How Does Hemingway Present Santiago As A Code Hero
In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, a Cuban fisherman has spent eighty-four days on the ocean without catching a single fish. During his journey for redemption, the fisherman, Santiago, loses several physical and mental battles. For example, Santiago struggles to catch an immense marlin, carry his boat’s mast back to shore, and fight off hungry sharks surrounding his skiff. By putting his protagonist through these symbolic trials, Hemingway truly shows Santiago’s perseverance and ability as a classic “code hero” figure found in many of his works. The main battle Santiago fights is to catch a marlin, something that would surely redeem his fishing abilities after nearly three months without success. His fishing companion, a young
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Santiago knows how dangerous sharks can be to fisherman and their bounties. “They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or cut the turtles' legs and flippers off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood...on him” (Hemingway 80). The sharks have surrounded the skiff and Santiago fears the worst as he has just caught the marlin, the recent plague of his existence. After the first shark, a mako, strikes at the marlin, the old man is emotionally crushed and feels the fish’s pain himself. “‘He took about forty pounds,’ the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others...When the fish had been hit it was although he himself were hit.” (103). After all his hard work, the sea has betrayed him, after rewarding him for his eighty-four days of suffering. This sends him spiraling in regretful thoughts. “But I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought...It was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspapers.” (103). It can be inferred by the reader that the old man represents Hemingway and
Santiago knows how dangerous sharks can be to fisherman and their bounties. “They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or cut the turtles' legs and flippers off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood...on him” (Hemingway 80). The sharks have surrounded the skiff and Santiago fears the worst as he has just caught the marlin, the recent plague of his existence. After the first shark, a mako, strikes at the marlin, the old man is emotionally crushed and feels the fish’s pain himself. “‘He took about forty pounds,’ the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others...When the fish had been hit it was although he himself were hit.” (103). After all his hard work, the sea has betrayed him, after rewarding him for his eighty-four days of suffering. This sends him spiraling in regretful thoughts. “But I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought...It was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspapers.” (103). It can be inferred by the reader that the old man represents Hemingway and