英文版“老人与海”的英雄特征分析

An Analysis of the Heroic Characteristics in

ABSTRACT

Hemingway

was

one

of

the

most

famous

novelists

in

America. He

created

a

perfect

image

of

Code

Hero:

Santiago in

The Old Man and the Sea

which won Hemingway Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

The Old Man and

the Sea

is one of the most influential and far-

reaching novels of the literary treasure of the world. It’s so widely

-read

that

people

consider

that

“Whatever

there

is

an

intellectual,

people

know Hemingway and

nobody

knows

Hemingway without knowing his works

The Old Man and the Sea

”

. Why the novel is so widely read? Why is it

so influential and why is it so loved by the people of different colors and different nations? Surely many factors may

contribute to the success of the novel. But the main factor, no doubt, is the touching and unforgettable portrait of the

immortal artistic figure, Santiago, a representative of Code Hero.

In the introduction of the essay, I will make a brief description about the contents of this novel and point out the

main idea of the novel. The content of the essay is to analyze the characteristics of Code Hero. And then I will set out

framework

of

the

essay. The

first

part

of

the

body

is

the

background

information. Through

the

introduction

to

Hemingway’s

legend

life,

we

find

some

common

points

between

the

author

and

the

old

man,

and

the

most familiar point is that both of them have the spirit of Code Hero. In the second part of the body, I will portray the

process of his catching Marlin and fighting with the sharks. Then I will analyses the spirit of Code Hero. The spirit is

concentrated on four areas: First, never give up hopes in any difficult conditions; secondly, keep daring spirit and

never admit defeat in the process of fighting; thirdly, behave heroically in the actual battle; and last, endure the

loneliness in the long process of the fighting. The last part of the essay is the conclusion. This paper will analyze the

image of the old man, reveal the characteristics of Code Hero, and advocate the spirit of never giving up.

KEY WORDS

：

The Old Man and the Sea

, Hemingway, Code Hero, Santiago

OUTLINE

Abstract

Introduction

ound Information

1.1 The introduction to the author

1.2 The introduction to the novel background

Introduction to The Old Man and the Sea

III. The study of the heroic characteristics

3.1 Everlasting hope for the future

3.2 Unyielding spirit for facing the challenge

3.3 Heroic behavior in the actual battle

Conclusion

Introduction

The Old Man and the Sea

was published in 1952 and was one of Hemingway’s most successful novels which

won Hemingway Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

The novel writes a very simple story which chronicles the adventure of Santiago, based on a true story of a

Cuba fisherman. After eighty-four days without catching a fish, Santiago, an old Cuban hooks a giant fish. For two

days and two nights the old man holds on while the fish pulls him further and further. Finally he kills the fish and ties

it to his skiff. Almost at once, brutal sharks begin to take his price away. He struggles against the sharks with the

harpoon, the oar, the knife, the short club. The sharks eat all but the bones of the fish. Half dead with exhaustion, he

brings the skeleton home and makes his way to bed and dreams of his golden time.

In the novel, Hemingway creates an immortal artistic figure, Santiago, a representative of Code Hero. Santiago

is a poor fisherman who lives alone and has finally lost all will to live. Every day is the same dull, monotonous

routine. His wife had died; his only comfort is a boy.

The

chief

point

about

Santiago

is

that

he

behaves

perfectly

and

honorably,

with

great

courage

and

endurance. While losing to the sharks the giant fish he has caught, he comes with the message that while man may

grow old, and be wholly down on his luck, he can still dare to stick to the rules, persist when he is destroyed, and thus

by the manner of his losing to win his victory. I also want to point out that the novel not only describes the fight

between human and nature and fate but also indicates Hemingway’s Code Hero getting to its summit.

Although the

old man in the novel is weak and in the grim fate of pressure, he also shows the spirit of Code Hero.

This paper will analyze the image of the old man, reveal the characteristics of Code Hero, and advocate the

spirit of never giving up.

ound Information

1.1 The introduction to the author

Ernest

Hemingway

(1896-1961)

was

a

novelist

and

short

story

writer

who

became

one

of

the

best-known

American

authors

in

his century. He

was

famous

for

his

experience

and

unique

artistic

style

all

over

the

world.

