Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea: Pride, Humility, and Otherness - Research Paper Example

23 June Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea: Pride, Humility, and Otherness Cuban culture promotes collectivity, hence, individualistic people tend to be isolated when living in collectivist cultures. In Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, the locals think that old Santiago has lost his former fortune. He is no longer the champion or “campeon” in strength, fishing, and even in his own life. His wife is dead, he has no family in Cuba, and the young boy, Manolin, his assistant, is his only remaining “friend.” After weeks of having no catch and quickly falling into poverty, Manolin’s father instructs Manolin to go with another boat. Santiago, who is Spanish, remains individualistic, as he prefers to live and to fish alone. By bringing Santiago food and fresh baits, the young boy continues to help Santiago. This novella explores one man’s struggles against the forces of society and nature. Santiago is like the sea and the marlin, because they all possess pride, humility, and otherness. The sea represents both chaos and stability, as it depicts the continuity and power of nature against human beings. Santiago is also as stable as the sea. He is old, but he manages to fish, with or without any companion. Furthermore, Santiago lives alone, which must be significantly difficult for people living in collectivist societies. The Cuban culture emphasizes the centrality of having a family in their life and to have no one is akin to dying. Santiago’s perseverance is also stable, however dire his circumstances might be. He continues to fish in the Gulf Stream even after months of having no catch. Moreover, despite losing his marlin to a pack of sharks, he focuses on coming home, so that he can fish again. Other younger men might have lost hope and died from exhaustion. Santiago also takes the chaotic character of the sea. He knows the risks of going out too far away into the Gulf Stream, but he goes farther into the ocean, nevertheless. It must have been better for him to give up the fight with the unyielding marlin, but he continues fighting with it anyway. As a result, he ventures too far into the ocean and goes right into the coven of sharks. The next point is that people cannot control the sea. Its powers are far stronger than any human strength. When there is a storm, a sea tosses everything on its waters. It can capsize large ships and small boats alike. It respects no race, gender, age, or social class. It can sink poor and rich men, as well as women and children. Santiago does not care about the powers of society over individuals. He fishes alone, without thinking of the consequences of his risky actions. After all, he is alone in life. When fishing, he is also unaccompanied after Manolin leaves him. He is accountable to no one but himself. Hence, he does not listen to the warnings of others. He asserts his free will over social dictates. He is his own person, and the society cannot control his actions and attitudes in life. He is like a marlin trapped in a sea of sharks. He has no one but himself, and to the consternation of society, he does not care at all. The marlin has indomitable perseverance, which can be compared to that of Santiago’s. Damashek’s analysis of the novella focuses on his “fierce and superhuman effort against the great marlin, a fish so large and powerful as to remind readers of Moby Dick” (2). The marlin is not as large as Moby Dick, and it also does not have malicious intentions against human beings (Damashek 2). Still, it fights robustly for its life, which is an instinct for survival (Damashek 2). Santiago also follows his instincts in fighting the marlin. Santiago is also smarter since he knows that he can tame the marlin by tiring him. The man defeats the fish, but nature outsmarts him through a pack of sharks. Also, fishing represents the goal of humanity in controlling the forces of nature. Santiago, however, does not have any egotistical intentions when fishing. Santiago feels sorry for the fish, especially since he knows that the sharks will eat it soon. He “is sorry that [he] killed the fish” (Hemingway 103). He knows that his previous actions attracted the sharks to the marlin. For instance, he has driven his harpoon deep into the marlin’s heart so it bleeds continuously. The scent of its blood attracts the first shark, and this shark that eats the marlin entices other sharks. In order to survive in the ocean, he also cuts the marlin and eats piece of it, which drips blood that further attracts the sharks. His perseverance to survive ends his chances of bringing him his prized large fish, which represents the dramatic irony of the story. He lives on and this is his triumph, but he also loses the marlin which makes him a loser too. Santiago represents the irony of both winning and losing the war of life. The marlin also represents an intense competitive spirit that Santiago has inside of him. Even the sharks have the same competitiveness. When they smell the marlin’s blood, they relentlessly pounce on it. Santiago, however, does not give up. He tries to save the marlin, not only for his gain, but for its integrity. He develops “love” for the fish that displays the same survival instincts as he does. He competes with the sharks for the life of the marlin. In his analysis of the novel, Shuman argues that Santiago is the “quintessence of human existence” (2). Hemingway reduces the characters to two main individuals only, so that distractions of subplots are removed (Shuman 2). Moreover, Santiago has nothing and nobody, aside from Manolin and his memories. He is impoverished and he lives in a community that does not fully accept him because of his racial difference. This characterization strategy forces readers to focus on Santiago’s inner life (Shuman 2). His