Symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea

摘 要：本文是關于《老人與海》中的象征主義。內容非常簡單， 但是海明威運用簡單的詞匯，簡單的句子結構和簡單的邏輯關系顯示了一個基本的尊嚴—人可以被毀滅，但不能被打敗。大海被視為老人居住的環境，鯊魚被視為邪惡的力量，馬林魚是老人的成就和夢想。還有其他的因素，如獅子，鷹和金槍魚都分別具有象征的意義。基于上述分析，最后一部分得出結論——通過《老人與海》中象征主義的運用揭示了其中蘊含的樂觀主義精神。

關鍵詞：象征主義；老人；大海；樂觀主義

[中圖分類號]：I106 [文獻標識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139（2012）-21-0-02

While the sea is regarded as the environment and the society that the old man lives in， with the shark， as the evil force and the marlin， as the old man’s achievement and dream. Also other factors such as the lion， eagle and tuna have symbolical meaning respectively. Based on the above analysis， the last part comes to the conclusion that—The spirit of optimism is revealed by the employment of symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea.

Ⅰ. Introduction

The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by the American writer Ernest Hemingway in 1952， which again confirmed Hemingway’s unshakeable status as a novelist in the United States. The protagonist is Santiago， an old fisherman. This novel is highly praised. Especially the symbolism in this novel is widely talked about.

.No wonder that The Old Man and the Sea， which is considered as the most excellent simple article in this generation， is a masterpiece of the unyielding man—Hemingway. But with regard to symbolism， it has been talked differently. The Protagonist， the living environment， the sea， the shark， the marlin are not themselves but something with significant symbolical meanings. So the most important factor to be discovered in this thesis is its symbolism.

Hemingway lived in a society that was full of wars and uncertainties. He had suffered cold shoulder and attack almost ten years in the commentary field. In order to prove his dissatisfaction with the world， Hemingway wrote a novel， that is The Old Man and the Sea. At that time， symbolism is expanded from circle of poem into the field of literature. So the distinctive writing style of Hemingway’s works is his symbolism. Here its symbolism will be analyzed thoroughly through some aspects.

Ⅱ. Definition of Symbolism

Like romanticism， classicism， symbolism also has a broad meaning. Originating in France in the 19th century， symbol is an art of expressing thoughts and feelings， but describes them indirectly.1

Symbolism， as a unique artistic technique， aims to present the hidden things and thoughts under phenomena. The significance of symbolism lies in the connection of the concrete and the abstract. There is a contradiction between the two kinds of matters， but symbolism can make a great success in harmonizing the former with the latter.

Ⅲ. The Symbolisms in The Old Man and the Sea

A. Symbolic meaning of persons

Let us take the old man as an example.

In The Old Man and the Sea， Santiago， the old man is an unyielding man who has bad luck， for he has not caught a fish for eighty-four days. But he does not lose hope， and on the 85th day， he finally catches a huge marlin. Though on his way home the sharks come and attack， Santiago still tries his best to fight but unluckily， his big achievement is eaten， just leaving a skeleton.The old man’s tragic fate reflects Hemingway’s misfortune. Hemingway had once joined in the Second World War and the Spanish War； the society after wars is disordered and poor. Hemingway was so deeply influenced by this fantastic phenomenon， which have brought deep spiritual injury to him.

The old man is so strong-minded and persevering that he takes no notice of others’ mockery， and is persistent to do what he adheres. In order to prove his dignity and honor， he must catch a big fish， which is the symbol of his achievement. As far as Hemingway concerned， he must try his best to write the best work in his life. He knew he could gain a good reputation by fulfilling this great work—The Old Man and the Sea.“I will do my best to write better later on， but it will be very difficult， I am a special writer， I know how things stand.”4

So the old man is the best symbolism for the unyielding character and the optimism of Hemingway.

B. Symbolic meaning of objects.

Let us analyze the sea.

The sea has two meanings. On the surface， it is all the content of the old man’s living. In the whole story， the old man is fishing on the sea and his goal is to catch a big fish to prove his ability and dignity. In fact， the sea has prepared an enormous big fish and provided a place for the old man to realize his dream. In the old man’s opinion， the sea is cold-blooded but he pays no attention to the sea and is sympathetic to the weak birds. In the nature， the sea represents American political system at that time when people did not have democratic freedom and were oppressed deeply by the American government.

The society is similar to the sea； people must have sufficient will and courage to fight against the predators to get what they want like the old man， who never sees the difficulty as a burden， but an opportunity to prove his ability.

Ⅳ.Conclusion

In this novel， the use of symbolism has played an important role. For example， the old man is the best representative of unyielding character and optimism， the sea represents the environment that Santiago lives in， and the marlin symbolizes his achievement and also his dream. And shark， lion， eagle， tuna all have symbolic meanings respectively. By using symbolism Hemingway succeeded in reaching his goal to convey the theme of the novel—the spirit of optimism. In other words， a man can be destroyed but can not be defeated.

The Old Man and the Sea is highly praised by the readers and critics for the successful use of symbolism. The studying of the use of symbolism not only reveals the theme of the spirit of optimism， but also expresses the idea—there is hope in our life forever.

Bibliography：

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