A person's "The Old Man and the Sea" - Analyzing the Symbolism of "The Old Man and the Sea" Based on Hemingway's Biography [Paper Abstract] "The Old Man and the Sea" is the crystallization of Hemingway's life's creation and a masterpiece of thought and art. Summarize. This is a work with a simple story and a small length, but it is rich in meaning. Critics say: "This simple story is full of morals that are not showy. As a clean "declarative" prose, it is unparalleled in Hemingway's entire works. Every word has its role, and no one Times are redundant.” This article aims to analyze the symbolic meaning of various images in "The Old Man and the Sea" based on Hemingway's biography of his growth. [Keywords] "The Old Man and the Sea" Big Marlin, Sea, Child, Lion, Old Man Symbolic Meaning 1. Hemingway's life and creative experience On July 21, 1899, Ernest Hemingway was born in Hunan, Michigan, one of the five largest lakes in the world. Shore, a small town called Oak Park. There were six children in the family, and Hemingway was the second. It was not until he was 16 years old that he got a younger brother as he wished. My mother is very cultured and loves music. My father was an outstanding doctor and an expert at fishing and hunting. When Hemingway was 3 years old, his father gave him a fishing rod as a birthday gift; when he was 10 years old, his father gave him a shotgun as tall as a person. His father's influence gave Hemingway a lifelong love of fishing and hunting. When Hemingway was 29, his father committed suicide with a pistol due to diabetes and financial difficulties. At the age of 14, Hemingway signed up to learn boxing with his father's support. In the first training, his opponent was a professional boxer. Hemingway was beaten with blood on his face and lay on the ground. However, Hemingway did not back down and persisted. His boxing skills continued to improve, and eventually boxing became Hemingway's favorite sport and stayed with him throughout his life. After graduating from high school, Hemingway was unwilling to go to college and longed to go to Europe to fight in the war. Not approved because of eyesight. He left home and came to Kansas City, where he worked as a trainee reporter at the "Kansas Star." Here he learned his first writing skills. The Star has 110 rules that must not be violated when it comes to writing, such as "use short sentences", "use living language", "use verbs and delete adjectives", "do not use two words if you can express it in one word", etc. . Hemingway concentrated on his work, quickly mastered the skills of news writing, and formed his own writing style. In May 1918, Hemingway got his wish and joined the American Red Cross Field Service Corps and came to the Italian battlefield of World War I. In early July, Hemingway was injured by a cannon while trying to save an Italian soldier on the battlefield. One of his knees was shattered, and he had as many as 237 pieces of shrapnel and machine gun bullets in his body. He underwent 13 surgeries in one day and was replaced with a platinum kneecap. Some shrapnel was not removed and remained in the body until death. He lay in the hospital for more than three months and received the Cross of Merit and the Medal of Valor from the Italian government. He had just turned 19 at this time. Shortly after Christmas in 1950, Hemingway started writing "The Old Man and the Sea" (originally titled "The Existing Sea") at his villa "Lookout Hill" on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. It is a novel "about land, sea and sky". The fourth and final part), to the end of the novel, only eight weeks have passed. But in just eight weeks, Hemingway, the world's literary giant, wrote "the best work he could ever write in his life." The full text of "The Old Man and the Sea" is only about 26,000 words. The story of the work is extremely simple. It tells the story of an old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, who finally caught a huge marlin after not catching a fish for 84 consecutive days. , but the fish was too big, and it took three days of fighting to subdue it. The exhausted old man tied the marlin to the side of the boat. On the way back, he was attacked by a shark again. When he finally returned to the harbor, only the fish head was left. A fish tail and a back. The work is based on real people and real events, and its writing techniques continue Hemingway's consistent implicit and concise language style, rich inner emotions, symbolic and allegorical expression techniques. In 1952, "The Old Man and the Sea" won the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the United States. Twelve years ago, due to the opposition of an authority figure, Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" missed the Pulitzer Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize that year was therefore vacant. Twelve years later, Hemingway finally used his impeccable His works have earned him respect. In 1954, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "The Old Man and the Sea," which embodies the courage of people in "a real world full of violence and death." The reason for the award is: "because of his mastery of the art of narrative." , prominently displayed in his recent work "The Old Man and the Sea", and also due to his influence on contemporary style. In the early morning of July 2, 1961, Hemingway put his most beloved shotgun in his "Lookout Mountain Villa". Hemingway was very satisfied with his work and said in a letter to the editor of the publishing house, "Publishing "The Old Man and the Sea" now can refute the idea that I am finished as a writer. That school of criticism. ” and believed that this was “the best work he could write in his life” and “I’m afraid I will never write such a wonderful work again.” Sure enough, in the last years of Hemingway’s life, there was no more Any creation, "The Old Man and the Sea" has become Hemingway's swan song. Therefore, the study of "The Old Man and the Sea" has great guiding significance for the study of Hemingway. Although Hemingway wrote a letter to a friend. He wrote: “There is nothing symbolic about it. The sea is the sea, and the old man is the old man.

