Reflections

Hemingway in TOM

Having recently read for this assignment many views and opinions on Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea, it would be easy to get swept along by the interpretations of his words and characters. When I ask myself, where do I see Hemingway in the book I have to go back to the atmosphere created and see how this fits in with his life events? When I read the book I got a sense of someone coming to the end of his life, which has been through turbulent times and is now in a period of melancholy or maybe just reconciling themselves to the uncertainty of the end of life. I think in Santiago's fight with trying to land the marlin, I can see Hemingway trying to come to terms with his declining popularity at that time, and representing this through Santiago's struggles for existence. Hemingway had had a very active, political life and his earlier books focus on the themes of love and war, and the artifices of society. But in TOM he is exploring the inner consciousness of a single man. With his previous novels set in war times, he demonstrated the value he set to human courage, the heroic man who lives by his own code of values, but here he is stripped down human courage and perseverance to its barest form. This feels to me as if he is almost taking stock as to what makes a dignified life as he examines his own struggle with his inner demons and his critics.

Hemingway himself identified with Santiago in 1954 when, in his Nobel Prize acceptance statement, he wrote that a writer's task was to try for something he could not hope to attain, that the writer "is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him." With this book, Hemingway had shown that he could still achieve a major triumph, whether or not the reviewers and critics (sharks) or the public (the two tourists at the end of the book) could appreciate the true worth of his achievement.

Films/History & TOMS

The 1950s brought themes of paranoia and pessimism, which was showcased in "film noir," just on the heels of WWII. The 1950s also brought and inflated views of materialism and commercial possibilities with the need for "man" to prove himself. As a film buff, I felt that the themes that were prominent in "the Old Man and the Sea" weren't as prominent in films made in the 1950s. Hemingway portrayed his main character, Santiago as a quiet hero who was content with honor even though he had no proof to support his "catch." He battled the marlin to prove to himself that he cannot be defeated, regardless of his age. However, he didn't feel the need to prove it to the other fishermen and locals.

During the 1950s, film themes were entered around young characters who rebelled against society and their parents, like in "A Rebel Without A Cause" (1955) or older characters who were past their prime, were weak physically and mentally, and had fragile egos. Santiago was an elderly character living a simple life during an era with much change. I didn't feel like he was out for his last hoorah. In comparison, in 1952, Gary Cooper played an agine sheriff in "High Noon" who had one last chance to prove himself against the "bad guys." I feel this character was different than Santiago because he had something to prove to society, but Santiago did not.

Change in Cuba & TOMS

In the early and mid 1950s, Cuba flourished economically because of its booming travel industry and the large production of sugar. At the same time, poverty increased, particularly in the rural parts of the country. Santiago lived in the rural countryside therefore he represented the poverty in Cuba. The large businesses symbolize the large fishing industries that profited more than a fisherman. The friendship of Santiago and Manolin could symbolize the period of Cuba in the past and the present-the young and the old. In the story, when the sharks take a bite out of the marlin, they could symbolize the big businesses or capitalism taking over or crushing the small independent businesses in Cuba. In the mid 1950s not only was poverty rising in the country, college students in Havana organized strikes against the corrupt government. The strikes symbolize Santiago's spirit of persistence and not giving up! In the late 1950s and just before the revolution, bloodshed and violence grew-all can be examples of the pain and suffering that the old man experienced and endured when he was on the boat. And the pain seemed endless like the long period that Cuba experienced poverty under its corrupt leaders. Santiago also represents everyman, trying to survive life's daily challenges against the sharks or nature and the elements. The average Cuban was not involved in the revolution but was subject to the suffering and horrors. If the old man could survive his battle and meet the challenge with dignity and honor on his terms, then so could everyday Cubans.

Activities to Build Background and Contextual Knowledge

In our culminating post, we present two activities to help bring these concepts to life in the classroom.

1. Biographical Article on the Author

Students will brainstorm the elements of a good biography with guidance of the teacher. Then they will be placed into pairs and will be assigned to research one of the biographical elements i.e. childhood, occupation, hobbies, etc. with their partner in a webquest. The instructor will pre-select a handful of appropriate websites. They must collect a minimum number of facts and then write a paragraph or two to summarize their findings. These papers will be edited and collated into Hemingway resource manuals for all students to read. Then students will write their own biographical article on Hemingway from a choice of two perspectives, either Hemingway himself or as a newspaper reporter.

Click here to see our SIOP

Click here to see a class-produced Hemingway resource

Click here to see a student sample of a Hemingway Monologue

2. Movie Trailer

As a further extension of the previous activites, we will discuss the merits of movie trailers, reviewing some current movies in the theaters now. What is the purpose of a movie trailer? How do you efficiently select scenes to make a synopsis? Students will create small groups of up to four, then write a script together and create an original movie trailer that highlights the life of Ernest Hemingway as an author and man.

