The old Man and the Sea: An
Approach to meaning
Submitted to
Submitted By
PG. Deptt. Of English Biswa Ranjan sahoo
Utkal University Course work for PhD student
Tutor-Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak
Backman,Melvin. “Hemingway: The
Matador and the Crucified”, Modern Fiction Studies,
1(1955),
P.5.
Referring
to the above journal the essayist says that the Hemingway hero Santiago is
compared with Christ. He has cited many instances where it has been proved. For
instance Santiago is the Spanish name for Saint James. He lost the battle
against fish like Saint James who was martyred “With the sword”. Again he is
compared with Christ: while carrying the mast to the shack which is unbearable
for him to carry he sits down five times before reaching and we see Christ image of Christ
laboring with his cross to Golgotha. Our final vision of Santiago-as-Christ
unfolds as the old man reaches his hut after climbing the hill from the beach
and stowing his mast he lays on the bed and covers the body with the blanket,
we behold the ruined Christ with a blanket as a shroud and a hut for a
sepulchre. With these powerful images,
Hemingway solidifies the transference of Christ-imagery upon Santiago-who is a mythical
figure without benefit of myth. The reference makes the theme clear about the
religion of Hemingway.
Eliot,T.S. Four Quartets. New York: Harcourt, 1943.24-5.
The
essayist refers to T.S Eliot on the theme of renunciation. Each of the Four
Quartets considers spiritual existence, consciousness, and the relationship
of the present to the past. The Four Quartets
are concerned with the conflict between individual mortality and the endless
span of human existence. Eliot’s concept of renunciation lies not in the grief
in the sense of lament for something lost but a grief greater than anything we
know. The same is reflected in novel The
Old Man and the Sea where the novelist declares: renunciation can be gained
by disowning self. Hemingway’s salvation lies in the defeat with natural forces
and his ultimate vision of shore.
On this context the critic’s reference to
Eliot is useful. Though Eliot is sometimes opaque or unclear to the reader
still his wisdom is noteworthy. So comparing with Eliot the essayist is crystal
clear in thought and meaning. The reader will find the accuracy and correctness
of the reference.
Heminway,Ernest. Across the River and Into the Trees. New
York: Charles Scribner’s Sons
P.
1950, p.219-20.
The
concept of death to Hemingway hero varies in form. But death is an inevitable
catastrophe for them and they never care for it. He writes that the novel shows
a common Hemingway theme of "maintaining control over one's life, even in
the face of terrible odds." Cantwell knows he is dying and faces death
"with the dignity which he believes he has maintained throughout his
military service." The theme of death is central in Hemingway's writing.
In this paragraph the essayist avoids using
imperative jargons and opaque images. He states things very clearly. The hero
is worried about the arrival of death. He searches how does it come? Death can
come through un- boiled water to mosquito foot. But for Cantwell the Hemingway
hero death arrives through a bullet. While analyzing Old Man and the Sea the concept of death makes the meaning clear
and referring to Across the River and
Into the Trees make the essay coherent, convincing and systematic.
Heminway,Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons P. 1940,
P.169.
The
essayist is not only concerned with the single text of the author rather he is
variegated in his reference. He refers to other works of the author as and when
the situation demands. This enables the reader to comprehend the matter easily
as the reader more or less knows about other works of a particular author. The
readers become friendly to the situation. It decreases the doubt, confusion and
complexity.
In
For Whom the Bell Tolls thoughts and
experiences of Robert Jordan, a character inspired by Hemingway's own experiences
in the Spanish Civil War, has been depicted. In their camp, Robert
Jordan encounters Maria, a young Spanish woman with whom he falls in love. At
the end of the novel Robert Jordan is mortally wounded but hopes to kill a few
enemy soldiers and slow down enemy action before he dies. Death is final and
inescapable. The pain, turbulence and dissolution gained by the hero are the
path to salvation. In For Whom the Bell
Tolls reflects a different view of love and death going simultaneously.
Hemingway,Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. (London, 1953),
p.84.
Everywhere
inside the essay the essayist refers the original text. But in the context of
life what he knows is worth knowing. Hemingway says “pain does not matter to
man.” Although he is not a usual kind of believer of religion Hemingway’s voice
is central to all the religion. He believes in life worship: a pagan ideology.
He seems to believe that there are only two options: defeat or endurance until
destruction; Santiago clearly chooses the latter. His stoic determination is
mythic, nearly Christ-like in proportion. Like Christ, to whom
Santiago is unashamedly compared at the end of the novella, the old man’s
physical suffering leads to a more significant spiritual triumph.
Referring
to the original text the essayist confesses his ingenuity of knowledge. Over
quotation decreases the creativity and inside the essay the reader finds over
quotation and gets jumbled. But the essayist’s carefully handling of quotation
in a coherent manner shows his ability of arrangement.
