Characteristics of the characters based on Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". "The Old Man and the Sea": the philosophical meaning of the story, the strength of the old man's character

The Old Man and the Sea is a work written by American writer Ernest Hemingway in 1952. The story introduces us to the old man Santiago, who has been out to sea for eighty-four days and cannot catch anything. Because of this, he is considered unlucky, no one wants to communicate with him, only the boy Manolin continues to visit him and help the old man fish. And on the 85th day, having gone further into the Gulf Stream, he caught a huge fish. He fought with her so that she would not break, he wanted everyone to see his catch. Just didn't bring him. Wounded hands in the blood attracted sharks, with whom he had to fight. He killed many, but at the same time they managed to eat the fish caught by the old man. Santiago sailed only with a skeleton. Everyone sympathized with the fisherman. Arriving home, he fell asleep and then he dreamed of distant Africa, youth and lions on the African coast.

After reading the work and familiarizing ourselves with the plot, we can easily make a hero by revealing the image of Santiago from the story The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago is the hero of the story, a fisherman from Cuba who lives on the seashore. This is an old man, thin and exhausted by life. Reading the story, we see his wounded hands, because many times he had to pull the fish with the help of a string. However, we also see strong hero, with mighty shoulders, strong will. Although he is old, his eyes are still full of blueness and youth.

Reading the Old Man and the Sea, we understand that once he was a cabin boy and sailed to Africa. He also had a wife, but that was so long ago that the old man no longer even dreams of her, just as a fish does not dream either. Santiago dreams only of Africa. The old man is poor. All his life he was a fisherman, that's what he lived for. He is hardy, he has great willpower, just remember the moment when he caught a fish, which he kept on the hook for several days. Or this shark fight. Only a brave man, fearless and purposeful, could behave like that.

Santiago is a solitary fisherman whose loneliness is a bit shattered by the boy Manolin. Our hero tells him stories, they have common hobbies, Santiago taught him to fish. For a boy, the old man is an example of courage and a master of his craft. At the same time, Santiago seeks not only to take from nature, he tries to live in harmony with it. His fishing is like a sacrament or a certain ritual. He respects all the inhabitants of the sea. Having killed the fish, he feels sorry for her, he sympathizes, but justifies his act by the fact that her carcass will feed many and this is important.

By creating a work, the writer shows life as it is, how it works, where the fisherman and the fish are not enemies, they are friends, that's just the meaning of the fisherman's life in killing the fish and there's no getting away from it. Indeed, for many, fishing is an opportunity to exist and survive in this complex world how the old man survives in it.

Characteristics of the heroes based on Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea": Santiago

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SANTIAGO (eng. Santiago) - the hero of E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" (1952). real prototypes considered Fernando Manuel Peredos (nicknamed Gallego), Anselmo Hernando, Grigorio Fuentes, the captain of Hemingway's boat. Hemingway himself wrote that he reflected "the character traits of an old fisherman acquaintance from Casablanca." It can be said that S.- collective image fisherman from the northern coast of Cuba, in the area of ​​Cojimar. At the same time, this is an image-symbol in which romantic and folklore motifs. S. absorbed best qualities 363 human soul - kindness, steadfastness, courage. His simple-hearted, natural heroism is based on an amazing interweaving of humility and pride, which allows him to endure hardships and not admit defeat. S. is defeated, but does not submit. He is related to the heroes of J. London and F. Cooper, has a rare endurance and determination. The impulse of his actions is the natural human right to food, the pride of the "natural fisherman". In the image of S., the features of the Hemingway hero-player are preserved, but the rules of the game acquire a higher, metaphysical meaning. Criticism accused S. of pessimism and fatalism. The idea was expressed that S. lost, because he went beyond the threshold set for a person, that in the image of S. Hemingway condemns the “presumptuous” individualism, which only brings destruction (M. Schorer, K. Burhans). Meanwhile, S. embodies the type of person who does not seek only to take from nature, but who has taken his natural position in it, in the harmony of its eternal circulation. S.'s connection with the giant fish he caught, which he "loves", is indissoluble. The struggle with it and with the sharks that take prey from S. is an endless dispute between man and nature. S. does not fish, but, as it were, acts as a priest, performing the prescribed ritual. In this he is similar to the hero of "Moby Dick" G. Melville. Similar motifs can be traced in V. Astafiev (“Tsar-fish”, 1976). W. Faulkner wrote that before S. Hemingway's heroes created themselves from clay as strong as they could be, but here Hemingway "found" the Creator who created S., a big fish, sharks that were supposed to devour this fish, and God loves them all. (K. Baker considered Hemingway's story as a biblical parable, correlating the image of S. with the personality of Jesus Christ.) In the image of S., the motive of teaching is important: the boy, S.'s assistant, is sure that S. is able to teach "everything in the world" and the main thing in life. It is no coincidence that Hemingway called his story "a message young generation”(in a television interview after the Nobel Prize, which the writer was awarded in 1954 for this work).