Ideology in the Old Man and the Sea

"If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water." (Hemingway, 1932)

Hemingway's metaphor was to describe the prose he was attempting to write. It alludes us to the way in which ideologies and beliefs are represented both within the structure of the story and also figuratively through the characters and the narrative. So when questioning what ideologies are shared with us through the classic tale we begin to piece together the way the actions and thoughts of the characters belie some enduring themes.

The story is set in the very real context of a Cuban fishing village where the protagonist Santiago, an old, experience fisherman spends his days hunting for the fish that give him his living. His physical and emotional toil represent a theme of struggle and endurance that Hemingway felt personified our journey through life.

We are told that Santiago has spent 84 days without catching fish and yet he is determined to continue to fish, going into further waters than the other fisherman in the hope of landing a marlin. He is resolute and refuses to accept defeat. Even when having caught an enormous marlin, and facing the inevitable and gradual destruction of the fish by the sharks, he continued to struggle with his own physical endangerment to haul the fish back to the harbor. Santiago is proud and brave, and while believing that death for all is inevitable, also personifies the human and animal nature to continue to fight. The theme of a noble fight is demonstrated on different levels in the novel from the epic battle with the marlin, whom he saw as an admirable opponent, to his arm wrestling with an opponent he described with worthy adjectives. Choosing worthy opponents with which to battle is part of the philosophy of the dignified struggle in life. Indeed, when you consider the outcome of Santiago's fishing journey, we can see that the importance is not in the catching of the gigantic marlin, but in the honorable, harsh struggle of the whole journey. According to Hemingway, "it is the inevitability of death and struggle that allows humans to prove their worth."

Another theme in the novel is the way in which nature is depicted through the animals described and also the elements. Much time is spent drawing connections between Santiago and the natural environment from the birds and the fish whom he regards as his friends, to even the way in which Santiago's features are portrayed as being animal-like. The animals can also be seen to be representative of positive and negative forces in life that are there to help us or impede us on our journey. The sharks seem to symbolize the destructive parts of the universe and are predators, preying off others relentlessly. Yet the marlin is honored and revered. In the middle of their struggle, Santiago says to the marlin, "Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who." Santiago's statement hints that man and nature are joined in a circular system, in which death is necessary and fosters new life.

Another ideological theme in the story is the rejection of materialism for a life of simplicity. Santiago's dedication to his craft and simple way of life separates him from the pragmatic fishermen motivated by money. He stands for the traditional way as opposed to more modern industrialized fishing. His life can be seen as a more spiritual way of life as part of nature's order. An interesting contrast to this can be represented by the tourists in the book who came to Cuba for recreation without really understanding anything about the culture and the people who often lived in poverty. On the last two pages of the book, the tourists at the Terrace ask the waiter about the carcass of the marlin. The waiter translates, "Tiburon," to "Eshark" attempting to explain that the marlin had been ravaged by sharks. The tourists misunderstand but also really have no understanding of how Cubans like Santiago live and have to fight to live coming from a background of comparative wealth.

Hemingway was very much regarded as a realist. He once said himself that "a writer's job is to tell the truth." In the Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway gave us an insight into his truths on the human condition and our journey through life in a lyrical, engaging way.

Click here for a brief documentary that sweetly highlights some of the symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea.

Cultural Elements Reflected in TOMS

Both Cuban and American culture are featured in The Old Man and the Sea and both are prominent influential elements in Hemingway's life. The cultures of the time are also reflected in the nature of the story line, being set within the small fishing village culture of the Cuban laborers, but also in a number of details mentioned throughout the course of the story.

Whilst church and state were considered separate entities in Cuba, there was a strong Catholic influence which is demonstrated through some of Santiago's comments relating to what prayers he should say and whether he has committed a sin in wanting to keep the fish intact. There is also imagery that compares Santiago himself to Christ enduring his hardships. It encourages us to think of fishing and the struggle it involves with the intrinsic good in Christianity. Hemingway was influenced by the religious aspect of Cuban culture and also by the religious views of his wife(wives).

Hemingway portrays Cuban culture through the simple lives of the fishermen who endure hardship and challenge in what is portrayed as a noble life. He uses Cuban terms to illustrate the way of life and also brings in an element of "machismo" into the way Santiago and Manolo talk and act which is a traditional aspect of Cuban culture.

American culture also adds to the cultural atmosphere of the novel. The text itself exemplifies the importance of American culture to both Santiago and Manolin through references of American culture due to their obsession over baseball. Santiago worships Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees. This link to American culture from a tiny Cuban fishing village stems from the history of Cuba and American globalism. It can be said that this baseball obsession is a product of American culture being forced upon Cuba during the Cold War as an exercise in anti-communist propaganda. Hemingway is reflecting the social and political actions of the time into the novel and the main protagonists.

