A Pride Filled Journey (Old Man and the Sea) Essay Example
A Pride Filled Journey
During a hardship, facing reality is very difficult. Yet this is only half the battle. Struggling to fight the force, one’s will eventually overpowers them. Santiago, an old fisherman who has not caught anything for eighty-four days, struggles to fight his pride. A tragic hero is a respectable character who is destined to downfall. Santiago is compared to a tragic hero; his hardships force him to face reality in its cruelest sense. Following Santiago and his hubris throughout the novella, Hemingway depicts hubris to lead to Santiago’s eventual downfall. Through the glowing streets of Havana, the city of gold, a wistful wind blows on a humble shack. It is small but a lugubrious atmosphere hangs over like the clouds do on a rainy day. Inhabiting the shack, Santiago looms inside. Manolin, a young boy who practically worships Santiago, comes to help him with his needs on every occasion. Manolin is the only person who talks to him because “… [younger] fishermen made fun of the old man […] older fishermen looked at him and were sad” (Hemingway 11). Santiago is looked down upon by society, but he does not care because he knows one day he will catch his “marlin”. Santiago’s pride shows that he may be old man but he is not a defeated man. On day eighty-five, the birds whistle their regular tunes, the sun shines as brightly as usual, but what makes this day different? Santiago sets out to sea to find fish, the salty staples of the ocean. A couple hours in, Santiago figures out he went out to far. He catches fish by following schools of bonito and albacore. Santiago realizes "Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for" (40). Fishing is what he was born to do. His hubris shows allows him to know the reason for his existence or what he is made to do. As his pride carries him out to sea, he leaves his consciousness there as well. Not until he comes back from his adventure does he realize that his hubris
During a hardship, facing reality is very difficult. Yet this is only half the battle. Struggling to fight the force, one’s will eventually overpowers them. Santiago, an old fisherman who has not caught anything for eighty-four days, struggles to fight his pride. A tragic hero is a respectable character who is destined to downfall. Santiago is compared to a tragic hero; his hardships force him to face reality in its cruelest sense. Following Santiago and his hubris throughout the novella, Hemingway depicts hubris to lead to Santiago’s eventual downfall. Through the glowing streets of Havana, the city of gold, a wistful wind blows on a humble shack. It is small but a lugubrious atmosphere hangs over like the clouds do on a rainy day. Inhabiting the shack, Santiago looms inside. Manolin, a young boy who practically worships Santiago, comes to help him with his needs on every occasion. Manolin is the only person who talks to him because “… [younger] fishermen made fun of the old man […] older fishermen looked at him and were sad” (Hemingway 11). Santiago is looked down upon by society, but he does not care because he knows one day he will catch his “marlin”. Santiago’s pride shows that he may be old man but he is not a defeated man. On day eighty-five, the birds whistle their regular tunes, the sun shines as brightly as usual, but what makes this day different? Santiago sets out to sea to find fish, the salty staples of the ocean. A couple hours in, Santiago figures out he went out to far. He catches fish by following schools of bonito and albacore. Santiago realizes "Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for" (40). Fishing is what he was born to do. His hubris shows allows him to know the reason for his existence or what he is made to do. As his pride carries him out to sea, he leaves his consciousness there as well. Not until he comes back from his adventure does he realize that his hubris