Heminway,Ernest.The Sun also Rises. New York: Charles
Scribners and Sons P.1926.
…Death in the Afternoon. New York:
Charles Scribers and Sons P.1932.
Two
of his above most important novels depict the theme of death and illumination
in terms of the ritual. The hero in both the cases enacts the spiritual
exercises in the act of killing, through the orderliness, efficiency and
cleanliness. Being a god the hero achieves the way. The real claim of salvation
however belongs to the crucified victim. The hero must wait the earth’s recall.
The
theme of the above two novels are required to attribute the meaning of the
novel The Old Man and the Sea because
Santiago glimpses the fishless desert as the world is. Hemingway explicitly
states that his hero and his friends’ lives are aimless, and that this
aimlessness is a result of the war. No doubt Santiago has determination to net
the fish after 84 days and his catching of marlin is mere a satire of fate.
Lair, Robert L. “Hemingway and
Cezanne: An Indebtedness”, Modern Fiction
Studies,
vol.2.
1950, p.219-20.
Before
the end of the novel and after a nice description of meaning and theme the
essayist praises the syntax, lucidity and vivid picture in the novel. He refers
to Robert Lair who in his above essay describes that Hemingway had learned how
to construct his own verbal landscapes from Cezanne. The essayist feels useful
to confess that Hemingway uses the sequence of unhurried sensation as Cezanne’s
painting is a part of the relationship between colour and space. Hemingway
confesses in the essay of Lair that he learnt from Cezanne how to make landscapes
and how emotions become inherent to hero. In the Old Man and the Sea Hemingway uses those are true reflectors and
containers of emotion.
Moreover
Throughout the essay the essayist seems to be a referent of various works from
many writers which sometimes decreases the enthusiasm of the reader.
Plimpton, George. “The Art of
Fiction: Ernest Hemingway.” The Paris
Review (spring,
958):
124.
Giving
an interview to George Plimpton, Ernest Hemingway describes his future plan to
write up a novel. He replies to Plimpton saying: one’s life is vital experience
to write up a novel but one can write beyond inspiration and the pleasant test
comes later. He
may admit superstitions, but he prefers not to talk about them, feeling that
whatever value they may have can be talked away. About his own
experience of fishing inside the sea Hemingway reaffirms that he goes on
fishing inside the deep sea alone by his skiff. The pleasure and pain for
adventure has been delineated through his autobiographical character Santiago
who claims “But man is man is not made for defeat.” In the eyes of his
protagonist he visualizes his duel with bull.
Citing
the above journal the essayist has made a justice in giving the exact
information and source. On the ethical ground he is not a culprit. At the very
outset of the critical essay the reference to the journal makes the essay cosy
to understand about the theme of the novel.
Stevens, Wallace. “Sunday Morning”.
The Faber Book of Modern American Veres
ed. W.H.
Auden.
London, 1944, p.73.
If we analyze on ground of
relevance; we can say that quoting Stevens is essential to complete the sense.
The writer in the previous paragraph was stating about salvation, renunciation
and incarnation by comparing Eliot and Hemingway and the reference to Wallace
make the sense complete. For Hemingway salvation is something that cannot be
achieved through spiritual exercise but through here and now of experience.
Wallace’s convention of religion is simply of paganism. Stevens can be adored
in handling with the transcendental theme with paganism simultaneously. His
poetry defines itself by sympathetic reaction to the Christian impulse for
immortality and a transcendent realm. The immortality is a matter of moment.
The
citation for the journal given above is correct that the essayist has quoted
from Sunday Morning. It shows that
the writer is not a mere plagiarist. And at last Wallace’s salvation is
something comprehended.
Tanner, Tony. The reign of wonder. Cambridge: CUP. 1965 p.239
The
writer of the article, the essayist, refers to Tanner- a British Literary
Critic of mid-twentieth century, and a pioneering figure in the study of
American literature to follow the debate of salvation. Tanner in the above
published thesis declares the adoption of Emerson’s Myth by Hemingway. It tells
that the
virtues of the passive eye before a world in which any object, if seen
correctly, could be "symbol of God."
He
already has compared with the concept of salvation with Eliot and wallace and referring
to Tanner is a task of meticulous observation. Among the work cited till now Tanner
is more current than previous. The currency of work shows that he has read his
predecessors carefully. Referring Tanner shows the essayist’s up datedness. The
appropriateness accuracy and ethics of the essayist is fore grounded through
the confession of the fact. Tanner says the Hemingway hero is adventurous;
brave; courageous; and daring. They always defy death. They don’t accommodate
with defeat, loss or death.
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