Boys will be boys and fish will be fish. A shark is a shark. . . . . . What people say about symbolism is all nonsense. But he once said: "I tried to portray a real old man, a real boy, a real sea, a real fish and some real sharks. If I can shape them well, put them If the descriptions are real enough, they will mean many things." Judging from the various scenes in the book, the author obviously took great pains to integrate multiple levels of meaning into a simple story. 2. The Symbol of "The Old Man and the Sea" Sexual Analysis "The Old Man and the Sea" is a multi-layered classic. The text embodies almost all of Hemingway's talents and writing characteristics. However, in view of the author's limited talent and limited knowledge, he can only select the symbolism in the text for a superficial analysis. The breadth of the discussion The depth is not enough, and I hope to get more corrections from teachers. The following is an analysis of the images in the article and their symbolic meanings. There are many symbols of the big marlin in the whole story, including the big horse. After reading Hemingway's biography, the most understandable thing is that the big marlin symbolizes this masterpiece, which is the peak moment of creation in Hemingway's mind in his later years. The best response from those who doubted his writing ability. After Hemingway returned home from injury in World War I, he experienced a long period of seemingly endless loneliness after experiencing great honor from the outside world and the huge blow of broken love. Finally, in 1926 He wrote "The Sun Also Rises" in 1929, which won a lot of applause, and then "A Farewell to Arms" in 1929 was called "one of the highest literary achievements of the 'Lost Generation'" throughout the 1930s and 1940s. From 1937 to 1932, Hemingway traveled to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War as a war correspondent. During World War II, he traveled with the army as a reporter and participated in the battle to liberate Paris. In 1940, Hemingway published the anti-fascist novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with the Spanish Civil War as the background, which is considered to be his most outstanding novel. His outstanding creation and mythical experience made him an American. Hemingway is a household name, a great writer and a legendary hero, and his friends and admirers can be said to be everywhere. They are not satisfied with Hemingway's achievements in creation, but have placed greater hopes on him. He was also confident. However, due to various reasons, Hemingway published almost no new works throughout the 1940s. In 1950, Hemingway published the novel "The Man Who Crossed the River", which disappointed everyone. , and attracted a lot of attacks. Everyone believed that Hemingway's talent had faded with age, and Hemingway himself was deeply disappointed by this, plus the injuries he suffered in two world wars. Hemingway was in pain and restless all day long, causing his wife to worry that his mental breakdown was coming. However, Hemingway did not give in or retreat in the face of bad luck and heavy pressure. He always hoped to achieve a grand goal to the world. Proving that he could still have "good luck", the publication of "The Old Man and the Sea" in 1952 compensated for the loss of his literary reputation. This experience of Hemingway is similar to the old man Santiago in the work. He was once very strong and a good fisherman. However, he has been unlucky for a long time and is old. In a situation where his reputation is likely to be ruined, he relies on perseverance to survive. With his strong will and unremitting efforts, he finally caught a huge marlin. Obviously, the big marlin here symbolizes the grand goal in Hemingway's heart, and even the pinnacle of creation. The big marlin also symbolizes Hemingway's ideal of survival. The living environment created a tough-looking but weak-hearted Hemingway. When he