Symbolism In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea

Symbolism In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea

Masterful writers use literary devices and techniques in a unique way to exemplify their mastery in writing. In American literature, Ernest Hemingway’s novel The old man and the sea is a worthy symbolic novel which conveys the ability of the author to employ symbols to give literary value of the text .The objective of this work is to explore the symbols used in the novel to decode these symbols and identify the various interpretations that they stand for.
Among the major literary devices, symbols grab the attention of the readers, because of its ability to broad the thinking capacity of the people.Symbol also a major figure of speech in which something [object, person, situation or action] means more than what it is. The term symbol has derived from Greek term "'symballein that means ―to throw together‖ and Latin term ―Symbolon means ―token of sign.Writers use Symbols to grab a depth for the literary creations and to express the things ironically avoiding the problems that can come to them.  More specifically, a symbol is a word, phrase, or other expression having a complex of associated meanings; in this sense, a symbol is viewed as having values different from those of whatever is being symbolized. The symbolists’ experimental methods appealed to many English, Irish and American poets such as William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Ezra Pound (1885-1972), T.S Eliot (1888-1965), and Wallace Stevens (1879- 1955). The meaning of the literary symbol should recognize from its context. That means the meaning of symbols should be identified inside the text, not in outside.

The Old Man And The Sea

The Investigation of Symbolism in The Old Man and The Sea 

Sea 

Sea

 Sea represents a great role in the novel as setting and a symbol. The main event of the story takes place in the sea. Here sea symbolizes the ―universe‖ and the‖ Santiago’s isolation in the universe‖. Though people have their own identity in their specific places, in an universe people are helpless from others and become alone. In Santiago’s village, he has his identity as a fisherman and always gets the help of little Manolin and a few of others. However, It is at sea, that Santiago faces his ultimate challenge, with no help and no recognition. According to Hemingway, man was most able to prove himself worthy in isolation.The novel, in this regard, is an example of Naturalism in Literature that controls the lives by environment. 

The Mast 

 Mast

At the end of The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago removes his mast from his skiff, and drags it from the beach, upon his shoulders by resting in several places on the way to his hut. He started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult and he sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked at the road.Finally he put the mast down and stood up. He picked the mast up and put it on his shoulder and started up the road‖ Here the mast symbolizes the cross that Jesus Christ was forced to drag. The desire of the author to represent Santiago as Christ like figure, mast symbolizes the cross in the novel.  

Lost Harpoon 

Harpoon is the power of fishermen in the sea. Simply the loss of harpoon symbolizes the loss of power of Santiago amidst the sea and the strength. He hit it with his blood mushed hands drivinga good harpoon with all his strength.He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others‖ Santiago fights with Sharks by using his harpoon. However when he lost his harpoon, it reveals him for the vulnerability. So this loss of harpoon symbolizes the loss of power and the strength of Santiago. 

Santiago’s eyes 

Though Santiago physically declined as an old man, his eyes stay in the same color without any change. So this eyes symbolizes the unchanged determination of Santiago to achieve his greatcatching in the life. ―Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.

Marlin

Marlin is the ideal opponent of the novel and he symbolizes the last chance that can come for the individuals. Here in the novel, Marlin struggles to avoid his death. Death is the ultimate reality of the lives of all beings.

                                             

 The Lions 

The lions in Santiago's dreams represented his lost youth and his decreasing strength. For instance, when he needed strength on his long and strenuous voyage he thought of his dreams of the lions, and gets the strength through dreams. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach.

Symbolism of characters

                                                         Santiago

 In old Man and the sea, Santiago symbolizes the Jesus Christ and the nature of human beings who don’t like to accept the defeat in their lives. When Santiago fights with Marlin, he suffers so much. However he bears all these sufferings without complaining about it. ―He felt the line carefully with his right hand and noticed his hand was bleeding‖ ―shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling carefully he washed his hand in the ocean and held it there, submerged, for more than a minute watching the blood trail away and the steady movement of the water against his hand as the boat moved‖ And also he doesn’t like to accept the defeat, because he believes that man has made not for defeating. 

                                                          Manolin 

Manolin is the young boy, who follows Santiago. In The old man and the sea, Manolin symbolizes the youth of Santiago and the disciples of Jesus. And also he symbolizes the responsibility of youngers upon the elders. When the old man would look at Manolin he would see himself at a younger age. Manolin symbolizes the disciples of Jesus. Manolin gives his care towards the old man and that represents the youngers who look at the elders of the society. ―I must have water here for him, the boy thought, and soap and a good towel. Why am I so thoughtless? I must get him another shirt and a jacket for the winter and some sort of shoes and another blanket.

                                                      Joe DiMaggio 

Joe DiMaggio is the role model of Santiago’s baseball world. At the sea when Santiago suffers greatly, he consoles his heart thinking about Joe Dimaggio and his Sufferings. Here in the novel DiMaggio symbolizes the strength. Joe DiMaggio also represents hope that the old man has for Manolin.He wishes that the boy will grow up and be like the great DiMaggio so that he will not be a poor fisher like he is.

                                                    Other Fishermen

 All of the other fishermen in the story are the people who used new equipment for fishing while Santiago goes to fish in a small skiff. When Santiago brings the skeleton of the large Marlin, they try to put him down by saying the following. Hemingway uses these fishermen and the proprietors of the coffee shop for the symbolical representation of the people who don’t like appreciate others. "What a fish it was. There has never been such a fish. Those were two fine fish you took yesterday too." The fishers represent anyone who would rather think about themselves rather than others. In ways the fishers are like the sharks wanting to take things away from Santiago while Santiago is much like the marlin .

                Biblical Influence and Symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea 

Ernest Hemingway’s stories have much religious influence and symbolism. In The Old Man and the Sea, by Hemingway, many incidents can be seen similar to the life of Jesus. Santiago is an old man, who has young eyes. Though he defeated, he never show it and he looks only the brighter side of things. These traits make Santiago a godlike figure. Manolin, the term came from ―Messiah‖ is Jesus. After catching the largest marlin, Manolin leaves his parents to follow the teachings of Santiago, his master, just as Jesus. Pedrico is actually Saint Peter, Jesus' closest apostle and a great fisherman. Peter helps Jesus fish for souls as Pedrico helped Manolin and Santiago by giving fish for food. Santiago gives Pedrico the head of the mutilated marlin which symbolizes Saint Peter as head of the Christian church and the first Pope.

                                         Conclusion

 It is obvious that the symbols in the novel and the different interpretations that are standed for the symbols. In The Old Man and The Sea, Hemingway depicts a struggle of an old man to acquire the greatest catching of his life and to protect his achievement from the predators who came to destroy it. So as the readers of the novel, it is not easy to get the ideas that lay behind the words,