AnAnalysisoftheHeroicCharacterintheOldManandtheSea

1、編號英語專業(yè)語言實踐作業(yè)題目：An Analysis of the Heroic Character in the Old Man and the Sea 語言文學 系 英語 專業(yè)班 級 姓 名 學 號 指導教師 二一年六月摘 要厄內(nèi)斯特·海明威(1899-1961)是美國著名的小說家之一。在作品里，他創(chuàng)造了很多經(jīng)典的硬漢形象。1954，他因小說老人與海獲得了年的諾貝爾文學獎。在這篇小說中，作者創(chuàng)造了一個令人難忘的硬漢形象-老人圣地亞哥。老人與海是在全世界都有深刻影響的文學瑰寶。它之所以成為海明威的巔峰之作，就在于海明威在其中不但寫了硬漢，還為他所鐘愛的硬漢找到了靈魂，這靈魂就是人的

2、自信。本文是從分析作品主人公圣地亞哥出發(fā)的，從不同層面揭示“硬漢”的特征，倡導一種堅忍不拔，永不言棄的精神。 關(guān)鍵詞：海明威；老人與海；圣地亞哥；硬漢精神AbstractErnest Hemingway（1899-1961）was one of the most famous novelist in America. The heroes in his works are often the so-called “tough guys”. In The Old Man and the Sea, he created an unforgettable image of a heroic char

3、acter- Santiago and the novel won Hemingway Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. The Old Man and the Sea - Hemingways masterpiece, has world reputation and affects people deeply because he gave the hero- Santiago not only a image of code hero, but also the spirit of self-confidence. This paper will e

4、xplores the image of the old man, reveal the personality of the heroic character, and advocate the spirit of never giving up.Keywords: Ernest Hemingway; The Old Man and the Sea; Santiago; a heroic characterContentsCHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION11.1 The Introduction to the Author11.2 The Introduction to the B

5、ackground11.2.1 Sicial Background11.2.2 Novels background1CHAPTER2 PLOT3CHAPTER3 ANALYSIS OF THE HEROIC CHARACTERS43.1 Santiagos unyielding spirit43.2 Santiagos endurance of the long fighting4CHAPTER4 CONCLUSION6REFERENCES7Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 The Introduction to the AuthorRegarded as a giant

6、both in American literature and the world literature, Ernest Hemingway was born on July21, 1898, at Oak Park, Illinois. During World War I he worked as an ambulance driver in France and in the Italian infantry and was wounded severely just before his 19th birthday. Later, he became involved with the

7、 expatriate literary and artistic circle surrounding Gertrude Stein when he was working in Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star, His works during the 1920s are representative of“the Lost Generation”. During the Spanish Civil War and later the Second Word War, Hemingway served as a correspon

8、dent on the loyalist side. Then he settled in Cuba in 1945. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize of Literature for his“mastery of the art of modern narration”. After his expulsion from Cuba by the Castro regime, he moved to Idaho. He was increasingly plagued by ill health and mental proble

9、ms, and in July, 1961, he committed suicide by shooting himself.Hemingways life is filled with kinds of adventures, and from his rich and colorful life experiences，his life seems like an unusual book which many other people in the world admire and envy. Hemingway's fiction usually focuses on peo

10、ple living essential, dangerous lives, soldiers, fishermen, athletes, bullfighters, who meet the pain and difficulty of their existence with stoic courage. From his works and life experiences, Hemingway is indeed a perfectionist. Many of the heroes that he created in novels are represented his code

11、man spirit-perfectionism, especially in The Old Man and the Sea. The old man named Santiago represented Hemingways perfectionism characteristic more vividly than other code man in his works1.2 The Introduction to the Background1.2.1 Sicial BackgroundHemingways life was active and adventurous but ful

12、l of pains. He lived in the period that the World War One broke out when many young volunteers took part in the war which also called “a war ends all wars”. But the cruel reality made them aware that modern warfare was not as glorious as they thought. Actually the First and the Second World Wars had

13、 affected Hemingway a lot, for he had once joined the army and had injured in Italy, so he suffered much which was brought about by the war deeply. He was disappointed with the world at that time and became very pessimistic about the fate of the human beings. As a young writer and spokesman of the “

14、The Lost Generation”, and influenced by the greedy and heedless way of life in America, Hemingways works all vividly recorded the life of those physically and mentally wounded soldiers, revealed the frustration, loneliness when “God is dead”.1.2.2 Novels backgroundThe novel The Old Man and the Sea i

15、s based on a real story. The story goes that in the late 1940s, upon return from an early morning fishing trip, Fuentes (Hemingways friend) and Hemingway saw a small boat 10 miles out to sea. Hemingway asked Fuentes to approach the vessel to see if they needed help. Inside the boat were an old man a

16、nd a boy. As the vessels closed, the old man began yelling at them with insults including telling them to go to hell, indicating that they had scared away the fish. Fuentes and Hemingway looked at each other in surprise. Just the same, Hemingway asked Fuentes to lower them some food and drinks while

17、 the old man and boy glared at them. Without another word exchanged, the two boats parted ways. According to Fuentes, Hemingway began immediately to write in his notebook and later asked him to find the old man. But he never was able to find the fisherman that had made such an impression on Hemingwa

