Santiago as a Chirst Figure
Santiago as a Christ Figure
Across the world, many think of Jesus Christ as the symbol of purity, love, and all things good. Although it is impossible for any being, fact or fiction, to become as
'perfect' as Jesus Christ himself, there are characters that can be considered 'Christ like' or resemble certain qualities of the Messiah. Ernest Hemingway's character, the Old
Man Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea is a Christ like character because of the way the young boy acted as his devoted disciple, the way the wounds on his hands resembled those of Christ's, and because he carried his mast up a hill, almost identically to the way Christ carried his cross up the hill to his crucifixion.
Although Christ had many followers and Santiago only had one, Santiago is still a
Christ like figure because of just how devoted his follower was. After the old man returned from his journey, the boy finds him asleep. Hemingway writes, "The boy carried the hot can of coffee up the the old man's shack and sat by him until he woke" (Hemingway 123). The boy could have easily gotten up and attended to other things he had to do. But Manolin genuinely cared for the old man, and stayed by his side because he wanted to. This is very similar to the loving relationship between the disciple John and Jesus. Just as John was devoted to Jesus, Manolin was devoted to
Santiago.
Santiago was never crucified like Christ was; however, he had wounds in his hands just like Christ's, making him stand out even more as a Christ figure. After Santiago had killed the fish and was sailing home, he let his mind water to other things. Because his hands were injured earlier in the day, he thinks, "I bled [the hands] clean and the salt water will cure them" (Hemingway 99). Jesus had wounds in his hands when he was nailed to the cross, and yet endured that suffering. Likewise, Santiago also hand wounds in the exact same place and also persevered through the pain. This is another
parallel
Across the world, many think of Jesus Christ as the symbol of purity, love, and all things good. Although it is impossible for any being, fact or fiction, to become as
'perfect' as Jesus Christ himself, there are characters that can be considered 'Christ like' or resemble certain qualities of the Messiah. Ernest Hemingway's character, the Old
Man Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea is a Christ like character because of the way the young boy acted as his devoted disciple, the way the wounds on his hands resembled those of Christ's, and because he carried his mast up a hill, almost identically to the way Christ carried his cross up the hill to his crucifixion.
Although Christ had many followers and Santiago only had one, Santiago is still a
Christ like figure because of just how devoted his follower was. After the old man returned from his journey, the boy finds him asleep. Hemingway writes, "The boy carried the hot can of coffee up the the old man's shack and sat by him until he woke" (Hemingway 123). The boy could have easily gotten up and attended to other things he had to do. But Manolin genuinely cared for the old man, and stayed by his side because he wanted to. This is very similar to the loving relationship between the disciple John and Jesus. Just as John was devoted to Jesus, Manolin was devoted to
Santiago.
Santiago was never crucified like Christ was; however, he had wounds in his hands just like Christ's, making him stand out even more as a Christ figure. After Santiago had killed the fish and was sailing home, he let his mind water to other things. Because his hands were injured earlier in the day, he thinks, "I bled [the hands] clean and the salt water will cure them" (Hemingway 99). Jesus had wounds in his hands when he was nailed to the cross, and yet endured that suffering. Likewise, Santiago also hand wounds in the exact same place and also persevered through the pain. This is another
parallel