The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 1952

Outline Basic content: context, plot, roles Focal point: the old man’s character, “code hero” Difficult point: the relationship between the old man and the marlin (or the sea)

Basic content · Context It was published in 1952 after the bleakest ten years in Hemingway’s literary career and was the last novel published in Hemingway’s lifetime. But it was an instant success. This short novel won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and played a significant role in Hemingway’s selection for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.the bleakest ten years

the bleakest ten years 1940: For Whom the Bell Tolls 1950: Across the River and Into the Trees (self-parody) 1952: The Old Man and the Sea (an act of literary revenge) “Papa is finished?”

Basic Content · Plot Rising ActionClimaxFalling Action After eighty- four successive days without catching a fish, Santiago promises Manolin that he will go “far out” into the sea. Santiago conquers the marlin. On the way back, he encounters the sharks and struggles with them. Sharks destroy the marlin. Santiago arrives home only with the marlin’s skeleton.

Basic content · roles 1.Santiago 2.Manolin 3.the marlin 4.sharks 5.the sea

Questions Focal point: After the first shark attack, Santiago says: “Man is not made for defeat…a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” At the end of the story, is the old man defeated? Why or why not? Difficult point: What’s the relationship between the old man and the marlin (or the sea) ?

reasonmanifestationsignificance failure (destroyed) pridethe marlin’s skeleton outer, material victory (not defeated) endurance, determination, confidence, bravery, knowledgeable … earns the respect, achieves the natural self, confirms his heroic personalities… inner, spiritual

Code Hero (Tough Guy) “A man who lives correctly, following the ideal of honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful.” by Hemingway

the spirit of code hero Endurance: to accept pain, even loss Pride: of knowing that one has done one’s best Courage: act truly according to one’s own nature Will: to face defeat or victory He is a man of action but not a thinker.

the relationship between Santiago and the marlin (or the sea)

the sea brotherhood Santiago (Manolin) the marlin catch challenge sharks defend oneselfinvade

Homework: writing style (iceberg principle) 1. What is the iceberg principle? 2. How does Hemingway use it in The Old Man and the sea? 3. Which phrases embody this principle fully?

“I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows. Anything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn’t show. If a writer omits something because he does not know it then there is a hole in the story.” Writing Style: Iceberg Principle