Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea” Essay

Hemingways late reinvigorated The Old Man and the Sea lends itself readily to allegorical and religious interpretation indeed, myriad critical texts exist wherein solutions to the novels extensive and haunting symbolism crowd the pages until the reader begins to doubt the efficacy of any single interpretation. The complexity of Hemingways slant story demands as wide an appraisal as can be summoned by the reader and critic, forfeiting claims to any single or final assurement on the novels specific religious connotations. Without a doubt, traditional components of Roman Catholicism (as well as ancient pagan religious imagery and themes) form a vibrant part of the novels theme. For example, the concepts of sin (and master sin) rise as central to the tension, suspense, and char make believeer development of the novel. capital of Chile, the novels protagonist undergoes two patently separate dates during the course of the novel first against a gigantic marlin he hopes to catch while fishing alone, far at sea the second battle he wages against sharks who steal his prize leads to a pyrrhic victory. Along the way, both external events blend with Santiagos internal monologues, which indicate an inner, unearthly struggle, one which first intimates itself and then clearly reveals itself to be universal, rather than personal, in nature. By creating a deeply sympathetic character during the first third of the novel, and extending this reader-identification through with(predicate) the more morally ambiguous and treacherous parts of the story, Hemingway allows for universal reader sympathy. Santiagos portrayal is one of honor, courage, compassion, and humility. These aspects of his character align him with a state of purity or sinless-ness, as though his world mirrors that of the pre-fallen Eden.After killing the great marlin and then losing this trophy to a feeding frenzy of sharks, Santiago embodies the original sin of all men, women and, in fact, Satan Himself, as described by traditional Catholicism. The sin, stated simply is pride. A more complex interpretation that Santiago by traveling far out to sea beyond where any other fisherman would go and in attempting to catch a bigger fish than any fisher man could catch alone, demonstrates Santiagos will toward individualism and so a will against his hitherto modest station in life. When the sharks attack, Santiago construes them as a punishment for what he has done, by venturing out beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. During the first night of his fight with the marlin, Santiago starts to feel a sense of guilt for what he is doing. I am only better than him through trickery, he thinks, and he meant me no harm. Previously, Santiago believed that fishing for food was a noble act, at sea, fighting the marlin, he begins to believe differently. His self-directed comment about trickery parallels the idea of the shoetree of Knowledge and original sin. Mankinds pride in intelligence leads to senseless destruction, fueled not by need, but by vanity. Santiagos plight brings upon intense reader-sympathy and the inner-struggle described through Santiagos monologues helps introduce and sustain the spiritual catharsis Santiago experiences, also in the reader. One perceives that an act of vanity or pride carries deep repercussions even if it may seem trivial a fisherman who fishes not for food but for fame will offend and destroy beauty. At the end of the novel all that is left of the great fish is a skeleton washed away in the tide. Santiagos sin is that he should have loved and not hunted and killed the great marlin, but in falling prey to his vanity he enacted a universal, benevolent urge, which ultimately produced tragedy and then wisdom, rather than mere trickery.