18、y. A few years after The Old Man and the Sea was published, residents of Cojimar believed that the old fisherman that Fuentes and Hemingway ran into at sea was a humble local fisherman they called el viejo Miguel; some described his physical appearance as a wiry Spencer Tracy.The other circumstances

19、 that made Hemingway wrote the novel was Hemingways writing capability had been questioned by people at that time. Under kinds of gossip, Hemingway decided to write The Old Man and the Sea which had been constructed in his mind for more than 10 years. At last, this masterpiece proved his writing tal

20、ent.Chapter2 PlotIt is a poetic tragic novel told in language of great simplicity and power. Its hero is an old Cuban fisherman -Santiago, who is down on his luck, and tries to fight against his fate. In the story Santiago has gone for 84 days without catching a fish. As a result, Mandolin, a little

21、 boy, who used to sail with him, is forbidden from fishing with the old man by his parents and forced to catch fish in another “good-lucky” ship.Later despite the boy asks for fishing together again, but the old man insists on fishing alone and at last, he succeeds in hooking a giant marlin which is

22、 eighteen-foot, the largest he has ever known before. But the fish is very powerful and disobedient. It tows the old man and his boat for almost 48 hours, the old man could do nothing but bearing the whole weight of the fish through the line on his back. The old man, with little food and sleep, has

23、to bear a lot of pain and at the same time fight against the fish. To his great excitement, he was rewarded for his struggle. On the third day at sea, he finally catches the weakened marlin to the surface and harpoons it. On his way home, he lashed marlin alongside his boat because it is too big to

24、be put in the boat. But, unfortunately, the sharks assaulted the old man and the giant marlin in different directions for four times. The old man fights to kill the sharks with as much strength he can summon, but only to find a giant skeleton of his marlin left after his desperate defense. At last,

25、Santiago, having lost what he fought for, reaches the shore and struggles to his shack. He falls into sound sleep, dreaming of Africa and the lions again.Chapter3 Analysis of the heroic characters3.1 Santiagos unyielding spiritIn the novel, the author portrays the image of an old Cuban fisherman who

26、 has gone for 84 days with catching nothing. “The old man was thin and gaunt, with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his

27、 hands had the deep creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of the scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.”. From these words, we may feel sympathetic toward the old man and think that he is too week to catch a big fish. But “Everything about him wa

28、s old except his eye and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” In spite of his old and week appearance, his eyes are not stuffy but as cheerful as the young mens eyes through which we can see his unyielding spirit. This contrast clearly shows Santiagos real personali

29、ty. 84 days is a long period of time. A man can tolerate failure, but cant tolerate continuous failure. Too much failure will destroy a man even with strong will. But for Santiago, although a poverty-stricken and lonely old man, nothing can defeat his will. He firmly insists that he will not always

30、be unfortunate. He says, “I may not be as strong as I think.”, “But I know many tricks and I have resolutions.” The old man is very confident and has the strong believe that he will finally catch a big fish. What gives him such confidence under the difficult and cruel reality? Through the man, the a

31、uthor points out-even though life is very hard and seems hopeless, “But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day.” He has the hope for the future and the unyielding spirit to challenge his fate.3.2 Santiagos endurance of the long fightingWith Santiagos exceeding self-confidence, he gets ride o

32、f his bad fortune and catches the fish which is longer than his skiff. But the Marline is very disobedient and strong. The old man “swing with each arm alternately on the cord with all the strength of his arm and the pivoted weight of his body.” But “nothing happened. The fish just moves away slowly

33、 and the old man could not rise him an inch.” One side is a very old man, and the other side is the big strong Marline. Neither side is going to yield. In some way, the Marlin is a remarkable and respectable fish. It tows the skiff behind him out to the sea for 48 hours. “The contest is to see who c

34、an endure longer than the other.” “The fish made a struggle that pulled him down on his face and made a cut below his eye. The blood ran down his cheek a little way. But is coagulated and dried before it reached his chin and he worked his way back to the how and rested against the wood.” At the mome

35、nt, if Santiago cut the line and let the fish go, he can get ride of the danger, but if he do so, it means that he is a loser. Santiago doesnt choose this way; he tries to think nothing but only to endure. When he is thirsty, he takes some water; when he is sleepy, he lies forward cramming himself a

36、gainst the line with all of his body, putting all his weight onto his right hand. Even his left hand cramps and his right hand is cut by the line, he just tries his best to endure. On the third day at sea, he finally catches the weakened marlin to the surface and harpoons it. But on the returning vo

37、yage, the old man meets a more terrible disaster. The Marlines blood draws the shark group in different directions for four times. Although he knows that there is little hope for him to win after his long fighting with the Marline, but he knows that he should face the sharks and kill them as a man t

38、o protect his fish. The author uses much ink to portray the sharks which aims to describe the old mans spirit. The harder the fish and the sharks are to defeat, the taller the old mans image is.Chapter4 ConclusionThe Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works and may very well

39、 become one of the true classics of his generation. In the novel, Hemingway creates an image of heroic character who actually reflects the authors own life attitude. That is, to fight through the failure is inevitable and to show dignity and grace under poverty and pressure. From the novel, we know that the knowledge that a simple man is capable of the decency, dignity, and even heroism that Santiago possesses and that his battle can been seen in heroic terms is itself perhaps the greatest victory tha