was young, he had the courage of a young man and hoped that others would treat him as an adult. If someone asked What was he afraid of? He always replied loudly: "I'm not afraid of anything!" However, when he "cried when he saw a dead fly, he tried to put it into sugar water, hoping to save it." When Hemingway began to develop His own hobby, boxing became one of Hemingway's favorite sports. Boxing combines civilization with barbaric and extreme forms. Boxing also gave birth to Hemingway's philosophy of life: "Boxing teaches you never to lie still, but to be ready to jump up again at any time." "Boxing is based on nature, and even if you beat someone to death, it is not for the purpose of killing someone. Fighting in an open and honest manner, boxing is To win”. Hemingway's boxing philosophy is well reflected in the attitude towards big fish in "The Old Man and the Sea". . . . . . . Then the fish began to make a fuss, and even though death was imminent, it jumped high out of the water, revealing its amazing length and breadth, its strength and beauty. It seemed to be hanging in the air, just above the old man's head in the boat. Then it fell into the water with a thud, and the waves splashed all over the old man and the whole boat. . . . . . "You're going to kill me, fish," the old man thought. But you have the right to do it. I've never seen anything bigger, more beautiful, more poised, or nobler than you, old man. Come, kill me. I don't care who kills whom." "Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much, but I will kill you no matter what." "He can't bear to kill you again. He looked at the dead fish because it was bitten and mutilated. When the fish was attacked, he felt as if he had been attacked. But I killed the shark that attacked my fish, he thought. .and it's the largest Dendoso shark I've ever seen.

God knows, I've seen some big ones. "." . . . . . I don’t understand this at all, and I’m not sure if I believe it. Maybe it's a sin to kill the fish. I think so, even though I do it to support myself and feed many people. But then again, everything is a sin. Don't think about it. It's too late to think about it now, and some people are paid to do it. Let them think about it. You are born to be a fisherman, just as the fish is born to be a fish. . . . . "The old man's inner reflection when looking at the big fish is actually Hemingway's inner answer to the meaning of survival. Fishermen are born to fish, and fishing must cause harm, even if it hurts what he thinks in his heart. The most beautiful thing. This is best explained by his boxing philosophy, "Even if you kill someone, it's not to kill someone." Remember Hemingway's famous saying: "Fish is his enemy and his best friend!" "Actually, the symbolic meaning of the big marlin is much more than that. If you combine Hemingway's experience and the psychology of post-war Americans, the symbolic meaning is different. Haihai embodies a kind of motherhood in the article. "Every time he When I think of the ocean, I always call her lamar, which is what people call her in Spanish when they have a good impression of the ocean. Sometimes, people who have a good impression of Haiyang say bad things about her, but they always treat her as a woman. Some younger fishermen, who use buoys as floats on their fishing lines and buy motorboats after selling shark livers for a lot of money, call the ocean elmar, which is a masculine term. When they mentioned her, they used her as a competitor or a place to go, or even as an enemy. But the old man always regarded the ocean as a woman who gave or did not want to give people great favors. If she did something willful or immoral, it was because she couldn't help herself. The moon affected her as it does a woman, he thought. The old man has an ancient dependence on the sea. On the sea, the old man can enjoy a tranquility that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. "I can just go with the