Archetypes Used in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea

In this particular novella, Hemingway gets readers to understand the novel more by having archetypes, which is known as a universal symbol for a character. In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, talks about a character named Santiago who is a constant fisherman who always has bad luck but during the plot of the novel, he catches a fish that took time to catch. The old man has traits like perservance, not showing emotion and have respect for nature. The old man is a Hemingway Hero because of those specifc traits by Hemingway’s specific Hemingway code.

Santiago shows his love and respect for nature, through the Hemingway Code. Santiago shows that he loves the animals, nature, and the ocean throughtout the eight-four days he is on the boat. In the JSTOR article written by Lois L. Barnes in The Helpless Hero of Ernest Hemingway, “He loves the boy as he loves lions in dreams, as he loves the woman-sea” (6). Santiago is a Hemingway Hero because of his braveness and courage and complete endurance towards all of nature. In the novella, Santiago knows he is loved but on the inside he feels alone, “He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy” (25). In the old man’s lonely life, he sometimes feels stressed out and painful. Santiago usually rathers be a stronger figure than a weaker one, that is why he keeps fighting even if he is in pain. Santiago always would ask himself, “I wish the boy was here”, because he felt lonely inside but on the outside he has a good relationship with the boy and nature.

Besides his love for nature, he also shows his affects of never giving up. One of the traits of being a Hemingway Hero is having perservance, where Santiago does not let himself fail or stop trying for what he wants. In Santiago’s fishing community, they all think that he is an unlucky fisherman. Since the community feels this way towards Santiago, Manolin loses his privilege of being taught Santiago’s skills as a fisherman. While Santiago is unlucky because he has tried to catch a fish for eighty-four days, “finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky” (Hemingway 9). Santiago finally after 84 days, catches the Marlin. In The Jstor article, written by Domotor in Anxious Masculinity, Santiago “the code hero is traumatized and wounded, he always prevails” (Domotor 121). Santiago’s has perserveance with sharks and fish. Santiago clearly has the elements of the code of being a Hemingway Hero. the old man fights against the obsatcles and difficulties throughtout life even if he endures pain or has no emotion at all.

Since Santiago is the Hemingway Hero in the novella he shows no emotion even though he faces death and hardship. Santiago faces death when he is with the boy, where the marlin’s die. Even if he is in emotional pain, “pain does not matter to a man” (84). Santiago keeps living his life and does not let his emotions affect him like since his wife died. Santiago also acts like he is not in pain and acts like it is not that intense even though it is. In the JSTOR article, the author Backman in The Matador and the Crucified, Santiago is the hero who “Takes pain, even death, with all of one’s courage and endurance so that it becomes a thing of poignancy and nobility” (2). Santiago is a Hemingway Hero who does not show his emotions and acts like nothing wrong. Over the course of eight-four days, while the marlin is on Santiago’s fishing line, he is pain where his hands get all cut up and also, his hands have cramps and his back was in pain too.

In the fictional novella, The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, the character Santiago shows how is a Hemingwa Hero throughtout the novella. Santiago is a Hemingway Hero, who has perverance and shows no emotion even if he is in pain mentally or physically and loves nature. There are many modern Hemingway Hero’s now, just like the baseball player, Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth is known as the best baseball players of all time. When he retired in 1935, he also was known for the most strikeouts, but after a time, he keeps going and doesn’t give up to be a good baseball player. Babe Ruth and Santiago are both considered Hemingway Hero’s and have a lot in common and there are millons of people just like Santiago. Santiago has perservacen just like everyone else in the world, who keeps going even if life is difficult.