the old man and the sea critical essay

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The Old Man and the Sea

By ernest hemingway.

'The Old Man and the Sea' is often considered to be Ernest Hemingway's finest work and one of the most important books of 20th century American literature.

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

Hemingway’s unique style of writing is exemplified through short, concise sentences and a factual approach to the events he portrays. Within the novella, a reader will come across complex themes of strength and perseverance, as well as symbols of perfection and age which are all addressed directly.

The Old Man and the Sea Themes

Hardship and perseverance.

Of the variety of themes to be found in The Old Man and the Sea hardship and the perseverance needed to surmount those hardships is one of the most prominent. The majority of the novel, whether Santiago is onshore or at sea, is punctuated by struggle. It’s clear through context clues, as well as Manolin’s desire to care for the old man, that Santiago is very poor. He suffers without complaint in his poverty. It’s seen through his small shack, the bed he sleeps on, his lack of food, and in the eyes of the other fishermen.

Once he gets to sea his suffering only increases. He bears the weight of the fish as it pulls his skiff along . The line cuts into his hands and his back. His body, which was not in a good state, to begin with, is forced to contend with three days at sea without real rest or respite from the pressures the hooked marlin imposes on his body.

Suffering, at least in the snapshot the reader gets of the old man’s life, seems central. But, so is perseverance. These two themes are linked because Santiago’s perseverance is the reason he continues to wake up every day, go out to sea, and return empty-handed. Only to do it all again during his eighty-four days of bad luck. His ability to withstand pain and hardship, while keeping in mind his end goal of killing the fish, is remarkable and is one of the defining features of his personality. Plus, there is the suffering at the end of the story, after the sharks eat the much labored for marlin to contend with as well. These moments can also be connected to another theme, man vs. nature.

Another prominent theme, friendship, between human beings and amongst the wider non-human animal world spans the length of the novella. The most important human relationship is that between Santiago and his young pupil and fellow fisherman, Manolin . The boy cares deeply for Santiago, often berating himself for not doing more to take care of him. They share a passion for baseball, something that helps sustain Santiago while he’s at sea.

A reader must also consider the relationship between humans and animals. Santiago spends a great deal of time while sailing thinking about the relationship between himself and the marlin. He feels as though they are brothers, connected by their mutual existence on earth and desire to survive. In fact, the old man feels as though he is the brother of every living thing on the planet and shows the utmost respect for the lives he encounters.

Memory, and the power it has over the present and future, is important in The Old Man and the Sea . While Santiago navigates the Gulf of Mexico he often becomes distracted by thoughts of the past. He can recall the strong young man he used to be and believes that some of that strength should still exist inside him. There are moving moments in the novella when Santiago thinks back to one specific memory that doesn’t seem to fade. He recalls the time he spent on a turtle fishing boat along the coast of Africa. While there, he saw lions playing on the beach. He isn’t sure why, but this image continues to come to mind. In fact, it ends the novel.

Analysis of Key Moments in The Old Man and the Sea

• The novel opens, the reader learns that Santiago hasn’t caught a fish in eighty-four days.
• Santiago spends time with Manolin, their relationship is defined.
• He heads out to fish the next morning, prepared to go to a distant spot.
• The old man considers his relationship with the natural world and thinks about the past.
• He gets a fish on his line but isn’t sure how large it is.
• Santiago commits to catching this fish, coming to the understanding that it’s enormous. He wills it to jump and show itself.
• The old man catches a dolphin and eats.
• After a prolonged battle, he kills the fish with his harpoon and ties it to the side of the skiff.
• Sharks descend on the vessel, he kills some but they take the majority of the fish.
• He returns to land, collapses in exhaustion, and everyone marvels over the fish’s remains.
• The novel ends with Santiago dreaming about the lions once again.

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language

Hemingway was known for his concise, to-the-point style of writing. His syntax is straightforward and simple. This is mostly due to the time he spent working as a journalist. Throughout this novella, he doesn’t employ complicated metaphors or refer to things far outside the average reader’s understanding of Cuba, fishing, and the battle between life and death. He is best known for his “iceberg theory” . When reading, there is a little information on the surface, but a breadth of detail to explore beneath the waves. Hemingway described it as “seven-eighths” of the story existing below the surface.

In regards to mood, it is quite depressing and solemn. Throughout much of the novel, the frailty of life is exemplified through a very human struggle for survival that ends in defeat. The tone is less emotional. Through Hemingway’s style of writing, it comes across as factual and at times sympathetic and hopeful.

Hemingway makes use of multiple narrative perspectives in The Old Man and the Sea. The story begins with a third-person, omniscient narrator that doesn’t have access to Santiago’s thoughts. But, as the story progresses, the reader receives a third-person narration of Santiago’s state of mind and musings on the past and present. He speaks to himself, creating the majority of the dialogue in the novella.

