The Old Man And The Sea By

Everything about The Old Man & The

Sea is classically simple. The style is pure Hemingway: short, Straightforward

sentences with one-syllable words. The storyline is linear – easy enough

for a child to follow – and the themes are clear and basic, touting manly

courage, endurance, and noble suffering.

In fact, the novel would be little more

than an adventure story were it not for Santiago’s dialogues with himself

- his repetitive and symbolic musings, daydreams and plottings.

Unlike other fishermen, who see the ocean

merely in terms of economic gain, Santiago looks on the sea and its inhabitants

with love and respect. Notably, he prefers to call the sea “la mar,” its

feminine form, rather than the harsher, masculine “el mar.”

Some readers may see Christian symbolism

in the story: Santiago means St. James in Spanish; the battle with the

fish lasts three days; Santiago, arriving at the shore, carries his mast,

like a cross, on his shoulders, and, like the biblical Christ, stumbles

under its load. Later, the fisherman lies down exhausted on the floor of

his hut with his arms stretched out stiffly and the palms of his hands

up.

But the giant fish – representing the hopes

and dreams of mankind – and the old man’s relationship with it, is what

creates the extraordinary pathos of the novel. And, in the end, even Santiago’s

(humankind’s) modest expectations are snatched from his grasp.