The Old Man and the Sea

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The Old Man and the Sea

• The Code Hero

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Definition
Qualities Hardships
Endurance Danger
Honor (pride) Misfortune
Strength Pain
courage Life of stress

In the face of
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Examples of Courage

• in a life of hardship
• lonely wife is dead, but he keeps on living ? he
  is not afraid to be alone
• takes his small skiff miles from shore by himself

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Examples of Honor

• in the face of misfortune
• when he and Manolin discuss the imaginary meal,
  he always refuses charity ? he says he has yellow
  rice and fish because of his honor
• mandolin wanted to give 4 fresh sardines, but
  Santiago could accept only 2

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Examples of Endurance

• In the face of pain
• The rope cut Santiagos right hand in the crease
  of his hand
• The line cut Santiagos face
• The line cut Santiagos left hand when the fish
  made a run

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Examples of Endurance

• In the face of pain
• The pull of the line made Santiagos back stiff
• Holding the line constantly caused his left hand
  to cramp

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Endurance

• In the face of pain
• Santiago endures this suffering without giving
  in
• The fish pulls for 2 ½ days, yet Santiago stays
  with him

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Honor

• In a life full of stress
• Santiagos pride keeps him from giving up on the
  fish
• Santiago attributes the fishs fight to pride
• The fish is more honorable than other people

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Strength

• In a life of stress
• The arm wrestling match
• The blood from the fingernails
• Santiagos steady pushing down of his opponents
  arm

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Strength

• In a the face of danger
• As Santiago pulls in the line
• The fish could easily cut the line
• The fish jumps, but Santiagos strength never
  weakens

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Strength

• In a life of stress
• Santiago physically seemed defeated when the
  marlin circled
• Santiago moved the fish with each pull
• Santiago pushed the harpoon into the marlins
  heart with all his remaining strength

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Courage

• In the face of misfortune and life of stress
• The mako shark Santiago fought managed to push
  the harpoon into the sharks head as it came up to
  bite chunks from the marlin
• Santiago lashed his knife to an oar and used it
  on the shovel-noses after he lost his harpoon
• Santiago used an oar as a club when his knife
  broke

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Honor

• In a life of stress
• Santiagos pride shows when he walks up the hill
• Just like always, Santiago went into his hut and
  dreamt of the lionsa major symbol of pride in
  this novel
• The other fishermen commented on how great a fish
  it was, and transfer that respect to Santiago

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Themes Nature

• Santiagos journey shows how harsh and
  unforgiving the natural world can be
• Antagonists
• Jellyfish
• Storms (from hurricane weather)
• The sun
• The marlin (the ultimate struggle in the novel)

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Nature

• Santiago succeeds in the struggle against the
  marlin, but Nature doesnt give up
• Sharks continually attack the marlin after
  Santiago won the battle
• Nature continues to battle against Santiago
• Ultimately, Santiago loses his battle with
  naturehe returns to shore with just the skeleton
  of the fish

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Old Age Loneliness

• The man must fish alone throughout the novel
• Many times he wishes for the boy
• He can count only on the natural world to provide
  companionship

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Old Age Weakness

• The old man struggles with his declining weakness
  throughout the novel
• His first pulls on the rope do nothing to move
  the fish
• When the fish circles, still it takes hours to
  haul in the massive bulk

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Old Age Weakness

• Santiagos strength is evident in his younger
  days (the hand game)
• That same strength is not entirely gone
• His remaining strength is primarily what keeps
  him independent in his old age

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Pride

• Santiagos pride is restored at the end of the
  novel
• Santiago remained proud despite the destruction
  of the fish by the sharks
• Santiago refused to look at the fish after it had
  been mutilatedhe preferred to remember the fish
  in all its glory

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Symbols

• The marlin represents Santiago
• Santiago refers to the fish repeatedly as his
  brother or friend
• The fish has great dignity
• No one is worthy of eating the fish
• Santiago realizes this is the greatest fish he
  has ever caught
• The marlin contains all the traits of the code
  hero

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Symbols

• Santiago represents everyone who chooses to live
  independently
• The characteristics of the code hero separate the
  old man from the other fishermen
• Contrast Santiago with the old man Manolin has to
  fish with
• Santiago does not have bad eyes
• Santiago is kind
• Santiago is trusting
• Santiago wishes for help, but does not really
  need it

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Symbols

• The bloody hands
• Represent suffering
• Every hero must endure suffering without complaint

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Symbols

• The sail and mast
• Upside down, they are the burden Santiago must
  carry everyday of his life
• The code hero shoulders his cross without
  complaint
• Notice how Santiago even stumbles on the hill
  leading up to his hut