish and would fall unconscious. Young - yes, old - no, never!
Ernest Hemingway himself thought a lot about the heroic figure of the fisherman. “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis confirms this) is a monument to human courage.
"Man can be destroyed, but cannot be defeated"
For an old man, this is not just a job. For him, fighting at sea is a way to prove to himself and society that he is still in the zone, and therefore has no right to “pass out” due to hunger and thirst, the sun and even numbness of the limbs, much less die.
Yes, the sailor did not deliver his fish this time, but he still accomplished the feat. And we firmly believe that some other old man (not necessarily a conqueror of the sea) will certainly have the opportunity to get even with fate like his brother and create something outstanding.
Composition
“Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.”
E. Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway is a man of amazing destiny, the author of a number of wonderful books, among which a special place belongs to the story “The Old Man and the Sea,” created in the middle of the 20th century, in 1952, a story for which the writer was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Why was this small work, telling about the fishermen of the island of Cuba, so highly appreciated by the world community? Why is it that even today, when you read it, your heart sank with pain for a person, then you are overcome with pride for him, exhausted, barely alive, but undefeated?
I think the point is that “The Old Man and the Sea” is not an everyday story, but a story-parable glorifying Man, praising his courage and perseverance.
The plot of the work is very simple. An old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, goes to sea to fish. After eighty-four days of unsuccessfully searching for prey, he comes across a huge swordfish. She is so big and strong that, having swallowed the hook, she swims far out to sea, dragging the old man’s boat with her. The duel between the fisherman and the giant fish lasts for three days and three nights. In the end, Santiago is victorious, but the predatory sharks devour his prey. Instead of a beautiful fish that could feed many people (the old fisherman thinks about this all the time), he brings only its skeleton to the shore.
It would seem that the hero should be humiliated, broken by his defeat, angry at the whole world. But no! The old fisherman - a man of great courage - does not despair: he is sure that not today, but tomorrow, having gathered his strength, he will again go to sea for a big fish and try to win.
This story is probably so moving because Hemingway is very precise and specific in describing the life and struggle of the old fisherman. Calmly, measuredly, avoiding lofty words, the writer talks about all the details of Santiago’s duel with a huge fish, conveys his thoughts about the meaning of human life, about the unity of man with nature, about the fact that we humans are not the masters of nature, but a part of it, and are subject to the same laws that govern sunsets, sunrises, sea waves, wonderful fish, and saber-toothed predators sharks.
You believe the writer because, loving his hero and admiring him, the author does not seek to embellish him. He, the author, is convinced that a person like Santiago does not need beautiful words: the old fisherman, exhausted, with eyes reddened from lack of sleep, with naughty hands eaten away by salt water, with a mouth clogged with thirst, is truly beautiful and undaunted, nothing can force him to give up, to submit to the evil will of fate. The image of this particular simple man-worker grows to a symbol of Man, the “big fish” is a symbol of a great goal, which contains the meaning of human life, and sharks embody the predatory, evil principle. In the fight against this evil, Man defends his right to self-respect and a decent life.
The writer does not convince us that it is easy. The strength of his hero is that, having suffered defeat, he does not despair, does not lose faith in himself and, more importantly, continues to believe in the final triumph of the good beginning.
Santiago is going to continue his business with the Boy. The image of the Boy in the story is very important: it embodies faith in the future, the idea that a person is not alone in the struggle of life.
Yes, Santiago is plagued by bad luck. The symbol of the bad luck that haunts the old man becomes the sail of his boat, “all covered in burlap patches,” reminiscent of “the banner of a completely defeated regiment.” But the writer, emphasizing the old age of the fisherman, notes that he “has the cheerful eyes of a man who does not give up.”
The description of the old man’s duel with a big fish is also unforgettable, when, straining his strength to the limit, Santiago continues the single combat with it, confident that he will not retreat. “Fish,” he called quietly, “I will not part with you until I die.”
He is convinced that man was not created “to endure defeat.” This is why the old man does not remain inactive when his fish is attacked by sharks. Although he is old and emaciated, although his hands are wounded, he continues to fight.
After the knife tied to the oar breaks, Santiago fails to save his fish from predatory sharks, but he accepts the collapse of his hopes calmly and with dignity. “Who defeated you, old man? - he asked himself. “Nobody,” he answered. “I just went too far out to sea.”
The work does not have a tragic ending. Exhausted, exhausted, but undefeated, the old man still makes it to the port.
And we close the story with faith in the creative potential of man, in the indestructible power of his love of life and perseverance.
