Hemingways the Old Man And The Sea: An Analysis :: essays research papers

Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea": An Analysis Everyone has an arch enemy. Batman had the Joker, Superman had Lex Luthor. But without their enemies, they would be unimportant, just like anyone else. One could say that they needed their enemies, that their enemies were almost friends. Similarly, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, is a love story about the relationship developed over the years between a man and his lifelong friend and foe, the sea. Within the following paragraphs, it will be proven that the man needed the sea, that the two respected each other, and were very close. The old man respected the sea, unlike some of the younger, richer fishermen. They referred to the sea as a man. "...spoke of her as el mar which is masculine." (p.30) This was considered improper to the older fishermen, as it was spoken of like a place or a contestant. The old man always referred to the sea as a female, like a mother. "He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her." (p.29) He saw the sea as a woman, a woman that gave or withheld favors. She was unpredictable beacuse "The moon affects her as it does a woman." (p.30) The sea was like a second home for the man, who fished every day. La mar provided the man with food, a living, an enemy, and a friend. When he was out on the sea fishing, he was at home. The sea, la mar, was like his mother. The fish in the ocean were like his brothers and sisters. When he heard the dolphins playing in the night he thought, "They are good...they are our brothers like the flying fish." (p.48) He had almost reeled the giant marlin in when he realized what he was doing. "You are killing me, fish. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful...thing than you, brother." (p.92) Even as he ate the fish that he would catch, or as he killed scavengers trying to get the marlin, he was apologizing or talking to his "family". The old man saw the sea as a person, as a woman, and the fish were people, also. Thinking that way, he kept an open dialogue with his surroundings. Throughout the several days in which he tried to catch the marlin, he constantly spoke to it. He had just eaten a fish to get his strength back when he said, "How do you feel, fish?