life is filled with losses and failures, and yet he manages to escape them with grace (Shuman 2). For Shuman, very few protagonists can compete with life’s evils and remain whole (2). The marlin and Santiago manifest the characteristics of a Homeric hero. In “Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea: A Homeric Hero,” Morgan and Losada argue that Santiago can be compared to Homeric heroes. Hemingway describes his hero, Santiago, in words that evoke the images of Homer’s heroes at Troy (Morgan and Losada 35). Santiago displays three features that are not only particular to, but elementary in, the characterization of a Homeric hero (Morgan and Losada 35). Homeric heroes, as Andromache describes Hector, were “born” to their great destinies (Morgan and Losada 35). Achilles is born to dual destinies of killing Hector and being victorious, despite his fate of having a short life (Morgan and Losada 35). Santiago also knows that he is born to fish, and he enjoys being alone in the sea (Morgan and Losada 35). Moreover, Achilles is a Homeric hero, because his actions are “not unreflective or unselfconscious;” he is conscious of his choices and its consequences (Morgan and Losada 35). Similarly, Santiago makes choices for his destiny: “My choice was to go there and find him beyond all people” (Morgan and Losada 35). He seeks out fishes far into the ocean, though the risks of being lost there are high. Lastly, Homeric heroes are the “best” in their fields (Morgan and Losada 35). Achilles is the best warrior, while Santiago is also the “best” fisherman. Manolin asserts to Santiago that he is the “best fisherman” (Hemingway 23). Santiago does not accept this and asserts that he knows other better fishermen, but Manolin avers that he is one of a kind. Santiago’s encounter with the marlin and following struggle with the sharks are also shown in Homeric terms (Morgan and Losada 39). First, his skirmish with the fish is, as numerous such fights in the Iliad, a contest between “two champions,” the best fish and the best fisherman (Morgan and Losada 40). He fights an equally formidable rival that fits his natural gifts for fishing (Morgan and Losada 40). A comparable event is found in Achilles’ fights. He identifies with his opponents, who are also the best warriors in their homelands (Morgan and Losada 40). For instance, he calls Lycaon a “friend” and tells him that he will die soon too; his death is linked to the death of his enemies, for they are all mere mortals (Morgan and Losada 40). Both Santiago and Achilles demonstrate humility that is typical of Homeric heroes (Morgan and Losada 40). They acknowledge and respect the strengths of their enemies. They never underestimate them just because they are the best in their fields. Furthermore, Santiago also prepares for his fishing in the same way that Homeric warriors prepare for battle. Homer talks about the rituals before the battle, such as the wearing of the weapons and shields (Morgan and Losada 40). Santiago is also presented like a hero who prepares for battle: “The boy took the rolls of line in the basket and the harpoon and the gaff and the old man carried the mast with the furled sail” (Hemingway 26). The thorough reiteration in a prearranged form of the bringing of the fisherman’s gear to the boat gives it a ritual facet that Homeric heroes perform (Morgan and Losada 40). These are all heroes who follow certain rituals as if these rituals assure their success. Like the marlin, Santiago possesses both pride and humility. The marlin has pride because it will not yield without a fight. It swims for hours trying to desperately wring free from Santiago’s bait. Nevertheless, it shows humility when it stops its struggles. It knows its defeat and it is humbled before the victor. Gale argues that Santiago performs like a hero, but without a prize, he is not celebrated as a hero at home. Instead, his catch, which is reduced to a skeleton, is mistaken by some tourists as a shark. It has become trash that washes out to the sea. The greatness of the marlin and Santiago’s great battle with it has no proof; his heroics are not appreciated and congratulated. Gale notes that Santiago has no heroine also, because his wife is dead. He has no son too, though he sees Manolin as a son. Despite his social poorness, he remains full of hope in his fishing. He believes that his great catch will come to him soon. In some ways, Gale believes that Santiago is a symbol for Jesus Christ. His wounds on his hands resemble Jesus’ wounds. When he carries the mast like a cross and falls down, it parallels with Jesus, who also falls down from the weight of his cross. When Santiago comes home, he sleeps in the position of the crucifix, with his palms up and arms extended outwards. This crucifixion signifies his humility in the face of all his struggles as a fisherman and as a human being. Hemingway also depicts the marlin as a “man.” Gale thinks that this is part of Hemingway’s machismo thinking where pride is elemental to the male ego. Santiago calls the sea as “la mar,” which is the feminine word in Spanish, and which Hemingway describes as “a creative, loving, but often cruel mother” (Gale 2). The sea, or nature, defeats the valiant human being, but does not totally damage him (Gale 2). Santiago accepts his fate with meekness. For him, the marlin and the sharks served their purposes in life (Gale 2). People catch fish, but sharks can also catch and eat fish. The subject of free will is important in the novella too (Gale 2). The marlin has to surface to dive again. Santiago knows this, so he is able to catch the marlin (Gale 2). This knowledge defeats the marlin which recognizes meekness when a stronger being defeats its natural strength. Moreover, Santiago believes that he is born to fish and so he chooses to fish throughout his life. Nevertheless, since he loses the marlin, and “being a partly naturalistic figure, he