While there are a number of cultural elements reflected in the story, they are so beautifully and simply woven into the storyline, they serve to help us further understand the life and struggle of the old man.

Click here to see Life Magazine images (c. 1952) that richly and simply show culture and life in Cuba.

Examining the Historical Setting of the Novel

The period from 1920-1960 saw a seachange of activity in global affairs. Ernest Hemingway had first-hand knowledge of many world events during his lifetime as he worked as foreign correspondent for several newspapers. Specifically focusing on the historical period 1940-1960, the time surrounding the publishing of The Old Man and the Sea we will look closely at happenings in Cuba and the US and how it connects to the novella.

First take a look at the Cuba/US Historical Timeline.

After the Platt Amendment which allowed the US to intervene in Cuban affairs was nullified, US/Cuban relations improved through the 1950s. Symbolic of the growing friendship between the US and Cuba was the broadcast of the TV show, I Love Lucy whose storyline parodied

the true-life marriage between American actress Lucille Ball and Cuban performer Desi Arnez, Jr. Frequently in The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago references Joe DiMaggio's winning run with the Detroit Tigers as well as his comeback from foot surgery. All of these current events squarely place Hemingway's character in 1950s Cuba. Tensions arose again as the US started buying more Cuban sugar mills, increasing ownership to a staggering 60% of the total. Batista's corrupt communist government contributed to the rise of poverty in Cuba. In 1959, Castro overthrew Batista's government. Hemingway approved of it calling it a "historical necessity." Hemingway took leave during the Castro revolution, moving to Ketchum, Idaho. Shortly thereafter the US broke all diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Who is Ernest Hemingway?

EARLY LIFE

Born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, Ernest Miller Hemingway was the second of six children born to Dr. Clarence Edmonds Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway, a music teacher. Ernest enjoyed an adventurous boyhood, fishing, hunting and camping in the woods of North Michigan where his family owned a house. Ernest attended Oak Park High School where he excelled in classes, particularly English. He participated in boxing, track, water polo and football, in addition to editing and writing for the school newspaper, yearbook and literary magazine. Upon his graduation in 1917, Ernest worked for the Kansas City Star as a cub reporter for six months. The Star’s style guide “Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative,” would form a foundation for his future writing efforts.

WORLD WAR I

In 1918, Ernest volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in Italy. He was severely wounded while delivering postcards to soldiers. He endured several surgeries and a six month recuperation in Milan. It was while in hospital that he fell in love with a nurse seven years his senior whom he hoped to marry, until she became engaged to an Italian officer. Ernest was devastated by the rejection. He returned to the States and spent the summer with friends camping in Michigan. Then he resumed his career as a journalist with the Toronto Star Weekly. While traveling in Chicago for a story, he met Elizabeth Hadley Richardson and they married in 1921. Ernest was appointed foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and the newlyweds moved to Paris.

PARIS

Ernest covered the Greco-Turkish war for the Toronto Star and he wrote travel pieces including topics like hot fishing spots in Europe and bullfighting. He also forged friendships with a group of expatriate artists also known as the “Lost Generation.” The group included writers such as Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, Max Eastman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the painters Miro and Picasso and more. Their relationships had an indelible impact on his writing and ideology. The 1920s were extremely productive writing years. Ernest became a father in 1923 and simultaneously quit his position at the Star and devoted himself completely to writing for publication. In 1925 Hadley and Ernest took their annual trip to Pamplona for the running of the bulls. It would inspire his first critically acclaimed best seller, The Sun also Rises published in 1927. That same year he divorced Hadley and married Pauline Pfeffer, a contributor to Vogue and Vanity Fair. When Pauline became pregnant they moved to Key West where Patrick was born in 1928. Ernest still continued to travel extensively through Europe to gather material for his writing.

KEY WEST

Hemingway continued to write producing what many critics still feel is the best novel ever written about WWI. A Farewell to Arms was published in 1929 and solidified Hemingway’s reputation as one of the greatest writers of his generation. The 1930s would see the publication of Hemingway’s bible on bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon (1932), a recount of his African safari in Green Hills of Africa (1935) and two famous short stories, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936) and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936). In 1937, Hemingway ventured to Spain to support the loyalists and observed the Spanish Civil War firsthand. His experiences as a war correspondent for the Alliance would inspire his other great war novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. In 1940 he married fellow war correspondent Martha Ellis Gelhorn. It was a short-lived marriage that bitterly ended five years later. He married final wife Mary Welsh Monks, a Time Magazine correspondent in 1946. For the next fourteen years, the couple lived in Hemingway’s Finca Vigia (Lookout Farm) in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba.

