Feeling After Reading The Old Man and The Sea---开题报告

The Old Man and the Sea is the story of a battle between an old, experienced fisherman, Santiago, and a large marlin. The novel starts by telling the reader that Santiago has gone 84 days without catching a fish, considered "salao", the worst form of unluckiness. He is so unlucky that his young apprentice, Manolin, has been forbidden by his parents to sail with him and been told to, instead, fish with successful fishermen. 

Santiago ventures far out into the Gulf Stream, north of Cuba in the Straits of Florida to fish, confident that his unlucky streak is near its end. On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago takes his skiff into the Gulf Stream, sets his lines and, by noon, has his bait taken by a big fish that he is sure is a marlin. Unable to pull in the great marlin, Santiago is instead pulled by the marlin. Two days and nights pass with Santiago holding the line. Though wounded by the struggle and in pain, Santiago expresses a compassionate appreciation for his adversary, often referring to him as a brother.  

On the third day, the fish begins to circle the skiff. Santiago, worn out and almost delirious, uses all his remaining strength to pull the fish onto its side and stab the marlin with a harpoon. Santiago straps the marlin to the side of his skiff and heads home, thinking about the high price the fish will bring him at the market and how many people he will feed.

On his return, sharks are attracted to the marlin's blood. Santiago kills a great mako shark with his harpoon, but he loses the weapon. He makes a new harpoon by strapping knife to the end of an oar to help ward off the next line of sharks; five sharks are slain and many others are driven away. But the sharks keep coming, and by nightfall the sharks have almost devoured the marlin's entire carcass, leaving a skeleton consisting mostly of its backbone, its tail and its head. Finally reaching the shore before dawn on the next day.

A group of fishermen gather the next day around the boat where the fish's skeleton is still attached. One of the fishermen measures it to be 18 feet (5.5 m) from nose to tail. When the old man wakes, they promise to fish together once again. 

2  Outline of the paper 

2.1 About the novella 

Briefly introduce the characters and plots of the novella. 

2.1.1 Background about the story 

The novella was based on a true story happen in Cuba. Gregorio Fuentes, who incidently saved Hemingway in 1930 and became friends even since. In 1936 Gregorio Fuentes went out to sea, he got a huge marlin but attacked by sharks. In 1951, Hemingway wrote the story and became famous.

     

2.1.2 Introduction about Earnest Hemingway 

Being distinguished from many greatest American writers, Hemingway is noted for his writing style. Among all his works, The Old Man and the Sea is a typical one which shows Hemingway’s unique writing style and technique. The language is simple and natural on the surface, but actually deliberate and artificial.

2.1.3 Critism about the novella 

After The Old Man and the Sea published in 1952, the novella became very popular, and afterwards was translated into tens of languages, the extremely fascinating story liked by many people in the whole world. After 1950s criticism have been a main tone. Statistics show that in 1950s articles on the novel is only 1/4 of articles on another novel by Earnest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises.  From 1990s till now, articles about this novel have been very rare. 

The novella was introduced into China 50 years ago, it has been more and more popular, and at academic level, research topic have been developed from one single aspect into various aspects, and even deeper extents. 

2.2 Merits of the old man 

2.2.1 Perseverance 

84 days did not catch anything, Santiago still keep fishing. And he held fishing line for 2 days. All these are perseverance personality. 

2.2.2 Courage 

Far out into the Gulf Stream, fight sharks, Santiago demonstrate admirable courage.   

2.2.3 Honor for life 

In the war between Santiago and Marlin, he was moved by the fish, even though he call the fish brother, however, this is a world of predator and prey, so he did not let the fish go, but killed it. This is a choice in nature principle. 

2.3 Dignity and pride

2.3.1 winning respect in difficulties

Santiago did not catch anything for 84 days, even his apprentice left him, he went fishing to Gulf Stream, to win back his dignity as a fisherman. Although it is a big fish, although shsarks attacking, he made back to home, with just bones attached to his boat.  

2.3.2 Can be destroyed, can't be defeated 

This is the most obvious motif in this novella. 

2.3.3 Pride to struggle when doomed to failure

Santiago is pride, although he knows the sharks will completely consume the marlin, still he did not give up fighting.  

2.4 Respectful antagonist analyze 

2.4.1 Marlin vs. Santiago, both respectful 

Both Marlin and Santiago live with dignity. Predator and prey, if we describe the relationship of the both.  

2.4.2 sharks symbolism

Sharks symbolizes strong antagnoist, sometimes bring complete destruction. Give up or fight with dignity? 

2.5 Symbol of the lion 

The lion is idol of Santiago, symbolizes power, brave and courage.           

2.6 Conclusion 

“Man is not made defeated”, “A man can be destroyed but not defeated”, Santiago says so. This is the theme of the novella. It is a spirit encourages us to persist in adversity. When we meet “bad luck”, show some “grace under pressure”. 

 

References

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 9. Rohrberger，Mary, et al. An Introduction to Literature. New York: Random, 1968

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11.Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea. Shanghai: Foreign Literature Press, 1997.