is an incomplete hero…” (Gale 2). This loss undercuts his pride for his fishing skills, and reminds him that tomorrow, he has to fish again. Santiago is like the marlin with its otherness. The marlin is different from other marlins when it comes to its strength and perseverance. Santiago is dissimilar to other Cubans because he does not fully share the latter’s indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices. In “Cultural Imperialism, Afro-Cuban Religion, and Santiago's Failure in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea,” Melling argues that Santiago exhibits spiritual otherness because of his devotion to American cultural symbols. During his battle with the sharks, Santiago takes his oar handle and hits the shark at the “base of the brain” (Hemingway 105). The shark slides away from the marlin, but other sharks come along. At this point, he thinks that he could have done more damage, if only he “used a bat with two hands” (Hemingway 106). Melling stresses that instead of “dramatizing” his dilemma with the use of Afro-Cuban symbols, he chooses an American symbol that is a synecdoche for American cultural superiority (283). In this novel, Santiago idolizes Joe DiMaggio, an American baseball hero. DiMaggio is a fisherman’s son who often left home to practice batting with a “broken oar, as a bat, on the sandlots nearby” (Talese 246 qtd. in Melling 283). Santiago treats DiMaggio as a god whose tools can also help him in his ordeals. Santiago also shuns “mythic beliefs” and puts his faith in American tools. When he returns to his village from his clash with the sharks, in spite of his physical exhaustion, he wants to fish again. He informs Manolin that they need a “good lance,” and they can make a “blade from a spring leaf from an old ford” (Hemingway 115). He believes more in the power of American machines than the power of his society’s deities. Cubans, who believe in deities, will be offering gifts to their gods to restore their good fortune, but Santiago prefers mechanics to serve his functional purposes. Like the lone marlin, Santiago is also different in physical and cultural ways and his racial otherness affects his identity and decisions. Santiago is born in the Canary Islands, thereby making him an outsider to the small Cuban fishing village. In “’Eyes the Same Color as the Sea’: Santiago's Expatriation from Spain and Ethnic Otherness in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea,” Herlihy argues that Santiago’s racial and cultural differences isolate him from his Cuban society. Santiago has “eyes the same color as the sea” (Hemingway 10), and this differentiates him from others, who are mulattoes or dark skinned. Santiago is not assimilated into his community and instead, he always longs for his homeland. Every night, Santiago remembers “the white peaks of the Islands rising from the sea and then he dreamed of the different harbors and roadsteads of the Canary Islands” (Hemingway 25). He does not feel nostalgia for Cuba, but only for Spain. He repeats these stories so much that Manolin is tired of hearing them. He says: “I know. You told me” (Hemingway 22). Nationality pertains to “the sentiment of belonging to a community whose members identify with a set of symbols, beliefs and ways of life” (Guibernau 14 qtd. in Herlihy 28). The Cojimar community rebuffs and laughs at Santiago (Hemingway 11). His alienation in the community and endearing memories of Canary Islands suggest that he is not Cuban, not even an acculturated one. Herlihy asserts that he is a “Spanish expatriate, a man in exile from his homeland…this status has profound consequences for his life” (28). In Cuba, during the nineteenth century, Spaniards created their social circles that separated them from Cubans (Herlihy 28). The main goal was to strengthen and to nurture their Spanish identity (Herlihy 28). Santiago, with his strongly individualistic identity and Spanish roots, prefers isolation than acculturation. He is an excellent fisherman, although somewhat stuck with bad fortune, but his alienation also affects his happiness. The Old Man and the Sea depicts the life of a Spanish fisherman who is alienated in a Cuban community. Without family and a strong social circle, Santiago makes decisions that turn him into a mythical hero to Manolin and even to some readers, but he remains a fool to Cubans. Venturing far out into the sea, Santiago catches the largest marlin he has ever encountered, but he also meets sharks that eat his catch. He comes home defeated, but not damaged for life. He plans to fish again using mechanical improvisations. In essence, the old man is the marlin and the sea. He fails, but never fails to move on. Santiago does not tire of his battles and that makes him a Homeric hero, who is legendarily strong in spirit and mind. Works Cited Burhans Jr., Clinton S. “The Old Man and the Sea: Hemingway’s Tragic Vision of Man.” American Literature 31.4 (1960): 446-455. Print. Damashek, Richard. “The Old Man and the Sea.” Masterplots (2010): 1-3. Print. Gale, Robert L. “The Old Man and the Sea.” Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series (1997): 1-3. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner’s, 1952. Print. Herlihy, Jeffrey. “’Eyes the Same Color as the Sea’: Santiago’s Expatriation from Spain and Ethnic Otherness in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.” Hemingway Review 28.2 (2009): 25-44. Print. Melling, Philip. “Cultural Imperialism, Afro-Cuban Religion, and Santiago’s Failure in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.” Critical Insights: Ernest Hemingway (2010): 283-305. Print. Morgan, Kathleen and Luis Losada. “Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea: A Homeric Hero.” Hemingway Review 12.1 (1992): 35-51. Print. Shuman, R. Baird. “The Old Man and the Sea.” Magill’s Survey of American Literature (Sept. 2006): 1-2. Print. Read More