-
题目
An Analysis of
“
Code
Hero
”
in
The Old
Man and the Sea
摘
要
海明威是美国著名的小说家之一，小说《老人与海》使其获得
了
1954
年的诺贝尔文
学奖。在此小
说中，作者创造了一个完美的硬汉形象——桑地亚哥。
《老人与海》是一件
影响广泛，
寓意深刻的世界文学瑰宝，它广泛地为
大众所阅读，以至有人这样认为“只
要是个文化人，
你就会知道
海明威其人。
知道海明威，
你就不可能不知道小说
《老人与海》
。
”
为什么这
部小说如此被广泛的阅读？当然，诸多方面造就了小说的成功，但是有一点，毋
庸置疑，
那就是作者对小说主人公桑地亚哥这一永恒的艺术形象的成功塑造给人深刻印
象，让人难
以忘记这个硬汉形象的代表。
本文是从分析作品中老人这一形
象出发，揭示“硬汉”的特征，倡导一种坚忍不拔，
永不言败的精神。在论文引言中，我
们将对小说的主要内容作一简单的叙述，揭示小说的
中心思想，并提出本次设计的内容—
—分析小说主人公桑地亚哥这一硬汉形象特征。后简
单介绍此次论文的写作思路及框架。
论文正文的一部分为背景信息，我们通过介绍小说作
者海明威的传奇一生，指出作者与小
说主人公的诸多相同之处，其中最相似之处便是都具
有“硬汉”精神。在正文的第二部分
，我们将结合老人捕鱼前后及在大海中航行的遭遇，
具体分析小说主人公的“硬汉”形象
特征。这种特征主要表现在四个方面：首先，在任何
困难情况下都不放弃希望；其次，在
斗争过程中始终保持高昂的斗志，永不服输；再次，
在行动上勇往直前，打不到，击不跨
；最后，在漫长的斗争过程中学会忍受孤独。本文的
最后一部分为总结。通过对小说中“
硬汉”形象的分析，深刻体会“硬汉”精神对当今社
会的现实意义，倡导这种坚忍不拔，
永不言败的精神。
关键词：
《老人与海》
，海明威，
< br>“硬汉”
，桑地亚哥
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
Contents
摘要
Abstract
Introduction ..........................
..................................................
................................... 1
Chapter One
The Background Information.............
............................................. 2
1.1 About the Author ..................
..................................................
....................... 2
1.2 The
Author’s View on the Novel and the Old
Man
.
............
.......................... 3
Chapter
Two
The Four
Characteristics of Code Hero
.
......................................... 5
2.1 Everlasting Hope for the Future
.
..............................
..................................... 5
2.2 Daring Spirit for Facing the
Challenge ........................................
................. 7
2.3 Heroic Behavior
in the Actual Battle .............................
............................... 9
2.4
Loneliness Endurance in the Long Fighting
............................................... 10
Conclusion
.
.....
..................................................
..................................................
..... 12
Acknowledgements .............
..................................................
.................................. 13
Bibliography
.
...
..................................................
..................................................
.... 14
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
who is
forbidden to
fish determination in holding
onto
a
gargantuan fish, Santiago
is
plunged
into the
adventure of his life, but will it bring meaning
to his days? But it is the spirit of Code
Hero to support him fighting and
living.
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.
第
1
页
Chapter One
The Background Information
1.1 About 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.
According
to
his
works
The Sun Also Rises
(1926) he became the representative
writer of
“
the Lost
Generation”
.
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.
Santiago
showed
the
spirit
“
undefeated
”
which
Hemingway
has.
So
Hemingway
’
s
life
attitude has been
widely recognized and imitated all over the world.
Hemingway is worthy to be
called the
Code Hero: he was born in an intensely middle-
class family, Chicago, Oak Park. His
father,
who
was
a
doctor,
devoted
to
hunting,
fishing
and
influenced
on
Hemingway
greatly
第
2
页
when he was three years old, his father
gave him a fishing pole for his birthday gift.
When he
was ten
years old,
he got
a hunting gun.