Lit.: Baker C. Hemingway; the writer as artist Princeton, 1963; Panorov Yu.M. Hemingway in Cuba. M., 1982; Fuentes N. Hemingway in Cuba. M., 1988; see also the literature for the article "Jake Warne".

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Ernest Hemingway's story was written in 1952, and since then has been a constant controversy over the interpretation of the main meaning of the work. The difficulty of interpretation lies in the fact that in the story the same attention is paid to the motives of suffering and loneliness of a person and the victory of the heroic principle in him.

But these topics are extremely important in the life of every person. The genius of the writer lies in the fact that he shows these topics as two sides of the same coin, and the key point of the story is that Hemingway allows the reader to choose which side to look at. Exactly this can be called the creative philosophy of Hemingway- inconsistency and duality of his works. And "The Old Man and the Sea" is called the writer's brightest and most amazing story.

Images of the story "The Old Man and the Sea"

First of all, you should pay attention to main image in the story - on the old man Santiago, who suffers constant setbacks throughout the story. The sail of his boat is old and incapacitated, and the hero himself is an old man exhausted by life with cheerful eyes. Through the eyes of a man who does not give up. This is the philosophical symbolism of the story. When the reader watches how the old man fights the fish, he sees in the actions and words of the protagonist fatalism of the eternal struggle of man. Santiago exerts all his strength and, despite everything, continues the duel, at the end of which he wins. It is at this moment that one of the main philosophical ideas of the work is revealed, which is that "a person can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated."

The strength of the old man's character

With the fight between old Santiago and the big fish, Hemingway draws our attention to the true nature human soul and meaning human life. The symbolic struggle of Santiago's personality continues when the sharks attack his fish. The hero does not despair, does not give up, and despite being tired and exhausted, he continues to fight, to defend what he has obtained with such great difficulty. Neither the wounds on his hands nor the broken knife prevent him from doing so. And at the moment when it becomes obvious that Santiago could not save the fish, the key character writer's philosophy. The hero didn't save the fish, but the hero didn't lose because - he fought to the last.

The exhausted and weakened hero still returns to the port, where the boy is waiting for him. Hemingway shows us the old man as a winner and reveals the strength of his character. After all, the image of Santiago has absorbed the features of a real hero, a man who never betrays himself and his principles. The writer's idea was to show the philosophical side of the principles of human existence, and he does this on the example of a single character and his attitude to life.

The meaning of human life in the story

There is no tragic ending in this story, the ending can be called completely open to the imagination of readers. This is the crushing power of Hemingway's philosophy, he gives us the opportunity to independently sum up the moral conclusion of the story. Santiago's personality is a symbol of the strength of the heroic principle in man and a symbol of real human victory, which does not depend on circumstances and events. Using this image, the writer reveals the meaning of human life, which can be called a struggle. The protagonist is indestructible, thanks to the strength of his character, spirit and life positions, it is these inner qualities that help him win, despite old age, loss physical strength and adverse circumstances.