tide," he thought, just go to sleep and wrap the fishing line around his toes in advance. It can wake me up when there is movement." He felt at ease at sea. Even in the end, when the old man was defeated by the shark, he did not complain about the sea at all. He just said, "It's just that I went too far." The sea is also the environment that the elderly rely on for survival. It is the arena where the elderly resist fate and nature. The old man is not only dependent on the sea, but also has a desire to conquer the sea. Just like the literary world Hemingway faced, it was writing that made Hemingway successful, and at the same time, both his inner sense of responsibility and the pressure from external expectations forced Hemingway to regroup and write his most magnificent chapter again. The appearance of children makes what should have been a depressing scene a little warmer. The image of the child is the result of the author's painstaking efforts, and even the image of the child contains more information than the big fish, the old man, the sea and the shark can place on the author's thoughts. When no fish was caught for 84 days, when people around him began to give up hope in the old man, it was the child who supported him, and "It would be great if the child were here!" This sentence is repeated in the article. It happened as many as 9 times. In such a disappointing time, the old man thought of the child. If you analyze "How wonderful it would be if the children were here!" according to the scenes in which it appears, you will find that it has different meanings in different scenes. When Hemingway felt powerless, he said, "If only the children were here!" This sentence seemed like the old man's call for lost youth. If Hemingway could express his inner thoughts in one sentence: How wonderful it would be if I were still young. ! Children are a symbol of vitality. Every time I read this sentence, the image of an old and stubborn old man will appear in my mind, and a sad emotion floats on the page. When the elderly face loneliness, children are their call for care from the outside world. In the vast sea, there is a big fish on the bottom of the sea that is as deep as unknown. The lonely old man still hopes that someone can help him, even if he is standing still. "...he thought. It would be nice to have a radio in this business. Then he thought, always thinking about this thing. Think about what you are doing. You can't do anything stupid. Then he said The voice came: "It would be great if the child were here." Can you give me a hand and let him see this situation. "... The child embodies the author's inner desire for tolerance from the outside world. No matter how outsiders doubt the old man's fishing ability, the child always stands by the old man's side, silently supporting him, preparing food for him and preparing for fishing. Utensils, the elderly in their old age need more care and attention. The children do not allow the elderly to go fishing before eating; the children cover the elderly with the quilt that has been drawn; when fighting with the big marlin, the elderly think about it several times. "It would be nice if the child was here", and after seeing the old man coming back, the child cried three times and asked others not to disturb him. The child reflected Hemingway's desire to be cared for more, and his tough appearance gave people authority. On the surface, he may need someone to understand his desire for care and love, so the child can see the sadness and sadness in Hemingway’s heart. No more dreams of women, no more great events, no more big fishes, no more fights, no more wrestling, no more dreams of his wife. He now only dreams about places and lions on beaches. They played like kittens in the dusk, and he loved them as much as he loved the child. He had never dreamed of this child. "... Hemingway researchers almost unanimously believe that Hemingway accepted more of his father's talents.