According to

The Old Man and the Sea

(1952), Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

Hemingway centers his

novels on personal

experience

and

affections.

He

could

not

cope

with

post-war

America, and therefore he introduced a new type of character in writing called the

“Code Hero”. Hemingway is

known

to

focus

his

novels

around

code

heroes

who

struggle

with

the

mixture

of

their

tragic

faults

and

the

surrounding environment.

Moreover, Hemingway’s creation not only originated from life true to life but superior to life.

Hemingway is a

realism writer, consequently, copied something mechanically. He was also a master of turning reality into fiction,

representing

not

only

what

had

actually

happened

but

also

what

logically

might

happen.

He

didn’t

lay

special

emphasis by his inner beauty. So Santiago leaved an indelible impression to us. Hemingway once said that

The Old

Man and the Sea

could be in a longer novel. In the novel, he could describe many other villagers and how they made

a lively life, how they were educated, how they bore children, and so on. But he omitted all those, only describing,

the old man and the process of fishing the Marlin and fighting the sharks. Besides, Hemingway not only reflected

real life but also expressed himself in his work. Or, we can say, Hemingway’s creation is superior to life.

However

there

is

a

question,

“Is

Hemingway

timid

and

pessimistic,

so

that

he

is

committed

suicide?”

The

answer, of course, is

“No”, Hemingway suffered much illness and injury and he committed suicide at last.

But his

suicide cannot show he was timid and pessimistic. On the contrary, he set upon image of braver because he regarded

his

illness

and

injury

as

his

“enemy”such

as

the

sharks.

He

used

his

life

as

a

weapon,

in

order

to

get

rid

of

his

“enemy”, he would rather choose to die.

He and his

“enemy”

ended in common ruin.

1.2 The introduction to the novel background

Hemingway defined the Code Hero as

“a man with lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage and

endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful”

(

The American Tradition in

Literature,

Page78

)

. He showed, in his famous phrase for it,

“grace under pressure”. In the end the Code Hero will

lose because we are all mortal, but the true measure is how a person faces death. The code believes in

“Nada”, a

Spanish word meaning nothing. Along with this, there is nothing after life.

Introduction to The Old Man and the Sea

Hemingway’s

view of human nature is that happiness is rare and is found within a man and not in his outside

circumstance

or

surroundings. Hemingway

illustrates

this

in

three

ways. First,

he

portrays

the

human

nature

of

Santiago, the main character, as being one of humility and compassion, full of strength and pride. He is shown not as

a gleefully happy man, but one who meets life with a serene, quiet resilience.

Second, Santiago’s fellow villagers are

shown as shallow, with a narrow view of life compared to his. Their focus on appearances is in sharp contrast to

Santiago’s focus on intrinsic values.

Third, it will be shown that his rare brand of happiness comes from within.

To Hemingway, the dignity of a man should be so important to that man that he is willing to die for it. Most

likely that is the reason Santiago went deep into that sea, following the Marlin, tearing the skin off his hands as he

held on to that line. This is also why Santiago risked his life catching the Marlin. Finally, he caught the marlin, he

was

proud of

himself

that

he

so

extremely

wanted. When

the

sharks attack

the

fish,

it

is

as

same

as

the

sharks

attacking

his

dignity. This

is

mostly

why

an

elderly

man,

armed

only

with

crude

weapons

would

fight

many

sharks. As the sharks tear apart the Marlin bit by bit, it is as they are tearing apart his dignity bit by bit. That is why

Santiago found the courage to fight off sharks to protect his dignity. Hemingway shows that a man will not risk his

life for his dignity, then what is in that life to live for? Even though the old man lost the battle with the sharks at the

end,

“his

persistent

determination

makes

him

as

a

perfect

Code

Hero”(

The

American

Tradition

in

Literature,

Page82

)

. He had done everything a person possibly could have. Through Santiago Hemingway told us

that we are wholly down on our luck and destroyed in the end. Then we should conduct ourselves just like the old