ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERS IN ERNEST HERMINGWAYS

THE OLD MAN and THE SEA

Written by: FAISAL REZA SUKMAWAN AG-2 40300109024

ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY ALAUDDIN STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MAKASSAR 2012

INTRODUCTION

This paper made to fulfill my English and American Literature After 1990s assignment in analysis of character in Ernest Hermingways The Old Man and The Sea. There are two characters that I analyze: The Old Man or Santiago and The Boy or Manolin. In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway presents the fisherman Santiago as the ideal man--independent in his action, eager to follow his calling, and willing to take chances in life. The old man's most notable attribute, however, appears to be his unquenchable spirit: no matter how his body is beaten, his spirit remains undefeated, undefeatable, through all trials. In Santiago, the central character in The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway has created a hero who personifies honor, courage, endurance, and faith. I analyze the characters of The Old Man and The Sea by read the story in the novel and compare one character with another character to know the role of character in the novel, and then I write and made this paper to fulfill my assignment.

BIOGRAPHY

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20thcentury fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of these are considered classics of American literature. Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. In 1922, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent, and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s "Lost Generation" expatriate community. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway's first novel, was published in 1926. After his 1927 divorce from Hadley Richardson, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War where he had acted as a journalist, and after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. They separated when he met Mary Welsh in London during World War II; during which he was present at the Normandy Landings and liberation of Paris. Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952, Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

THE OLD MAN, or SANTIAGO

The Old Mans Struggle Yes, we know, everyones wondering why the old man spends three days with a fishing line stretched tight across his back, bleeding from three places and eating raw, unsalted and nauseating fish bait. Its a good question. The easy answer is that the old man hasnt caught a fish in eighty-four days and hes pretty much going to starve to death if he doesnt catch something soon. But we dont really see starvation as much of a threat. The old man doesnt eat much anyway, and Manolins got his back. So there are far, far bigger things at stake here. But, you say, what could possibly be bigger than the basic human need to eat? Plenty. Lets start with pride, or the need to prove oneself. The old man used to be El Campeon the "Shaft" of the fishing community. And now hes just an old man that young guys laugh at. Thats not a chip on your shoulder thats an entire bag of Doritos youre carrying up there. The old man has to prove that hes still got what it takes.

The Old Mans Name Lets start here. We only hear the name Santiago four times; three from the boy, and one really interesting occurrence when the old man is recalling his epic arm wrestling match. That the boy calls him Santiago makes sense "hey old man" isnt exactly a name for your mentor and fishing guru, is it? But the other time we hear his name is from the narrator, and its only once. We are told of the time in Casablanca when the old man "was not an old man [] but was Santiago El Campeon." Hmm, we think. It looks like the old man has come to be defined by his age. And it looks like in his battle with the marlin, hes trying to be The Champion again, instead of the old man. But he never loses his name; hes still "the old man" by the end of the text. So did he fail? Or can he be "the old man" and El Campeon at the same time?

The Old Man and Hunger The old man is never really hungry. He doesnt eat, and tells the boy he is used to fishing and competing in otherwise physically exhausting tasks without a morsel. Amazing. It makes the old man almost superhuman. Or, you could say, it makes him like an ascetic, a person that denies himself indulgences generally for religious reasons. Wheres the religion part, you ask? What a great essay topic! Moving on. The old man does at times eat just not for the reasons that normal people do. He takes no pleasure in the act, and repeatedly forces himself into it for the sole purpose of gaining strength. The old man is single-minded in this goal. It gets more interesting when you compare him to the marlin, who is trapped by his own hunger (thats how fish get caught, right?). The marlin got screwed for eating the bait; but the old man ends up eating the same fish he used for bait just like the marlin. Its almost as if the two are being compared

THE BOY, or MANOLIN Santiago taught the boy to fish, and the boy loves him. Thats what Hemingway tells us, and thats about how he tells us, too. Theres no confusion, and we dont sit around wondering whats the deal with these two. The boy is the one human companion that the old man has, and he remarks (internally) on how grateful he is to have the company when he comes back. Most important, however, is the fact that the boy respects the old man. He believes he is a great fisherman, age be damned, because he knows Santiagos skill and prowess. Why does the old man repeatedly wish the boy were there? Thats an interesting question. At first, it seems to be because he needs help, what with the ginormous marlin and all. But you could also argue that it is for companionship, that the old man is lonely. Or you could say he wants someone to bear witness to his feat.

SUMMARY

There is an old fisherman in Cuba, Santiago, who has gone eighty-four days without a catch. He is "thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck,...and his hands had deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert. Santiago's lack of success, though, does not destroy his spirit, as his "cheerful and undefeated" eyes show. He has a single friend, a boy named Manolin, who helped him during the first forty days of his dryspell. After forty days, though, Manolin's parents decided the old man was unlucky and ordered their son to join another boat. Despite this, the boy helps the old man to bring in his empty boat every day.