...Autobiographical Self-representation in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea Twentieth Century American Fiction ¬¬¬¬ Art and Literature has its origin in man’s desire for immortality. This desire for eternal remembrance prompted primitive men to carve figures of himself and his surroundings in his dwelling places. As art developed and languages formed, the same desire enflamed and that became an impetus for literature. Early literature must have been a recording of real life events with strong and highly fictional additions. Thus, every literature is a product of this human desire to make oneself immortal through the recording of one’s own philosophy, imaginations and real life events. Even in the modern age this subconscious desire results in the inclusion of autobiographical elements of the author into his writings. Ernest Hemingway, America’s most celebrated novelist-cum -short story writer of the twentieth century is said to derive the impetus for his fiction from his own real life experiences or very rarely from the experiences of others who have went through agonies in life just like him. The Old Man and the Sea, one of his greatest and most widely read work is certainly filled with many allusions to his own life, and ideals. The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago who fishes in the gulf stream. The man is having some bad time with fishing and has gone without fish for eighty five days. He is very poor and...
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...The significant religious overtones in the novel The Old Man and the Sea. This novel is only 26,500 words but it teaches and gives us an extraordinary look on life and its troubles. The Old Man and the Sea was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway. Hemingway’s story won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. The American Academy of Arts and Letters also rewarded him with the Award of Merit Medal in 1954. At first sight, the story seems to be the utmost easy novel of an old fisherman named Santiago, who set out to sea to fish. Unfortunately, for him, his luck runs out on that mission. Yet through his faith and perseverance, he comes out victoriously. The novel is enriched with significant religious overtones such as the characters, events and symbols, which have created a deeper meaning. “The Old Man and the Sea has engendered some lively debate in literary circles. Critics have concentrated on everything in the novella from the verity of Rigel’s early evening appearance over Cuban skies in September (Weeks 192) to William Faulkner’s judgment that Hemingway discovered God while writing”(Bradford 158-62). “Biblical imagery literally abounds in The Old Man and the Sea according to Donald Heiney. Santiago as a Spanish name translates to Saint James, likewise San Pedro that translates to Saint Peter. James and Peter were disciples of Jesus. In addition, these disciples were fishermen in the bible precisely The New Testament. “Santiago...
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...I’m Maria Alexandrea D. Seraspe, 16 years old, Paranaque City. I love to sing, to draw, to paint and to dance. I dislike reading fictional stories. I prefer non-fictional stories because I find it more interesting. Yes, I’m not good in writing essays but I love writing essays. ------------------------------------------------- THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Ernest Hemingway “ There was an old man that goes by the name Santiago. Santiago had been labeled as a "Salao" or the worst form of being unlucky. Because he had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish and that his companion, Manolin, was forbidden by his parents to sail with the old man and had been tasked to go with other blossoming fisherman but the boy disobeys his parents and visits the old man each night. Santiago tells Manolin that he will set far out into the Gulf Stream, north of Cuba and Straits of Florida to fish. Santiago was convinced that his fate will change. On the eighty fifth day, he sat out alone to Gulf Stream. By noon, a Marlin takes his bait. The marlin was too colossal for him so he was unable to pull it up to his boat. Santiago waited while his body was throbbing and aching. Two days and two nights passed, still he was unable to pull it out. On the third day, Santiago releases the strength left in him to pull the Marlin out and stabs the giant with a harpoon and ends the battle. He heads home while daydreaming about the high price the fish is about to bring him. The blood trail of the Marlin...
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...Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Serving at the front, he was wounded, was decorated by the Italian Government, and spent considerable time in hospitals. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe to cover such events as the Greek Revolution. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises (1926). Equally successful was A Farewell to Arms (1929), the study of an American ambulance officer's disillusionment in the war and his role as a deserter. Hemingway used his experiences as a reporter during the civil war in Spain as the background for his most ambitious novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Among his later works, the most outstanding is the short novel, The Old Man and the Sea (1952), the story of an old fisherman's journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. Hemingway - himself a great sportsman - liked to portray soldiers, hunters, bullfighters - tough, at times primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society, and who in this confrontation lose hope and...
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...Literary Analysis In “The Old Man and the Sea” Ernest Hemingway writes about an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago. The story begins with Santiago fishing alone after having gone eight-four days without catching a fish. A boy, Manolin, fishes with Santiago for the first forty days, but Manolin’s father subsequently forbids him to continue fishing with the old man because the village perceives Santiago to be unlucky and too old to fish. On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago, alone, departs for the sea before sunrise. This begins Santiago’s exhausting three-day struggle to capture and bring home an enormous marlin; thereby redeeming himself to the villagers. The first day Santiago hooks the marlin, only to have it drag his skiff far out to sea. He knows he is not prepared to be out to sea so far and keeps hoping the marlin will come up for air so he can kill it with a spear. The second day the reader rejoices. Santiago kills the marlin only to find the fish too large to fit in the skiff. The old fisherman lashes the fish to the side of the skiff and hopes the sharks won’t attack. The third day sharks attack the dead marlin again and again. Santiago tries to protect his prize catch but is ill prepared. The sharks are unrelenting and leave only the marlin’s skeleton for Santiago to bring to the village. In this novella, Hemingway unites the reader with setting, character, and conflict to tell a tale of “grace under pressure.” Cuba and the Gulf Stream is the setting for...