Because his father went away to practice medicine for a long time, Hemingway had been living in a "female kingdom" composed of his mother, older sister and younger sister before the age of 16. His innate male psychology gave him a sense of loneliness, forcing him to only have more Seeking "manly" approval from his father. Hemingway not only accepted all of his father's three major hobbies: fishing, hunting and traveling, but also vigorously promoted them, becoming an important part of his life and creation. However, in 1928, his father suddenly shot himself at home. Hemingway's feelings completely turned towards his father, and he even developed hatred for his mother, and they broke off the relationship for a time. But in his later years, the suppressed warmth in Hemingway's heart finally recovered, "The older I get, the more I can understand my mother." In this sense, it is not unreasonable for the child's appearance to be a manifestation of Hemingway's Oedipus complex in his later years. Especially under the combination of external pressure, inner sorrow and physical pain at that time, it is very normal for Hemingway to have such emotions. The author's preference for lions in the novel is obvious. The old man's dream of a lion is mentioned four times. The first time is when the old man dreamed of a lion while lying on his bed before going to sea; the second time was when he dreamed of a lion. Ask yourself, "Why is the lion the main thing in my mind?" The third time he dreamed of the lion on the boat; the last time was at the end of the novel: "The old man was dreaming of the lion." The writer's repeated emphasis on lions injects a profound theme into the novel. "Lion" is a symbol of strength, and its repeated emphasis highlights Santiago's yearning for strength and his fearless spirit in the face of darkness and misfortune. The lion is a symbol of power, strength, and strength, and it is also a symbol of masculinity. At the end of his life, Hemingway's health deteriorated. Kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and war-induced physical injuries and trauma, as well as a series of complications, tortured him day by day. The physical pain also caused him to suffer from mental depression. . As the best embodiment of male strength-sexual inability also tortures him all the time. All these are comforted by the lion in dreams or memories in the article. Hemingway imagined that the power he once had could return to him. Especially under the heavy pressure of public opinion and suspicion around him, Hemingway no longer only hoped to let a work prove his strength, but he also hoped that the youth he had lost could regain his strength. Return to your own body and allow yourself to devote more energy and time to creating and maintaining your own glory. The old man's experience of competing with others for a day and night when he was young and finally winning was also mentioned several times. It reflects Hemingway's fond memories of past glory, and like the lion, it reflects Hemingway's reminiscences of the past. The names of many players also appeared in the article. They were all prominent players at the time, and more importantly, they were all players with strong vitality, and Joe. DiMaggio also landed the smash hit Marilyn. Monroe's heart. The effusive praise when old people and children talked about these players showed Hemingway's inner yearning for their vitality. Shark If the big fish is the grand goal in Hemingway's heart, then the shark is the bad luck and suffering he encountered in achieving this goal. Sharks represent all destructive forces, being despised, ignored, pessimistic and disappointed, etc. The old man's fight with the shark further reflects the author's unyielding and tenacious vitality. At the same time, it can be seen in the article that the old man's views on sharks are different. What he hates most are the "carrion-eating" sharks because they "bite the fish where they have been bitten." As for the big mako shark that attacked first, he said that it "was born with a good physique, could swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea, and everything about it was beautiful." In Hemingway's later years, Many people once doubted whether he could still create outstanding works. In 1940, Hemingway's "Across the River and Into the Woods" was published, but the novel received unpleasant attacks. Milder critics said it was "emotionally boring" and believed Hemingway still had potential; most critics brutally attacked it as self-pitying self-parody. Since then, public opinion has generally made wild assumptions about Hemingway's writing ability, and quite a few of them were unfavorable to Hemingway, causing him extreme depression and being unable to respond due to the objective circumstances at the time. Therefore, the shark actually reflects Hemingway's views on the literary critics of the time. Some of them were indeed good and great critics. They made legitimate comments on Hemingway's works and were beneficial to the writer's creation; while others were good. Some people just follow what others say and they are all cowards. The old fisherman Santiago symbolizes a philosophical tough guy spirit and a force that overwhelms fate. Santiago is the embodiment of bravery and self-confidence. He embodies the deep difficulties of human beings and the noble qualities of moving forward and overcoming difficulties when facing death. There is no doubt that Hemingway gave himself to this character for whom he devoted so much effort. It is worth mentioning that the prototype of "The Old Man and the Sea" is the Cuban fisherman Regorio. Fuentes was a good friend of Hemingway. In 1930, Hemingway's ship was wrecked in a storm, and he rescued him. The two formed a deep friendship. In the years to come, they went to sea together, and Hemingway admired his ability to control the ship. During World War II, he accompanied Hemingway in hunting German submarines in the Caribbean in a cruiser modified by Hemingway. The two are good friends who talk about everything. Regorio. After Hemingway committed suicide, Fuentes lived peacefully in his seaside cabin until his death in early 2003 at the age of 104.