The image of old man Santiago in E. Hemngway's story "The Old Man and the Sea"

SANTIAGO is the hero of E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea". The real prototypes are considered to be Fernando Manuel Peredos (nicknamed Gallego), Anselmo Hernando, Grigorio Fuentes, captain of Hemingway's boat. Hemingway himself wrote that he reflected "the character traits of an old fisherman acquaintance from Casablanca." We can say that Santiago is a collective image of a fisherman from the northern coast of Cuba, in the Cojimar region. At the same time, this is an image-symbol in which romantic and folklore motifs are strong. Santiago absorbed the best qualities of the human soul - kindness, fortitude, courage. His simple-hearted, natural heroism is based on an amazing interweaving of humility and pride, which allows him to endure hardships and not admit defeat. Possesses rare endurance and purposefulness.

Santiago embodies the type of person who does not seek only to take from nature, he is aware of his natural position in nature, in the harmony of her eternal circulation. Santiago's connection with the giant fish he caught, which he "loves", is indissoluble. The struggle with it and with the sharks that take their prey is an endless dispute between man and nature. The old man does not fish, but, as it were, performs a sacred act, performing the prescribed ritual.

K. Baker considered Hemingway's story as a biblical parable, correlating the image of Santiago with the person of Jesus Christ. In his image, the motive of teaching is also important: the boy, Santiago's assistant, is sure that the streak is able to teach "everything in the world" and the main thing in life.

There are biblical reminiscences in the story. The old man's name is Santiago - just like St. James, and the Old Testament Jacob, who challenged God himself, and in the old man's reasoning about life, man, sins, and in reading him the main Christian prayers- "Our Father" and "Virgin Mary".

Santiago's reasoning about life is simple and unsophisticated. He looks like this himself: old, emaciated, content with little - simple food, a poor hut, a bed filled with newspapers.

Day after day, exhausting the big fish in the ocean, the old man does not think about how painful or hard it is for him from the strings cutting his arms and back. He is trying to save his strength for the decisive battle. He catches tuna and flying fish in the sea and eats them raw, even though he doesn't feel hungry. He forces himself to sleep to gain strength. He uses all means at hand to fight the sharks that encroach on his fish. And he talks, evaluates, remembers. Constantly. Including with fish - both living and dead.

When a mutilated carcass remains from the sea beauty, the old man becomes uneasy. He doesn't know how to deal with fish. killing one of most beautiful creatures of this world, Santiago justifies his act by saying that the fish will feed him and other people. Prey torn apart by sharks loses this simple, worldly meaning. The old man apologizes to the fish for how things turned out so badly.

the main objective writer - to show how our world works, in which a fisherman is born a fisherman, and a fish is a fish. They are not enemies to each other, they are friends, but the meaning of a fisherman's life is to kill fish, and there is no other way.

Every time the old man faces marine life, he manifests himself as a man who loves, pities and respects every creature of God. He worries about birds that find it hard to get their own food, enjoys the love games of guinea pigs, feels sympathy for the marlin, who lost his girlfriend through his fault. To big fish the old man treats with a sense of deep respect. He recognizes in her a worthy opponent who can win in a decisive battle.

The old man meets his failures with truly Christian humility. He does not complain, does not grumble, he silently does his job, and when a little talkativeness attacks him, he orders himself in time to return to reality and get down to business. Having lost his catch in an unequal battle with sharks, the old man feels defeated, but this feeling fills his soul with incredible lightness.

Who defeated you, old man? - he asks himself and immediately gives the answer. - Nobody. I just went too far out to sea.

In this simple reasoning, one can see the unbending will and real worldly wisdom of a person who has known the whole immensity of the world around him and his place in it, a place, though small, but honorable.

Reconciled by hard experience with the inevitability of everyday trials, reputed to be “unlucky” in the village (for eighty-four days in a row he went to sea, he invariably returned without a catch), Santiago, nevertheless, does not lose courage: he is sure that his main battle is still ahead.