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...Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Serving at the front, he was wounded, was decorated by the Italian Government, and spent considerable time in hospitals. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe to cover such events as the Greek Revolution. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises (1926). Equally successful was A Farewell to Arms (1929), the study of an American ambulance officer's disillusionment in the war and his role as a deserter. Hemingway used his experiences as a reporter during the civil war in Spain as the background for his most ambitious novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Among his later works, the most outstanding is the short novel, The Old Man and the Sea (1952), the story of an old fisherman's journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. Hemingway - himself a great sportsman - liked to portray soldiers, hunters, bullfighters - tough, at times primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society, and who in this confrontation lose hope and...
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...2014 Old Man and the Sea There are plenty of tales of tales about the big fish that got away. However, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea is not one of those exaggerated stories of a huge fish that cannot be proven to have ever been caught. In fact, Santiago, the protagonist, truly hooks and kills the biggest marlin he’s ever seen, one that is well over 1000 pounds. Unfortunately, after winning the fiercest fishing battle in his career, this poor Cuban fisherman loses marketable parts of the fish to hungry sharks on his way back to shore. Three major themes in this novel are determination, pride, and friendship. There are many themes or lessons one can learn throughout the novel The Old Man and the Sea. Determination is one of the most important character traits Santiago portrays in this novel. It has been 84 days, and the protagonist has not caught a marketable fish that he can sell. Santiago depends on this because he is a poor man who does not have much. Despite the fact people in the town are now starting to lose hope in Santiago he does not give up. Santiago is determined to catch a fish no matter what it may take. Since Santiago has went to fish near shore he begins to think he will have more luck if he goes out further. As he takes a new route Santiago finally finds a fish but it is very hard to catch so he is struggling to kill it. As he waits for a perfect time to launch an attack to kill it he says “I’ll stay with you until I am dead” (Hemingway 52). This...
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...Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Serving at the front, he was wounded, was decorated by the Italian Government, and spent considerable time in hospitals. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe to cover such events as the Greek Revolution. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises (1926). Equally successful was A Farewell to Arms (1929), the study of an American ambulance officer's disillusionment in the war and his role as a deserter. Hemingway used his experiences as a reporter during the civil war in Spain as the background for his most ambitious novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Among his later works, the most outstanding is the short novel, The Old Man and the Sea (1952), the story of an old fisherman's journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. Hemingway - himself a great sportsman - liked to portray soldiers, hunters, bullfighters - tough, at times primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society, and who in this confrontation lose hope and faith...
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...Elephants by Ernest Hemingway After analyzing Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, the reader can find that it is not your average story with a beginning, middle, and end. Hemingway does a phenomenal job of forcing the reader to think critically—giving just enough information for the reader to make assumptions and draw their own conclusions. The story itself is centered on a man and a woman having an emotional conversation filled with frustration and misunderstanding. Hemingway’s use of theme is important to this entire conversation between the two characters, and will give the reader more understanding of who the characters are and the situation they are faced with. The three major themes of this work that will be analyzed is alcohol as a comping mechanism, loss, and selfishness. This analysis of theme will also help to reinforce the characters thoughts, feelings, and emotions. American author, Ernest Hemingway, was born in the small town of Oak Park, Illinois in 1899 and died in Idaho, 1961. Hemingway began his career as a writer at the age of 17 for a newspaper office in Kansas City. When the United States entered the First World War, Hemingway joined as a volunteer to the ambulance unit in the Italian army. While serving, Hemingway was wounded, spending time in several hospitals until returning to the United States. When Hemingway returned, he became a reporter for the Canadian and American newspapers and was eventually sent back to cover important events. Hemingway used his...