CUBA

In addition to hunting expeditions in Africa and Wyoming, Hemingway developed a passion for deep-sea fishing in the waters off Key West, the Bahamas, and Cuba. He also armed his fishing boat, the Pilar, and monitored with his crew Nazi activities and their submarines in that area during World War II. His 1940 purchase of Finca Vigia, outside Havana, Cuba created a paradise for his undisciplined bunch of cats. Ernest’s hard lifestyle of travel, excessive drink, and fine eating took its toll on his health. By the 1940s he began to hear voices in his head, he was overweight, had hypertension and showed signs of cirrhosis of the liver. His first novel in a decade, Across the River and into the Trees was poorly received, but his next, the allegorical novella The Old Man and the Sea restored his fame.

The protagonist is an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago, who finally catches a giant marlin after weeks of disappointments. It is a long protracted battle. As he returns to the harbor, the sharks eat the fish, lashed to his boat. The model for Santiago was a Cuban fisherman, Gregorio Fuentes, who died in January 2002 at the age of 104. Fuentes had served as the captain of Hemingway’s boat Pilar in the late 1930s and was occasionally his tapster. Hemingway was awarded a 1953 Pulitzer Prize and 1954 Nobel Prize for his short novel, cementing his place as godfather of American literature. Although he would live for another seven years before committing suicide, his health deteriorated greatly due to several accidents and perhaps a genetic predisposition to depression.

Hemingway’s literature remains significant because of its enduring human themes, innovative style, and his colorful persona. He also was adept at describing life as it was not, never settling on a happy ending because life is too complex and layered to produce a contrived ending. Because Ernest was unafraid to explore the tragedies of life, death and love he still has timeless appeal.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE APPLIES TO AUTHORS TOO

As active readers we use our background knowledge to connect to a text. Ernest Hemingway used his background knowledge to write his novels, poems, and short stories. The themes he chose to address in his novels also mimicked themes he wrestled with during his lifetime. For example, he used his experiences as one of the expatriates in Paris in the 1920's to write The Sun Also Rises. The themes seemed to center around drinking, hanging out in cafes, and WWI, just as he did in his own life. In The Green Hills of Africa, the story was based on a big game hung. Hemingway was known as an experienced game hunter. While he was a correspondent for the Spanish Civil War he was inspired to write For Whom the Bell Tolls. During that time one of his friends committed suicide because of the war. His father also committed suicide during that time.

His life experiences definitely connected him to the character of Santiago and the themes in The Old Man and the Sea. In The Old Man and the Sea, the themes of kill or be killed, pride, bravery and honor take precedence. Around the time the novel was written, in the 1950s, Hemingway had settled into his villa in Cuba, fishing on his boat named Pilar. He was intrigued by Hispanic life and that is a straight connection between his novel and his life. Considering this novel was his Nobel Prize winner in the field of literature, it's not difficult to understand why he chose the themes he did. He had already experienced several wars, battled with the demons of his father's and friend's suicides, and became an expert fisherman. These experiences tested his own theory of what it meant to be a great man with a lot of pride and honor.

In the novel, Santiago has a kill or be killed attitude, as does the marlin. In order to measure greatness, Santiago knew he had to defeat the fish after a long battle. He viewed the death of the marlin as a prize, not only to himself but to the marlin. As I was researching Hemingway, I read about his experiences deep sea fishing. He was quoted as saying he was giving the fish he killed "the gift of death." The fish died with honor battling in a natural setting. Santiago had the same attitude in the novel. HE was gifting the marlin with a brave fight to the end. Santiago and the marlin were both creatures of nature and, as a man Santiago was not to be defeated.

In the end of the novel, Santiago does not return to shore with his "prize" but he still has honor. To him and Hemingway, honor is not measured by victory, but by pride. Santiago knew what he'd accomplished out at sea and did not need to have a fish to show the others just how far he went.

Books by Ernest Hemingway

Three Stories and Ten Poems. Paris: Contact Publishing Co., 1923.

in our time. Paris: Three Mountains Press, 1924.

In Our Time. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925.

The Torrents of Spring. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926.

The Sun Also Rises. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926.

Men Without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927.

A Farewell to Arms. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929.

Death in the Afternoon. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932.

Winner Take Nothing. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933.

Green Hills of Africa. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935.

To Have and Have Not. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1937.

The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1938.

For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.

Across the River and into the Trees. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950.

The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952.

A Moveable Feast. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964.

Islands in the Stream. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970.

The Dangerous Summer. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985.

The Garden of Eden. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1986.

True at First Light. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Under Kilimanjaro. Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2005.

Welcome to Our Blog

This blog is presented by the Hemingway Group: Debbie Aloupis, Helene Anglaret, Shelly Gin Lee and Maria Peters. We will be presenting a series of postings examining The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway through both historical and biographical lenses. In an effort to prepare the learner to embark on this literary journey, we will provide background that will enhance contextual understanding. We will layer and spiral information in our subsequent postings, then complete the lesson with some suggested activities and a SIOP. Enjoy!