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.