Ernest Hemingway Jesus
“Ambition is the first step to success. The second step is action” (Drew Wagner). “Success” is often the main indicator of the value of a man. Society’s view on success is that the more success you have endured, the better of a life you will live. But, success, in or of itself, merely speaks to a particular status and most likely has little to do with the journey the person took to get there. It also has little to do with whether or not he/she retained their dignity along the way. Thousands of non-fiction and fiction books are written around this wide spread concept. Ernest Hemingway is just one of these hundreds of authors. Among the many aspects of his novella, it is the idea of victory or redefining success that makes Hemingway’s classic
…show more content…
Hemingway uses Santiago (portrayed as Jesus) to represent the adversities and struggles it takes to remain undefeated. Throughout Santiago’s three day journey, he comes across many injuries; burns from the line on the palms of his hands, cuts on his forehead from his hat, being whipped on his back by the fishing line and his left hand seizing on a regular basis. Despite these injuries, the old man goes on to say, “I may not be as strong as I think, but I have many tricks and I have resolution” (Hemingway 23). Hemingway uses the biblical parallel between Santiago and the crucifixion of Jesus to demonstrate that man can come back demoralized and afflicted from a strenuous situation but will still fight for their dignity and never give up. As the story goes, Jesus is killed on a cross and on the third day, he rises again with his spirit still in tact. No, Jesus did not survive the soldiers that nailed him to the cross but, his spirit and beliefs live on in the modern world. On the third day of Santiagos trip, he is destroyed in a physical sense. He has become weak and “he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult” Although Santiago falls his spirit is just the same. He does not turn back and continues to push himself as far as he can. Although he has become physically broken, he refuses to admit
Hemingway uses Santiago (portrayed as Jesus) to represent the adversities and struggles it takes to remain undefeated. Throughout Santiago’s three day journey, he comes across many injuries; burns from the line on the palms of his hands, cuts on his forehead from his hat, being whipped on his back by the fishing line and his left hand seizing on a regular basis. Despite these injuries, the old man goes on to say, “I may not be as strong as I think, but I have many tricks and I have resolution” (Hemingway 23). Hemingway uses the biblical parallel between Santiago and the crucifixion of Jesus to demonstrate that man can come back demoralized and afflicted from a strenuous situation but will still fight for their dignity and never give up. As the story goes, Jesus is killed on a cross and on the third day, he rises again with his spirit still in tact. No, Jesus did not survive the soldiers that nailed him to the cross but, his spirit and beliefs live on in the modern world. On the third day of Santiagos trip, he is destroyed in a physical sense. He has become weak and “he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult” Although Santiago falls his spirit is just the same. He does not turn back and continues to push himself as far as he can. Although he has become physically broken, he refuses to admit