As a boy of
fourteen, he was encouraged to
practice
boxing. Hemingway fought in the two
world wars: in the first war as a medical soldier,
and the
second as a reporter. He took
part in World War I as an honorary lieutenant in
the Red Cross. He
went overseas as an
ambulance driver. He was wounded many times and
experienced at least 12
operations
which took out 227 pieces of artillery shells.
Besides, he suffered a great deal from
aviation accident: his eyes injured
while hunting and in African jungle he was in two
airplane
accidents in the spaces of two
days. All these didn
’
t
defeat Hemingway. He was such a man who
turned down defeat. When he was old he
was poor in health. Still he indulged himself in
fishing,
hunting and bull-fighting from
which he pursued thrilling scenes and enjoyed
himself in fighting.
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
A
uthor’s
View on the Novel
and the Old Man
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
”
. The Code Hero
measures himself by how well they handle the
difficult
situations that life throws
at him. 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.
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
第
3
页
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 obtunding and
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
fisherman,
not
be
pessimistic
and
disappointed
but
to
keep
on
struggling
until
we
get
what we
want. That is, undefeated spirit is most
important. This is also the normal principle of
Hemingway.
I
think Santiago in
The Old Man and the
Sea
was Hemingway himself. In
The Old Man and
the
Sea
,
Hemingway
was
fond
of
him
and
sang
high
praise
of
him.
He
placed
his
personal
experience
on
the
old
man
and
reflected
some
of
his
innate
characters.
Hemingway
merged
himself with Santiago
in thoughts and feelings. The spirit of Santiago
lasted and re-embodied on
Hemingway.
Throughout Santiago, the old man cannot accept the
fact that he is getting old and
that he
slowly casting his strength. Hemingway in reality
was having the same problems. He was
getting old and things he once did, he
no longer could do. Just as Hemingway could not
accept
that fact, neither could his
character: Santiago. In fact, Hemingway utilized
his life to show that
he was an
unconquerable
“
old
lion
”
.
第
4
页
Chapter Two
The Four Characteristics of
Code Hero
2.1 Everlasting Hope for the
Future
One may lose the battle in life,
but he can achieve a moral significance after his
courage,
bravery and ability to endure
have been tested. Because hope does not die, power
is not off. Even
if the hope is slim,
we also must try our best to fight for it. The
author believes that, hope makes
the
old man to fight with the Marlin, fight with the
sharks and fight with his own will.
At the beginning of the novel, the
author portrays the image of the old man.
“
The old man
was
thin
and
gaunt
with
deep
wrinkles
in
the
back
of
the
neck.
The
brown
blotched
of
the
benevolent skin cancer the sun brings
from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his
cheeks.
The blotches ran well down the
sides of his cords. But none of these scars were
flesh. They were
as old as erosions in
a fishless
desert
”
(
The Old
Man and the Sea,
Page1). When we read
here, we
maybe show our sympathy to the
old man and think that he cannot do anything.
Further more,
Santiago
’
s life
is not in good condition.
He lives in a
shack in which there is only a bed, one
chair
and
a
place
on
the
dirty
floor
to
cook
with
charcoal.
He
is
so
poor
that
had
no
“
pot
of
yellow rice and fish to
eat
”
(
The Old Man
and the Sea,
Page2). While sailing for
fishing, he has
only a bottle of water
with him. He leads a lonely life. His wife died
leaving him no children.
Except a boy he once taught to fish, he
has few friends. It seems that few people care
him.
What is more, he is a failure in
catching fish. For eighty-four days he fished in a
skiff without
taking a fish. Eighty-
four days is a long period of time. Eighty-four
days without a fish is very
unfortunate
for
a
fisherman.
For
a
weather-
beaten,
poverty-stricken
and
lonely
old
man
like
Santiago, the misery
might be beyond anyone
’
s
intolerance. For a man can tolerate failure, but
can
’
t tolerate
continuous failure. Too much failure will sure
defeat a man even with strong will.
For
this reason, we may arrive at the conclusion that
Santiago will give up fishing. But to our
surprise, the color of the character is
brighter in the following,
“
everything about him was
old
except his eyes and they were the
same color as the sea and were cheerful and
undefeated
”
(
The
第
5
页