The drama that took place in the distant sea does not leave a feeling of hopelessness and despair. While a person is alive, the heroic principle in him cannot die, and this is his greatness. The Boy bows before Santiago’s resilience, and so do we, the readers. There is great respect for this man, who fought even after he realized that the fight was futile. Life taught him a lot, but he never learned to retreat.
Yes, “man - that sounds proud!” - with this thought we close this unforgettable story - one of the most beautiful books of our century.
Other works on this work
Man and Nature (based on E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea") Man and Nature (based on E. Hemingway’s story “The Old Man and the Sea”) (First version) Old Man Santiago, defeated or victorious “The Old Man and the Sea” - a book about a man who does not give up Analysis of "The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemingway The main theme of Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea" Problems and genre features of E. Hemingway’s story “The Old Man and the Sea” A courageous hero of a courageous writer (based on Hemingway’s story “The Old Man and the Sea”)Illustration by Henry Seabright
Old man Santiago lives in a small fishing village in Cuba and fishes all alone. The last time he spent 84 days at sea, he did not catch anything. Previously, the boy Manolin fished with him, who helped the old man a lot, but the boy’s parents decided that Santiago was unlucky and told their son to go to sea on another boat.
The old man taught Manolin to fish, and the boy loves Santiago and wants to help him. He buys him sardines for bait and brings food to his hut. The old man had long since come to terms with his poverty.
He was too simple-minded to think about when humility came to him. But he knew that humility came without bringing with it either shame or loss of human dignity.
They talk with the boy about fishing and famous baseball players. At night, the old man dreams of the Africa of his youth, and “lions coming ashore.”
The next day, early in the morning, the old man goes fishing. The boy helps him take down the sail and prepare the boat. The old man says that this time he “believes in luck.”
One after another, fishing boats leave the shore and go out to sea. The old man loves the sea, he thinks of it with tenderness, as of a woman. Having baited the hooks, Santiago slowly floats with the flow, mentally communicating with the birds and fish. Accustomed to loneliness, the old man talks aloud to himself.
Before, when he was left alone, he sang; he sometimes sang at night, while on watch, when he was sailing on large sailboats or hunting for turtles.
The old man knows the different inhabitants of the ocean and treats them very tenderly.
First, Santiago catches a small tuna. He hopes that there is a big fish walking near the school of tuna that will like his sardines. Soon the old man notices a slight trembling of the flexible green rod, which replaces his fishing rod. The line goes down, and the old man feels the enormous weight of the fish that has bitten.
The old man tries to pull up the thick fishing line, but he fails - a large and strong fish pulls the light boat behind it. The old man regrets that the boy is not with him - he could remove the bait from other rods while Santiago fights with the fish.
About four hours pass. Evening is approaching. The old man’s hands are cut, he throws the fishing line over his back and places a bag under it. Now Santiago can lean against the side of the boat and rest for a while.
It is impossible for a person to remain alone in old age... However, this is inevitable.
Night. The fish pulls the boat further and further from the shore. The old man is tired, but the thought of fish does not leave him for a second. Sometimes he feels sorry for her - the fish, so big, strong and old, must die so that he can live on. Santiago talks to the fish: “I will not part with you until I die.”
The old man's strength is running out, but the fish is not going to get tired. At dawn, Santiago eats tuna - he has no other food. The old man's left hand is cramping. The old man hopes that the fish will float up, and then he can kill it with a harpoon. Finally the forest goes up, and a fish appears on the surface. She burns in the sun, her head and back are dark purple, and instead of a nose there is a sword as long as a baseball bat. It is two feet longer than the boat.
Alone, on the open sea, he was tightly tied to such a large fish, which he had never seen, which he had never even heard of.
Having appeared on the surface, the fish again goes into the depths, pulls the boat along with it, and the old man gathers strength to hold it. Not believing in God, he reads the “Our Father.”
Another day passes. To distract himself, the old man remembers baseball games. He remembers how he once measured his strength in a Casablanca tavern with a powerful black man, the strongest man in the port, how they sat at the table for a whole day, without giving up, and how he, in the end, gained the upper hand. He took part in similar fights more than once, won, but then gave it up, deciding that he needed his right hand for fishing.
The battle with the fish continues. Santiago holds the line with his right hand, knowing that when his strength runs out, it will be replaced by his left, the cramp in which has long passed. A small fishing rod catches a mackerel. The old man reinforces his strength with it, although this fish is not at all tasty. He feels sorry for the big fish that has nothing to eat, but this does not diminish his determination to kill it.
It's good that we don't have to kill the sun, moon and stars. It is enough that we extort food from the sea and kill our brothers.