The most prominent uses of figurative language include personification, hyperbole, as well as metaphors, and similes in which two unlike things are compared with or without using like/as. Personification occurs when a poet imbues a non-human creature or object with human characteristics. This is obvious through the way Hemingway treats the depictions of the marlin, as well as other fish and the birds in the sky. Hyperbole is an intentionally exaggerated description, comparison or exclamation meant to further the writer’s important themes, or make a specific impact on a reader.

Analysis of Symbols

The lions on the beach are a mysterious symbol in The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway does not reveal what exactly they represent but the reader can come to a few conclusions. They seem to be symbols of the past, dreams, other worlds, and harmony in nature. Santiago’s mind returns unbidden again and again to the African seashore as a place of respite. The lions represent a perfectly functioning world Santiago would like to return to.

The most obvious symbol in The Old Man and the Sea, the marlin represents the unattainable. It is Santiago’s ideal foe, one against whom he can measure himself. The fish is magnificent, enormous and seemingly one of a kind. It also represents the past and an attempt to return to previous ways of being as Santiago seeks to regain the strength of his youth.

Santiago’s left hand

His hand is a less obvious symbol, but one that connects to the larger struggle in The Old Man and the Sea. His left hand, which Santiago believes he didn’t “train” properly, “betrays” him throughout the novella. It cramps up when he needs to use it, and only comes to his aid, seemingly, when it chooses. As it weakens, along with the rest of Santiago’s body, he becomes angry, punishing it with harder tasks. It represents the fragility of old age and foreshadows disappointment and defeat.

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About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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The Old Man and the Sea

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Resistance to Defeat

As a fisherman who has caught nothing for the last 84 days, Santiago is a man fighting against defeat. Yet Santiago never gives in to defeat: he sails further into the ocean than he ever has before in hopes of landing a fish, struggles with the marlin for three days and nights despite immense physical pain and exhaustion, and, after catching the marlin, fights off the sharks even when it's clear that the battle against…

Pride is often depicted as negative attribute that causes people to reach for too much and, as a result, suffer a terrible fall. After he kills the first shark , Santiago , who knows he killed the marlin "for pride," wonders if the sin of pride was responsible for the shark attack because pride caused him to go out into the ocean beyond the usual boundaries that fishermen observe. Santiago immediately dismisses the idea, however…

The friendship between Santiago and Manolin plays a critical part in Santiago's victory over the marlin . In return for Santiago's mentorship and company, Manolin provides physical support to Santiago in the village, bringing him food and clothing and helping him load his skiff. He also provides emotional support, encouraging Santiago throughout his unlucky streak. Although Santiago's "hope and confidence had never gone," when Manolin was present, "they were freshening as when the breeze rises."…

Youth and Age

The title of the novella, The Old Man and the Sea , suggests the critical thematic role that age plays in the story. The book's two principal characters, Santiago and Manolin , represent the old and the young, and a beautiful harmony develops between them. What one lacks, the other provides. Manolin, for example, has energy and enthusiasm. He finds food and clothing for Santiago, and encourages him despite his bad luck. Santiago, in turn…

Man and Nature

Since The Old Man and the Sea is the story of a man's struggle against a marlin , it is tempting to see the novella as depicting man's struggle against nature. In fact, through Santiago , the novella explores man's relationship with nature. He thinks of the flying fish as his friends, and speaks with a warbler to pass the time. The sea is dangerous, with its sharks and potentially treacherous weather, but it also…

Christian Allegory

The Old Man and the Sea is full of Christian imagery. Over the course of his struggles at sea, Santiago emerges as a Christ figure. For instance: Santiago's injured hands recall Christ's stigmata (the wounds in his palms); when the sharks attack, Santiago makes a sound like a man being crucified; when Santiago returns to shore he carries his mast up to his shack on his shoulder, just as Christ was forced to bear his…

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Twentieth century interpretations of The old man and the sea; a collection of critical essays

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Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea

Tags: Critical Readings Critical Contexts Critical Insights

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea , a late work in this important writer's long career, has often been examined not only in relation to his previous works but also as a new departure. An unusually brief novel, this book has been discussed not only in relation to the novella genre but also in connection to Hemingway's own life, with the author himself often being compared to the "old man" of the title. This volume offers a wide range of approaches to the text, exploring it in terms of history, psychology, sociology, and—last but not least—artistic achievement.

This volume, like all others in the Critical Insights series, is divided into several sections. It begins with an introductory “About This Volume” essay, followed by another work titled “ The Old Man and the Sea as Life Hack: Recommended Reading for Those of Us Still Setting Sail,” by Susan Norton. This is followed by a Biography of Ernest Hemingway written by volume editor Robert C. Evans.

A collection of four critical contexts essays are intended to treat the novel

• From a historical vantage point
• In terms of its critical reception
• Using a specific critical lens
• And by comparing and contrasting it with another important work.

