《老人与海》硬汉形象分析

1、An Analysis on Code HeroIn the Old Man and the SeaA Thesis Presented to theFaculty of Binhai School of Foreign AffairsTianjin Foreign Studies UniversityIn Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for the DegreeBachelor of ArtsbyYu AixinMay ，2013ContentsAbstract (in Chinese)IAbstract (in English)III. I

2、ntroduction1.1 The introduction to Hemingway11.2 The introduction to The Old Man and the Sea3II. Literature review.III. Reflection of SantiagoCharacteristics3.1 Facing the failure optimistically53.2 Strong will in the long fighting63.3 The confidence and courage to overcome difficulties73.4 To defen

3、d the dignity of human being8IV. Analysis of Santiago is a Code Hero4.1 The formation of Code Hero104.2 Typical characters of Code Hero124.3 Typical behaviors of Code Hero12V. The significance of Code Hero to modern society13Conclusion14 .References.16摘要欧内斯特海明威是美国著名的小说家之一。 老人与海是他众多作品中影响最深远的小说， 1954

4、年为他赢得了诺贝尔文学奖。小说描写了老渔夫桑迪亚哥孤身一人出海捕鱼的故事。经过两天两夜的生死搏斗，终于捕到了一条大马林鱼。然而大马林鱼却遭到了鲨鱼的袭击，最后只剩下一付巨大的鱼骨架。桑迪亚哥在巨大困难面前，所表现出得勇气和力量，以及履行使命时所体现的超人才智，无不说明他是一位英雄。论文浅析了桑迪亚哥的特殊性格和行为，倡导顽强，坚韧，永不服输的精神。通过对桑迪亚哥的分析，塑造了硬汉形象，深刻体会硬汉精神的现代意义。关键词： 欧内斯特海明威；老人与海；桑迪亚哥；硬汉AbstractErnest Hemingway is one of the most famous novelists in Ame

5、rica. The Old Man and the Sea is the most far-reaching novel in his works, and won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. The novel describes an old fisherman, Santiago, sets out to sea alone. After two days and nightsstruggle, he catches a huge marlin finally. But the captured marlin is later destroye

6、d by sharks, and leavesnothing but the bones of the fish. Santiago s courage and strength in the face oftremendous obstacles, as well as wisdom with which he executes his task, makehim a hero. The paper willanalyze the typical characters and behaviors ofSantiago, advocate the spirit of firmness, per

7、sistency, and never giving up.Through the careful study on Santiago s characters, reflection on the image ofCode Hero will be made, moreover, the significance of Code Hero to modern society is also revealed.Key words: Ernest Hemingway; The Old Man and the Sea; Santiago; Code HeroI. Introduction1.1 T

8、he introduction to HemingwayErnest Hemingway (1899-1961) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a conservative upper-middle class suburb of Chicago. He was one of the most famous novelists in America. His works have an important influence on development of other writings. As a boy he liked football, fishin

9、g, and hunting. It is necessary part in his life as important as his writing. He was the son of a doctor and a music teacher. He portrayed his middle-class parents rather harshly for their values and their morality.He began his writing career as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. At the age of eig

10、hteen, he severed as a Red Cross ambulance driver during the First World War, and was sent to Italy, where he was badly injured by shrapnel and experienced at least twelve operations. He recovered in hospital of Milan, where he fell in love with a nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky. Later, Hemingway created

11、his individual experience in Italy into the great novel, A Farewell to Arms . So many critics generally agree that A Farewell to Arms is Hemingway smost accomplished novel.Hemingway returned home in 1919, his parents didn understand the psychological pain he had suffered during the war, and persuade

12、d him to find a job. He had difficulties in coping with his parents and his friends. The short novel Soldier s Home reflects this conflict. In 1921, Hemingway married his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Then he moved to Paris and was involved with literature and artistic circle. He made valuable conn

13、ection with a group of American and English expatriate writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound,and Gertrude Stein. Asthe journalist and a famous author, he had the highreputation. With the publication of The Sun Also Rises(1962), which describesthe disillusionmentfora generation of youth whose

14、early adulthoodwasconsumed by the First World War, he was known as the representative of“ theLost Generation.”Hemingway smarriage began to fall apart, and divorced in 1927. He quickly married the second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Hemingway sfather, Clarence Hemingway, committed suicide in 1928 after de

15、veloping serious health andfinancial problems, and Hemingway engaged in an affair with a woman Martha Gel horn in 1940. Hemingway began to cover the Spanish Civil War for North American Newspaper Alliance in 1937. His novel For whom Bell Tolls , based on his experience in Spain, was published in 194

16、0. The novel For whom Bell Tolls is successful, but he did not publish another novel for ten year. Meanwhile, he and Gel horn divorced, and then married Mary Welsh after the Second World War.His writing began to fizzle with his physical health declined. Hemingway did enough energy to write The Old M

17、an and the Sea, which is one of the most famous works of him. A famous writer ever praisedThe Old Man and the Seaas“ the most excellent simple article in this generation.novel The Old” HisManand the Seawas published in 1952, and won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Hemingway would like to focus o

