The Old Man and the Sea - Literary Analysis

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The novella, The Old Man and the Sea, illustrates the characteristics and overall essence of a Hemingway hero: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated" (103). A Hemingway hero is a term coined by the author of The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway, and can be described as a man who displays honor, courage, and endurance. The character in The Old Man and the Sea who possesses all of these traits and is the hero of the novella is undoubtedly, Santiago, an old, poor, down-on-his-luck fisherman who, at the beginning of the book, has gone 84 days without catching a fish. He may seem an unlikely choice for a hero/protagonist, but throughout the novella Santiago proves himself and shows that he has honor, courage, and endurance by refusing to give up fishing despite being unsuccessful, fighting off the sharks, and continuing on in his pursuit of the marlin even after being harshly cut by the fishing line. Webster’s dictionary defines honor as "honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions” ("New Webster's Library of Practical Information"). Santiago shows that he has honor by never losing his faith in himself and his fishing despite his having gone 84 days without catching a fish and the infamous reputation he has in the village for being unsuccessful. His small, self-affirming statements stand out starkly against the crowd of self-derogatory ones Santiago makes throughout the novella and shows that he is humble and that his honor is simply the silent type “I feel confident today" (27). Santiago rarely makes his high self-esteem and respect for himself known, but when he does, it is in such a concrete and unwavering way that there is no longer room for doubt on whether or not Santiago is honorable “If others heard me talking out loud they would think I am crazy...but since I am not crazy, I do not care" (39). In addition to honor, Santiago also
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