This section opens with an essay by editor Robert C. Evans titled, “Old Age in the 1940s AND 1950S and in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , ” followed by another piece by Robert C. Evans, “Early Newspaper Reviews of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea ,” This essay discusses and adds to Linda Welshimer Wagner’s 1977 book Ernest Hemingway: A Reference Guide by adding to Wagner’s listing and descriptions of early reviews of the novella and focusing on newspaper reviews not covered in the bibliography. The following two articles are written by Edwin Wong and Robert C. Evans. The first, “The Gambling Fisherman and the Shapes of Chance in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea ,” by Wong explores the main character Santiago’s quest to catch fish to bring home after eighty-four days of no luck and the way that chance presents itself in the novella. In the final essay, “Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: Two Treatments of Youth and Age in the Early 1950s,” by Evans compares the two works while drawing comparisons to the shared prevalent theme of relationships between old people and young people in two distinct cultures throughout the two stories .

Following these four Critical Context essays is the Critical Readings section of this book, which contains the following essays:

• Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Pluralistic Approach Rooted in the Work of Linda Wagner-Martin and Kelli A. Larson, by Robert C. Evans
• Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Survey of Modern Criticism, by Joyce Ahn
• Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Roman Catholic Reading, by Laura Kathleen McClain
• Hemingway’s Religion: How Hemingway’s Views on Fishing Relate to The Old Man and the Sea , by Will Arndt
• Ernest Hemingway and the Art of the Fishing Story, by Jericho Williams
• “Everything is a sin”: Anthropocentrism and the Environment in The Old Man and the Sea , by Matthew M. Thiele
• A Most Worthy Opponent: Man Against Nature in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , by Courtney Petrucci
• Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea on the Screen: Three Versions, by Philip Booth
• Santiago Goes Hollywood: The Old Man and the Sea and the 1958 Screen Adaptation, by James Plath
• Closing Episodes in Three Film Versions of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , by Jordan Bailey
• Appendix: Ernest Hemingway’s Life in Photographs

Each essay in Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea includes a list of Works Cited and detailed endnotes. In the final section, Resources , easy-to-follow lists are provided to help guide the reader through important dates and moments in the author’s life, beginning with a Chronology of Ernest Hemingway’s Life . This is followed by a list of Works by Ernest Hemingway and a Bibliography . Finally, this section closes with an About the Editor section, Contributors , and a detailed Index .

The Critical Insights Series distills the best of both classic and current literary criticism of the world’s most studies literature. Edited and written by some of academia’s most distinguished literary scholars, Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea provides authoritative, in-depth scholarship that students and researchers will rely on for years. This volume is destined to become a valuable purchase for all.

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The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

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The Old Man and the Sea Essays

Hemingway’s fight with old age jessie yu, the old man and the sea.

The Old Man and the Sea is a novella that “should be read easily and simply and seem short,” Hemingway writes in a letter to his friend Charles Scribner, “yet have all the dimensions of the visible world and the world of a man’s spirit” (738).

A Different Outlook on Christian Symbolism in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea Ashley Elizabeth Harrison College

A Different Outlook on Christian Symbolism in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea

The ideas revolving around Christian symbolism in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea have run rampant ever since the novella was first published in 1952...

Santiago: Transcending Heroism Elaina Smith 11th Grade

In Ernest Hemingway’s work of literary brilliance, The Old Man and The Sea, Santiago finds himself pitted against a beauty of nature – a beast in the eyes of man. At first glancetranscending thetask of slaying the marlin is what makes Santiago a...

Chasing Fish: Comparing The Ultimate Goals Found in "The Old Man and The Sea" And "Dances with Wolves" Haley Parson 11th Grade

We are all chasing our own fish. We're all trying desperately to grasp something that is just out of our reach. For Santiago, the main character in Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea , he is chasing a literal fish. He exhibits exceptional amounts...

Hemingway the Absurdist Paul Patterson College

Hemingway’s beliefs are generally understood to be existential. This is a largely accurate generalization, but Hemingway’s writings lean toward a more pessimistic view of existentialism than that of his peers. His novels and short stories do not...

Nature in The Old Man and the Sea: From Transcendentalism to Hemingway's Modernism Nathan Young College

Thoreau writes that “This curious world we inhabit...is more wonderful than convenient; more beautiful than useful; it is more to be admired and enjoyed than used.” This seems to be a philosophy that Hemingway’s character, Santiago, would adopt....

Christian Symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea Anonymous College

“But man is not made for defeat…A man can be defeated but not destroyed”. These eternal lines from Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea reflect the strong Christian motif of hope and resurrection that is present as a strong undertone in the...

Pride: A Virtue or a Curse? Anonymous 10th Grade

Though pride can have a negative connotation and is often thought of as a synonym for being full of one’s self, it can also be an honest and healthy feeling of genuine satisfaction with one’s own achievements. In other instances, pride can also...

Vivid Description Used in The Old Man and the Sea Anonymous 11th Grade

Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea" is undoubtedly a truly brilliant classic story. One writing technique that Ernest Hemingway used extremely well in this book is a vivid description. Because the bulk of the story takes on a small skiff...

Liminal Figures in Shaw and Hemingway Anonymous College

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession both follow characters who are portrayed as existing on the limits of their respective societies. Santiago and Mrs. Warren both maintain their fringe positions...