18、n the image of Code Hero who fights with tragic surrounding life in his novels. The Old Man and the Sea is the last novelin his lifetime. The description of“ Code Hero ” always appears in his works.Hemingway had four marriages in his whole life. He experienced miserable and emotional pain so that hi

19、s works lacked the sense of reality about women. Later, he didnthave strength and courage in fighting with the existence. His heavydrinking increased his health problems. He was more and more depressed and lost confidence to meaningless world. He committed suicide in 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho.1.2 The i

20、ntroduction toThe Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the Sea is the story of an old fisherman who undertakes afierce struggle with a huge marlin the greatest catch in life. In a period of time,Santiago has set out to sea alone and returned without a fish for eighty-four days.At the beginning, a boy

21、called Manolin setsout together with Santiago. Laterhis parents force the boy to leave Santiago in order to fish in a more prosperousboat. On eighty-fifthdays of his unlucky stream, the greatest marlin whichSantiago has never seen takes the bait in the water. Because of the marlinsize, Santiago is u

22、nable to pull the fish in, and the two are engaged in a struggle.Santiago fights the huge marlin with his rich fishing experience and skills andendures pain from the fishing line.After two days and two nights struggle, ultimately the big fish is attached to theboat. As Santiago sails on the water, t

23、he marlin s blood leaves a trial in the water and attracts sharks. In order to prevent sharks attack, Santiago does his best.Although Santiago kills several sharks by the time night falls, his struggle against the scavengers is useless. They devour the marlin precious meat, leaving only skeleton, he

24、ad, and tail. Santiago arrives home before daybreak and sleeps very deeply. He dreams his usual dream of lions at play on the beaches of Africa.The Old Man and the Sea ends on a rather optimistic note, and describes the depth of Santiago s tragic fateSantiago,. a representative of Code Hero, suffers

25、 terribly throughout The Old Man and the Sea. The author portrays Code Hero sgrace under pressure through the struggle with the huge marlin and sharks. It can be read on more than one meaning. Hemingway describes this technique asthe “ iceberg principle,the simplest” writing can hint the greatest hu

26、man truths. He achieves his effort by relying on symbolisms to many readers. These symbolisms reveal Hemingway s moral ideal that glory depends on one should have the pride to see a struggle through to the end, regardless of the outcome.Hemingway believes death and destruction are unavoidable in the

27、 natural order. Because Santiago struggles against huge marlin and sharks, the creatures of the sea; some readers consider the tale as man sbattle against the natural world, more actually, a story of man splace in nature. No matter man or marlin is subject to the same rule, they must kill or be kill

28、ed. The novel suggestsit is impossible to escape the natural struggle.It proves Santiago s the image of Code Hero through the effort to struggle the inevitable law. Santiago characters motives him to change the destructive forces of nature, and enables him to defend his dignified destiny. The most a

29、ttracting way is that Hemingway creates these images to link Santiago to Christ, who exemplifies transcendenceby turning loss into gain, defeat into triumph, and even death into life. Santiago chooses endurance, and his determination is nearly Christ-like in proportion.Hemingway s creation not only

30、originates from real life, but is superior to hislife. The spirit of Code Hero actually reflects the author As own life attitude. one of the greatest works of Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea attractsgreat attentions in study from different perspectives. The usage of symbolism and the iceberg prin

31、ciple help the readers have a good understanding from different aspects. So readers should try to understand the truths under the water in The Old Man and the Sea.II. Literary reviewAs one of the greatest works of Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea attracts great critical attentions in study from di

32、fferent perspectives. Such as the image of Code Hero , the Iceberg Principle, the usage of symbolism and so on. These researches help the readers have a good understanding ofHemingway and the old man and the sea.Baker believes that Hemingway learns to get the most from the least, how to prune langua

33、ge, how to multiply intensities, and how to tell nothing but the truth in a way that allowed for telling more than the truth(Baker, 1969).Santiago is the last tragic hero that Hemingway portrays. Being poor andunlucky, his fate is sad, but he is not a man being asilye defeated. Hemingway s unyieldin

34、g character is attached to the old man , which is the symbol of Hemingway sunyielding character, which is regarded as an embodiment of Hemingway s iceberg principle(Berman, Ronald, 2003).Many other scholars such as Linda Wagner-Martin, Scott Donaldson, Wendy Martin, John W. Aldridge also give their

35、thoughts and opinions on Hemingways works. Chinese criticism also pay much attention to the Old Man and the Sea.Hu Tiesheng once mentions that The Old Man and the Sea has made the CodeHero to its climax. The clear sign of Code Herois:“ The world wants to strikedown every one in the world, but most o

36、f them are staunch; and the worldeagerly wants to kill the brave, the kindhearted and the merciful. The “ CodeHero” isone who stands up to the hardship” . (Hu,1994:Tiesheng84)The Interpretation of Dreams in The Old Man and the Sea by Gao Hongqin studies the novel from a new perspective by analyzing