At night, the fish comes to the surface and begins to walk in circles, sometimes approaching the boat, sometimes moving away from it. This is a sign that the fish is tired. The old man is preparing a harpoon to finish off the fish. But she steps aside. Because of fatigue, thoughts are confused in the old man’s head, and black spots dance before his eyes. Santiago gathers his remaining strength and plunges the harpoon into the fish's side.
And then the fish came to life, although it already carried death within itself - it rose high above the water, as if boasting of its enormous length and width, all its beauty and power.
Overcoming nausea and weakness, the old man ties the fish to the side of the boat and turns towards the shore. The direction of the wind tells him which way to sail to get home.
An hour passes before the first shark appears, having swum to the smell of blood. She approaches the stern and begins to tear the fish with her teeth. The old man hits her with a harpoon in the most vulnerable spot on her skull. She sinks to the bottom, taking with her a harpoon, part of a rope and a huge piece of fish.
Santiago kills two more sharks with a knife tied to an oar. These sharks take at least a quarter of the fish with them. On the fourth shark, the knife breaks, and the old man takes out a strong club.
He knew that every push of the shark on the boat meant a piece of torn off meat and that the fish now left a trail in the sea as wide as a highway, and accessible to all sharks in the world.
The next group of sharks attacks the boat just before sunset. The old man drives them away with blows to the head with his baton, but at night they return. Santiago fights the predators first with a club, then with a sharp piece of tiller. Finally the sharks swim away: they have nothing left to eat.
An old man enters the cove near his hut in the dead of night. Having removed the mast and tied the sail, he wanders towards the house, feeling incredibly tired. For a moment, the old man turns around and sees behind the stern of his boat a huge tail of a fish and the reflection of a white ridge.
A boy comes to the old man's hut. Santiago is sleeping. The boy cries when he sees his wounded palms. He brings the old man coffee, calms him down and assures him that from now on they will fish together, because he still has a lot to learn. He believes that he will bring good luck to the old man.
In the morning, fishermen look in amazement at the remains of a giant fish. Rich tourists come to the shore. They are surprised to notice a long white spine with a huge tail. The waiter tries to tell them what happened, but they don’t understand anything - they are too far from this life.
And the old man is sleeping at this time, and he dreams of lions.
Tahoe-Godi M.A. Preface to the story “The Old Man and the Sea” by E. Hemingway
E. Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea” - Ordzhonikidze: Ir, 1982.
The life of the remarkable American writer Ernest Hemingway began at the junction of two eras - the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was born in 1899 in the small town of Oak Park near Chicago. The father of the future writer Dr. Hemingway had a summer house in the forests of Northern Michigan on the shore of a small picturesque lake. In his first, largely autobiographical stories about Nick Adams, Hemingway will say that he was always grateful to his father “for two things: hunting and fishing... You need someone to give you, or at least give you a gun for the first time, and teach you how to to contact him, you need to live where there is fish or game in order to learn their habits...” Friendship with children from Indian villages, walks through the wilds of the virgin forest forever instilled in him a love of nature, of a free, dangerous camp life. Almost from my school days. Hemingway volunteered for the American Red Cross and, as a nineteen-year-old boy, found himself in the First World War in Italy. In a battle under fire, he received 227 wounds from mine fragments and miraculously remained alive. The trials did not break his courage and character, but caused him bitter disappointment in the war, which he was eager to fight, considering it fair, and which turned out to be a senseless massacre for the sake of the interests of imperialist governments. He expressed all the disgust, all the hatred for this war in the novel “A Farewell to Arms!” (1929), which made his name famous.
In subsequent years, he wrote many more books, and he had to fight many more times. He fought in defense of Republican Spain from the Francoists in '37, liberated Paris from fascist occupation in '44, and supported the revolution in Cuba in '59. He was always at the forefront of the fight.
How tempting such a life must seem to a young reader: flying on a military plane to the front and chasing German submarines on your boat, lion hunting and Spanish bullfighting, the green hills of Africa and the snows of Kilimanjaro. But this is not only a life full of events and adventures, it is the life of a hard worker. Always, on a hike and at home, with a notebook, in hand or at a typewriter, demanding of himself, struggling with his doubts and illnesses - he searched and found the right words, creating his works, constantly and hard. Therefore, Hemingway understood and was close to working people, he respected and loved them.
Hemingway's main theme is life, which has meaning only when it is filled with creative pursuits, love, struggle for a just cause, or dedication to one's work. Life for the sake of “filthy money”, wasted on personal pleasures without meaning or purpose, is always condemned by the writer. Life should be active and useful to people. “A man alone cannot do it,” one of Hemingway’s heroes came to this conclusion in the thirties. “Man can conquer everything,” the author asserts in the story “The Old Man and the Sea,” written by him in 1952.
