The Tragic Color of the Old Man and the Sea

周江霏

Abstract

Although The Old Man and the Sea provided us with some enlightenment about life， it was still a tragedy like his other works. We can analyze its tragic color from four aspects： tragic character， tragic conflict， tragic image and tragic effect.

Key Words： tragic color， tragic character， tragic conflict，tragic image， tragic effect

【中圖分類號】G640

Ernest Hemingway was one of the 20th centurys most important and influential writers. He was well-known for his novels and short-stories， such as The Sun Also Rises， A Farewell to Arms， For Whom the Bell Tolls， The Old Man and the Sea， In Our Time and Men without Women. The Old Man and the Sea was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway， composed in 1951 in Cuba and published in 1952. The novels enormous success satisfied and fulfilled Hemingway， probably for the last time in his life. It earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953， American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit Medal for the Novel and the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954， and restored his international reputation.

In The Old and the Sea， Hemingway created a fisherman-Santiago， an unyielding man who believed “ man can be destroyed but not defeated.” In the face of death ， he showed his courage， wisdom， confidence， endurance and fearlessness. Although The Old Man and the Sea provided us with some enlightenment about life， it was full of tragic color that affect us. We can analyze its tragic color from four aspects： tragic character， tragic conflict， tragic image and tragic effect.

1 Tragic Character- the Old Man

Hemingway was good at making real characters， putting the characters in a situation that leads through conflict to a climax of some sort. In the Old Man and the Sea， Hemingway presented the readers with a model of good， simple living： Santiago transcended the evils of the world- huger， poverty， the contempt of his fellow men-by enduring them. Broadly speaking， Santiago was a tragic character. Santiagos long struggle ended with failure-the great marlin was destroyed by sharks. After the sharks had destroyed his prize marlin， Santiago chastised himself for his hubris， claiming that it had ruined both the marlin and himself. It was his exaggerated pride that would lead to his downfall.

2 Tragic Conflict- between the Old Man and the Sean Creatures

Hemingway not only created a tragic character-Santiago， but also a tragic conflict between the old man and the sea creatures. There were two plots conflict between the old man and the big marlin， the old man and groups of sharks. In the first battle between the old man and the marlin， while he loved the marlin and called him brother， he admitted to killing it for pride， his blood stirred by battle with such a noble and worthy antagonist. The second battle was between the old man and sharks.endprint

3 Tragic Image- Comparing the Old Man with Christ

Throughout the passage，Hemingway purposefully likened Santiago to Christ，who， according to Christian theology， gave his life for the greater glory of humankind. Crucifixion imagery was the most noticeable way in which Hemingway created the symbolic parallel between Santiago and Christ. When his fishing line first cut Santiagos palms， the reader couldnt help but think of Christ suffering his stigmata. Later， when the sharks arrived， Hemingway portrayed the old man as a crucified martyr， saying that he made a noise similar to that of a man having nails driven through his hands.

4 The Tragic Effect-the Loss of Marlin

Hemingway described a picture of the old fishermans solitary fighting the sharks in the nocturnal glow of lights from Havana with simply， repeated and effective words. Although Santiago handling heavy fish on cords struggled with a group of sharks with courage and confidence， he failed at last. The marlin was torn by sharps and he carried the skeleton of it to his hut. The loss of great marlin meant that all his efforts disappeared completely. At this time， we can feel the beauty of the tragedy.

When we read The Old Man the the Sea， we should realize a spirit and benefit from it rather than only to see a tragedy. No matter how many difficulties we meet， we should adopt an optimistic attitude towards them.Like the old man--Santiago， we must confront the difficulties that occur in our life with our courage， confidence， endurance and fearlessness.endprint