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...oliver evans a revaluation summarySummary and Response to “The Snows of Kilimanjaro: A Revaluation” by Oliver Evans Oliver Evans' Evaluation Because Ernest Hemingway is considered to be an influential intellectual as well as a modernist philosopher, all his literary works are closely criticized by numerous literary critics. His work, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” highlighted Hemmingway’s views on “life-in-death” more than any of his other works; though, almost all his works are concerned with departing material reality in some way. Some literary critics state that “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” was a “magnificent failure” because it lacked “dramatic force” (Evans, 601). Others do not believe that the story’s material action and symbolism are properly matched (Evans, 601). Oliver Evans does not agree. “‘The Snows’ is not, primarily, a story of action at all: its interest lies in the situation, and in the conflict between idealism and materialism that takes place within the protagonist” (Evans, 602). Evans discovered symbolism in almost every aspect of the story. Evans noted the despair in Harry’s life because of the conflicting views he held, and because of the deadness he felt. According to Evans, Harry was partly idealistic, as shown by his despair; however, he was also materialistic and mechanistic. Harry did not fear death; however, he hated the thought of leaving so much unaccomplished. He hated knowing that he had ruined his own life and that he could not re-claim his integrity...
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...enhance the story. It is a product of the culture of the day and reveals the culture in return. Symbolism can take place by having the theme of a story represented on a physical level. A simple example might be the occurrence of a storm at a critical point, when there are conflicts or high emotions. The storm might symbolize these. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil, or hope to despair. A river in a scene could represent the flow of life, from birth to death. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty. Take The Loons as an example, it is just a typical novel with symbolism from beginning till the end, with “the loons” throughout as a symbol of Piquette. Through the parallel of loons and Piquette, it is easy to find their common inability to change themselves and their environment——loons are unable to adapt to modern human invasion; Piquette is unable to escape the cultural stereotypes imposed on her. The novel reflects the ecological and ethical crises between man and nature and among humans for conquest and criticizes the power ideology embodied in the crises. Vanessa casually describes Piquette’s tuberculosis and is embarrassed by her. She ignores Piquette rather than recognizing her as a human being. At the conclusion of the story, Laurence suggests that Vanessa and the white culture she represents will continue to destroy Métis culture until all that remains is a distant memory, like the unforgettable...
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...Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway employs symbolism in many forms. Hemingway uses water in various states throughout the progression of the novel such as the use of rain and rivers to symbolize life and love as well as death and danger. Hemingway uses symbols to allude to the events that will occur in the coming chapters of the novel if the reader is keen to heed them. Hemingway’s use of the “bridge” and the rivers they cross, represent the lives of people and the hazards people encounter when they approach and cross a bridge in an effort to reach what is waiting on the other side. The novel opens with a beautiful description of life and of living our lives. “In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels”(3). Life’s river bottom is littered with small problems and with large problems. When things are going well, our lives are blue skies and sunshine and we are eager to have life pass rapidly. Hemingway is making a stand on the political atmosphere that was prevalent in America in the late 1920’s and one which can be applied in contemporary America as well. I must Wharton2 disagree with Thomas P. McDonnell, who wrote in an article for the National Review in 1985, remembering Hemingway and his works, “Politically, of course, Hemingway was a naïf. Where...
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...PRI (Personal Reading Inventory): The Sun Also Rises Context_______________________________________________________________________ 1. Historical: Hemingway based his book The Sun Also Rises on the time period of the Lost Generation, a wandering "lost" time period after WWI. While Hemingway explores the superficiality of his characters' indulgent lifestyles, he touches upon a number of themes, many of which have to do with new notions of masculinity arising after the war. Jake's purported impotence is a powerful symbol for the emasculated postwar male psyche, and bull-fighting describes sex as warfare on a metaphorical level. In addition, Hemingway conceived of the idea for The Sun Also Rises while attending the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain, with friends in July, 1925. The novel is a roman à clef where the characters are based on real people and the action is based on real events. 2. Biographical: Ernest Hemingway, born in 1899, was an American author and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, heavily influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. In 1925, Hemingway took a trip to the famous Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain that would later provided the basis of Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises. The novel is widely considered Hemingway's greatest work...
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...NORTH AMERICAN FICTION BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Before starting our study of American Fiction we must understand what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know...
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...Consequence in‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and ‘The Pearl’. Summary of stories: Steinbeck’s touchingly simple novella ‘The Pearl’ was written in 1945, and explores the destructive effect of capitalism on a traditional Mexican village, around the turn of the century. It tells the story of Kino, an Indian pearl diver who discovers a massive, beautiful, and extremely valuable pearl. The pearl fills Kino with a new desire to abandon his simple, idyllic life in favor of dreams of material and social advancement, dreams to give his son and wife everything they desire, but dreams that are oppressed by the social hierarchy of Kino’s village. Although Kino has discovered this beautiful pearl worth more than anything he has found before, it only leads to death and destruction and eventually leaves Kino and his wife with nothing, and their beloved son dead. ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is another novella, the story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. Written in 1952 by Ernest Hemingway, it was the last major work of the author before his suicide, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. It is the tale of a fruitless and ancient fisherman named Santiago. Santiago had spent eighty-four days without a catch, and, confident that his unproductive streak will come to an end, sets sail farther out than usual. He places his bait deep into the water and a few hours later an enormous marlin takes the bait, however the old man cannot reel...
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