The plot of the story is simple. This is an episode from the life of a poor Cuban fisherman. Old man Santiago is “the most unlucky,” he is “thin and emaciated,” he has bad catches, the other fishermen feel sorry for him. But he has not lost interest in life: he reads newspapers, keeps up with sports news, and cheers for baseball players. He is simple-minded and kind, he knows everything about birds and fish, about their habits, about the whims and secrets of the sea. That is why the boy Manolin loves him very much and wants to fish with him, despite the discontent of his parents. The boy is deeply devoted to the lonely old man and takes tender care of him. considers him the best fisherman, a master of his craft: “I still have a lot to learn from you, but you can teach me everything in the world.”
The old man “had everything old except his eyes, and his eyes were the color of the sea, the cheerful eyes of a man who does not give up.” All his life he dreamed of catching a big fish and realized his dream when he almost no longer had the strength to do so. He did not get the fruits of his labors - he was unable to bring his prey to the shore intact. Greedy sharks came across a giant fish tied by an old man to a boat and, despite all his resistance, devoured it, leaving only “a long white spine with a huge tail at the end.” The old man was unable to earn money, but he gets more - inner satisfaction from having completed his task. In the battle between man and fish, in the battle between man and the forces of nature, he, so weak, helpless and lonely, wins. He remains poor and miserable as he was, and his home remains just as pitiful with an adobe floor and a bed made of bare boards covered with newspapers - but he survived. He survived thanks to willpower, courage, professional skill, and persistent pursuit of his intended goal. His life is filled with meaning, and it is not for nothing that at the end of the story the old man has happy dreams; he sees himself in his youth, when a cabin boy made a trip to Africa. He dreams of lions - not terrible and cruel predators, but free, free animals playing merrily in the thickets on the shore of the warm sea. Santiago no longer feels lonely. Now the boy will go out to sea with him again. Manolin guards his sleep, he understands everything and is always ready to lend a helping hand to the old man.
At first glance, there are two heroes in the book, two real people of great soul - the Old Man and the Boy. But it is no coincidence that the author called his story “The Old Man and the Sea.” The sea is another main character of the story.
The everyday sea that fishermen encounter every day, which gives them their livelihood. Their work is associated with it, hard and exhausting physical labor; diseases, calluses and wounds on the hands from nets and ropes; eyes blinded by the sun of the sea.
The sea is mysterious, full of secrets and dangers, amazing riches and terrible monsters emerging from the depths. It either caresses the boat in calm weather, or threatens it in stormy weather. The sea, which is inextricably linked with man, for together they are particles of a single and great earthly Nature.
To talk about the unity of man and nature, Hemingway finds new words and colors, a new style. Laconic, full of dialogues and hints, abrupt phrases and intonations. The style of early Hemingway is replaced here by an epically smooth, leisurely narrative with detailed descriptions and detailed pictures. Before us are only a few days from the hero’s life, but every moment is significant. This is a harsh and truthful book. She is deeply humanistic. The writer asserts the high dignity of a simple little man.
Hemingway's story received worldwide recognition. In 1954, she was awarded the highest award for the writer; he became a Nobel Prize laureate.
A year before his death, in 1960, Hemingway finished the book "A Holiday That Always Be With You." He himself explained that by “holiday” he meant Paris in the twenties, the happy years of his youth, when his life was connected with this city. But it seems that we can interpret this name in another, symbolic sense. Ernest Hemingway's book is a memory of the beginning of his journey, of the time when an irresistible thirst for creativity captured the writer and did not leave him throughout his life - he lived as long as he could write. This ever-living creative principle is the holiday that he carried within himself and which he now delivers to all generations of his readers. In particular, for those very young people for whom the story “The Old Man and the Sea” opens an acquaintance with the world of great and complex literature - the literature of the twentieth century.
M.A. Taho-godi, prof., doctor of philology. Sci.
Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea in 1951 in Cuba. In 1952, the book was published under the English title The old Man and the Sea. This short story became not only the most famous, but also the last work of Hemingway published during his lifetime. For The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954. “Read what I write, and do not look for anything other than your own pleasure. And if you find something else, it will be your contribution to what you read. There has never been a good book that emerged from a pre-invented symbol baked into a book like raisins in a sweet bun... I tried to give a real old man and a real boy, a real sea and real fish, and real sharks. And, if I managed to do it well and truthfully, they, of course, can be interpreted in different ways." E. Hemingway Performed by Vasily Livanov Copyright © 1952 by Ernest Hemingway Copyright renewed © 1980 by Mary Hemingway © Translation by E. Golyshev, B. Izakov ©&? IP Vorobiev V.A. 2013 ©&? ID UNION 2013 Publication producer: Vladimir Vorobyov
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