Enter an unfamiliar world of barren solitude, aggressive predators, minimal resources and the fight for your life. Few people have experienced such situations; and those that do return with a new outlook on life. Some attribute their revelations to their physical endurance while others say their emotional fortitude allowed them to persevere. Similar to the emotional changes brought on by trauma, personality characteristics define a person behaviors and beliefs. Hemingway shows Santiago as a non-Christ figure to convey the value of emotional control, struggles of self-value and usefulness of elders in society.Ernest Hemingway emphasizes the value of emotional control through his protagonists’ struggle. Santiago demonstrates his lack of religious faith, and excess of logical faith when he says, “Now that I have him [the marlin] coming so beautifully, God help me endure. I’ll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys. But I cannot say them now” (87).This passage reveals Santiago’s rejection of religion and Christendom, arguing that prayer is only necessary should he be successful. Having rejected his emotions, Santiago utilizes logic and rationale when hunting for the marlin. He discards baseball as a pastime, knowing that it is a distraction to his formal thought process when he states, “I wonder how the baseball came out in the grand leagues today, he thought. It would be wonderful to do this with a radio. Then he thought, think of it always. Think of what you are doing. You must do nothing stupid” (48). Hemingway reiterates the theme of emotional weakness in Indian Camp, where Nick and Dr. Adams view the Indian man’s death passively and apathetically. “‘Why did he kill himself, Daddy?’ ‘I don’t know, Nick. He couldn…
…f elders in society.Hemingway develops reoccurring themes throughout The Old Man the Sea, communicated through Santiago’s portrayal as a non-Christ figure. Characterizing Santiago as passively sympathetic exemplifies poise throughout Hemingway’s works, dictating emotional composure as a virtue. Santiago’s life background reveals that big egos and untouchable pride are pivotal to the author’s lifestyle but are unconventional according to Christian morals. Contrary to societal norms that dictate the old as fragile and incompetent, Hemingway shows that age is strength. Santiago’s portrayal as a non-Christ figure explains the values of emotional control, the struggles of self-value and usefulness of elders in society. As exposed through his literary works; wittiness, humility and intellectuality define the qualities that are of utmost importance to Ernest Hemingway.
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