37、the dreams in the story. It begins from Freuds dream theory that dreams are the satisfaction of suppressed and inhibited desires in the form of camouflage. And then this paper interprets the Africa and lions. (Gao Hongqin , 2009 )Yuan Xianquans A General Talk on Hemingways Writing Style of Iceberg h

38、as a comprehensive analysis of the Iceberg Principle. It begins from the formation of Hemingways particular writing style, namely the authors various experiences and his carefulness in writing. Then it has a vivid description of the Iceberg theory. (Yuan Xianquan, 1995)Another scholar Wu Ran thinks

39、that the tragedy of the Old Man and the Sea doesndependt on the old man ssacrifice to fishing, but for that individual strength is doomed to fail. (Wu Ran, 1989: 61)As the climax of Hemingway s literary creation sandbesthi work in his lifetime, The Old Man and the Seaenjoys high reputation in the wo

40、rld literary. Certainly the work itself has great profound meaning in many aspects. This paper will make further study on the Old Man and the Sea through the analysis of Code Hero.III. Reflectionof Santiago s Characteristics3.1 Facing the failure optimisticallyThe old man s magnificence and honor wi

41、th which he executes his task, makes his struggle reach transcendent level. Santiago copes with difficulties that lifethrows at him in an optimistic way. His spirit of optimism supports him to fight with marlin, sharks, and himself. Santiago is not depressed with his poor surroundings, and is undefe

42、ated by the loneliness. Under the pressure of bad luck, he says that every day is a new day. Although he fails at last, he reflects the strong voice from the heart that he is not defeated. His spirit of optimism expresses the theme of the novel.Having been made fun by many fishermen and catching wit

43、h nothing for eighty-four days, Santiago still talks about the newspapers with the small boy, and discusses the latest developments in American baseball. In the three days struggle at sea, Santiago tries to reassure himself of his own strength, his thought returns to a baseball player DiMaggio who r

44、epresents a kind of triumphant survival. After suffering a bone spur in the heel, DiMaggio returns to baseball again, and becomes the great player in eyes of many people. He considers him as a model of strength and commitment.Besides, in order to improve his confidence and strength, the old man reca

45、lls the great all-night arms wrestling match he won as a young man and tries to find the triumph and a renewed life from the destruction. Moreover, Santiago makes stars and huge marlin as his friends. He considers he is so lucky that his life doesn t involve anything so great as the stars or the moo

46、n.Santiago dreams his pleasant dream of the lions at play on the beaches of Africa three times. The first time is the night before his three-day fishing experience, the second time is he sleeps on the boat for a few hours in the middle of his struggle with the huge marlin, and the third time is at t

47、he end of this story. The lion is associatedwith strength, hope, triumph, even the pursuit of Santiago s ideal life. From the above mentioned, we may safely reach a conclusion that Santiago can face the failure optimistically.3.2 Strong will in the fightingIn his life, fighting with marlin for three

48、 days may be the greatest challenge. Throughout the novel, no matter how difficult the circumstances become, Santiago exhibits the determination of strong will to catch this huge marlin and brings it to shore. Even his left hand crams and his right hand is cut by the line, he still persists fighting

49、. At that time, the old man can extricate himself from thesituation only if he cuts the lines and sets the big fish free. The old man doesn t do that because it means failure to him.He wants to know how many fishes the marlin kills and promises to fight withsharks until he dies. He believes nothing

50、can defeat his will, and believes strongly he will catch a big fish finally. In order to catch the marlin and battle sharks, Santiago is willing to die. When he is thirsty, he drinks some water; when he is sleepy, he lies forward cramming himself against the line with all of his body, putting all hi

51、s weight onto his right hand. He believes that he can achieve his target with wisdom, confidence, and strong will. Santiago beats the evils of the world hunger, poverty, the laugh of his fellow men by strong will. Although Santiago battles is based on physical struggle, the strong willdetermines the

52、 success or failure. Looking at the damaged hand, he says that,“I ll stay with you until I am dead. (Ernest Hemingway”, 2005: 28) Santiago swounds remind him that it is real to experience these, and not a dream. He eats another flying fish in hopes of building up his strength. He feels faint and diz

53、zy and sees black spots before his eyes. Then he says to himself, “ A man can be destroyed but not be defeated.”(Ernest Hemingway, 2005: 57) He makes himself cheerful, thinking that it is a big silly, if he stops fighting and hoping. Santiago repeatedly reminds himself that physical pain does not a

54、big thing to a man, and he urges himself to keep his head clear and to know how to suffer like a man.Santiago is filled with hope which is the important part of long fighting. The novel seems to suggest that the strong will be found when you face the pain and difficulties. Without strong will, Santi

55、ago has reason neither to fight the sharks nor to return home. Although Santiago loses the battle in life, he can achieve a moral significance after his strong will to endure the struggle. Santiagowill originate from h is desires for the victory and strength. He doesn strong will, he also proves his strength by his action.3.3 The confidence and courage to overcome difficultiesIn the novel, Santiago behaves honorably to overcome difficulties with great courage and confidence. He always experiences all kinds of challenges and sufferings, but he can end