How could one of the two strong men in life choose to shoot himself after winning the award, while the other peacefully enjoys his old age? Let’s look at it in conjunction with “The Old Man and the Sea”. "But people are not born for failure" and "A person can be destroyed, but not defeated." It not only embodies the declaration of human beings resisting fate, but also a true portrayal of Hemingway's heart. In the article, the old man faced no harvest for 84 days and faced disdainful speculation from people, but he still went to sea without hesitation. It's not so much for survival as it is to prove one's strength and show one's youth to outsiders. The end of the novel is worth pondering. The old man drags the skeleton of the big fish back to the sleeping harbor. The next morning. . . . . "Many fishermen gathered around the small boat and looked at the things tied to the side of the boat. One fisherman stood in the water with his trousers rolled up and used a fishing line to measure the remains of the dead fish." . . . . . The old man lost the big fish, but won people's respect. That was success in another sense, even beyond the meaning of getting the big fish. Hemingway raised a question about the definition of success. What is success? Is it a visible result or a process that no one can see. Perhaps the child's performance was the answer given by Hemingway, "The child saw the old man gasping for breath, and then saw the old man's hands, and he started crying. He walked out quietly to get some coffee, crying all the way." The child understands what kind of setbacks the old man experienced and how tenaciously he fought during the three days and nights. Children are old people's bosom friends, and Hemingway also hopes for such a bosom friend to appear. 3. The death of Hemingway - Knocking down the last lion. Critics have given many opinions about Hemingway's death. Most people think that Hemingway was not really brave. If he was really brave and fearless, then he You can face the physical pain in life and live strong. But if you live like that, is this what Hemingway wants us to understand through this kind of literature? It is true that facing the pain of life is indeed a kind of strength and awe-inspiring, but what kind of pain did Hemingway face? In his later years, after experiencing many illnesses and torture and pressure from the outside world, in that year In April, he was informed that in addition to his original ailments, he also suffered from skin cancer. Hemingway already realized what kind of future he was facing. Maybe he could face all this by himself, but what would Hemingway look like to outsiders? A tortured Hemingway was not what he wanted others to see. This is a warrior who once shocked the world and defended his last glory. It is said that no one can see the death process of an eagle, because every eagle that has fought in the sky countless times will flap its wings and fly towards the sun when it has a premonition that its life is about to end, and disappear without a trace. "The Old Man and the Sea" is Hemingway's last flight. Hemingway used his final actions to show people that Hemingway, who could not be defeated by anything, was finally ended by himself. Hemingway was still strong in the end. It is true that living is a kind of strength. Isn't abandoning all this and ending his life at the most glorious moment strong in another sense? I think Hemingway's choice of such an ending is similar to the ending he created in "The Old Man and the Sea". Hemingway is lonely, and his loneliness is beyond the understanding of others. He once said, "Writing, at its most successful, is a lonely career." In the end, Hemingway's end was as incomprehensible as the loneliness he hoped for. In fact, there are many images in "The Old Man and the Sea" that symbolize a wider meaning. If the images mentioned in this article are analyzed from other directions, more conclusions will be drawn. I think this is also a true manifestation of Hemingway's "iceberg" writing technique. 4. Conclusion From the above analysis, it can be seen that the individuality symbolized in "The Old Man and the Sea" is getting stronger and stronger. Although people now know "The Old Man and the Sea" as representing the unyielding spirit of all mankind in the face of setbacks and misfortune, the various images in the work show that it is actually Hemingway's declaration of war and a clarion call for one person to fight. . But this does not obliterate its aura of "embodiing the courage of people in a real world full of violence and death." Just like "A Dream of Red Mansions" is not only a detailed record of the rise and fall of individuals and families, but also a masterpiece that details the social reality of the time. Perhaps analyzing "The Old Man and the Sea" from various levels will lead to different meanings, because people with different images will see different connotations. "There are a thousand Hamlet in the eyes of a thousand people." The author's analysis based solely on Hemingway's experience is obviously insufficient. It is limited to knowledge and is not enough. I look forward to improving it in the future.

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