Symbolism in the old man and the sea

1. Symbolism in the old man and the
sea
Name: Maru Riddhi
Paper: 10 The American literature
Roll No: 21
Class: M.A.Sem.3
Year: 2016-2018
Emil Id: riddhimaru27@gmail.com
Submitted To: M.K.Bhavnagar University,
Department of English

2. Introduction :
The Old Man and the Sea
0. Written by Earnest Hemingway
0. Published in 1952
0. Story of Old man’s struggle and
adventure
o. The short story concern an old
fisherman who battles a giant
marlin for three and nights
0. This novella was awarded the
pulitzer prize for Fiction in 1953

3. What is Symbolism ?
Symbolism is the use of
symbols
to signify ideas and
qualities by giving them
symbolic meanings that are
different from their literal
sense

4. Symbols in the Novella
The Sea
Marlin
lions
Sharks
Manolin
Joe
DiMaggio
The Skiff
The Mast
The
Harpoon

5. The Sea
0. Sea represents a great role in the novel as setting and a symbol.
0.Sea symbolizes the “Universe” and the
“ Santiago’s isolation in the universe”
0. The sea is presented as “ Romanticized “ and
“ Feminine “ both “ Cruel and Cleansing “
0. According to Hemingway, man most able to
prove himself worthy in isolation. The Sea,
in the novel, represents the life and Santiago’s
isolation in the universe
0. The novel in this regard is an Example of
Naturalism in literature.

6. Marlin
0. Marlin struggles to avoid his death, death is the ultimate
reality of the lives of all beings.
0. Magnificent and glorious, the Marlin symbolizes the ideal
opponent. In a world in which
Everything kill everything else in some
way Santiago feels genuionely lucky to
find himself matched against a creature
the brings out the in him his
strength, courage, love, and
respect.

7. “
only dremed of places now and of
the lions on the beach. They played
like young cats in the dusk and he
loved them as he loved the boy “

8. The Shark came in a rush and the
old man hit him as he shut his jaws.
He hit him solidly and from as high up
as he could raise the club

9. Manolin
0.“ The old man had taught the boy to fish
and the boy loved him “ Symbolizes as a
christ and one of his disciple
0. Manolin is the symbol of hope

10. Joe DiMaggio
0. Joe DiMaggio is the role model of santiago’s
baseball world.
0. DiMaggio symbolizes the strength.
0. Joe DiMaggio also represents hope that old man
has for Manolin.
“ But I think the great
DiMaggio would be proud of
me today , I had no bone
spurs but the hand and the
back truly hurt “ (
Hemingway 97 )

11. The Skiff, The mast And The Harpoon
0.The Skiff symbol of Santing himself, as Santiago struggle in hi life, the
Skiff also have to struggle in the sea the Skiff also symbol of the
defeated human being.
0. The mast is symbol of cross of Jesus.
0. The lost harpoon is symbol of loss of power,
Strength, Virility, Pride. Santiago loses his
harpoon the first of many such losses as he
continues a futile battle with Sharks.

12. Other
Symbols
Numbers
The
Bird
Christianity

13. 85
eighty-five is a
lucky number
The numeric symbolism in the novel
the old man and the sea seen to be
religious number or figures like three,
seven, forty and eighty-five have special
significance in the bible