The idea of ​​the work

"A man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated."

The sail of Santiago's boat is old and incapacitated, and the hero himself is an exhausted old man with cheerful eyes. Through the eyes of a man who does not give up. This is the philosophical symbolism of the story. When the reader watches how the old man fights the fish, he sees in the actions and words of the protagonistfatalism of the eternal struggle of man . Santiago exerts all his strength and, despite everything, continues the duel, at the end of which he wins. It is at this moment that one of the main philosophical ideas of the work is revealed, which is that "a person can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated."

The exhausted and weakened hero still returns to the port, where the boy is waiting for him. Hemingway shows us the old man as a winner and reveals the strength of his character. The image of Santiago has absorbed the features of a real hero, a man who never betrays himself and his principles.

The old man in the story does not evoke compassion, but love. He is loved by a boy who went to sea with him several times to learn to fish, until his parents sent him to another, more successful boat. The reader loves it. Art rarely portrays old people in a way that evokes love. And more often depicted, even if warm, but indulgence. You can't go down to the old man in Hemingway.

Here is how the boy's love for him is described at the beginning of the story:“When the boy returned, the sun had already set, and the old man was sleeping, sitting on a chair. The boy removed an old soldier's blanket from the bed and covered the back of the chair and the old man's shoulders with it. These were amazing shoulders - powerful, despite old age, and the neck was strong.

Don't take off the blanket, the boy said. - As long as I'm alive, I won't let you fish without eating. -

„We must bring him water, soap and a good towel, the boy thought. How did I not think of this before? He needs a new shirt, a winter jacket, some shoes and another blanket.”

And at the end of the story, when the old man returns with the skeleton of a huge fish that was eaten by sharks, returns a few days later with his hands cut to the bone with fishing line, Hemingway will write about the boy’s love in a different way:

“How does he feel? one of the fishermen called out to the boy.

Asleep, said the boy. He didn't care that they saw him crying. “There is no need to disturb him.” -

And the old man's love reveals itself as a constant refrain in his thoughts far out to sea: "It's a pity that the boy is not with me" ... "If only the boy were here!"

To endure the unbearable and overcome the impossible gives the old man love for the boy, and not prideful loyalty. human dignity, courage and human capabilities.

Hemingway endows him with a mysterious and incomprehensible property - humility. “He was too simple-hearted to think about when humility came to him. But he knew that humility came without bringing shame or loss of human dignity.”

Once, in his youth, he had the nickname Santiago the Champion. It appeared after he once competed with a mighty negro, the most strong man in the port.

“They sat for a whole day against each other, resting their elbows on the line drawn in chalk on the table, without lowering their hands and tightly clasping their palms. Each of them tried to bend the other's hand to the table. And at dawn, when people began to demand that the referee declare a draw, the old man suddenly gathered the last of his strength and began to bend the negro's hand lower and lower until it lay on the table. Then Santiago participated in several more competitions, but soon gave up this business. He realized that if he really wanted to, he would defeat any opponent, and decided that such fights were bad for him. right hand which he needs for fishing". The story mentions six times that the old man dreams of lions. “Now he no longer dreamed of storms, or women, or great events, or huge fish, no fights, no power contests, no wife. He only dreamed of distant lands and lions coming ashore. Like kittens, they frolicked in the twilight, and he loved them as much as he loved the boy. “He dreamed of a long yellow sandbank, and he saw how at dusk the first lion came out on it, and others followed him; he rests his chin on the side of the anchored ship, the evening wind blows from the land, he waits for new lions to appear, and he is completely happy. And the last phrase of the text: "He dreamed of lions." Why is this in the story? The old man himself asks: “Why are lions the best thing I have left?”

The image of the old man speaks of the beauty of old age, when passions have left the soul: fear, lust, vanity, anger, and even the piercing sadness of dead wife. The old man managed to be in best sense like children - and he has children's dreams.

He has no self-confidence. With all his vast experience and skill, he feels like a student at sea:

I have learned something, he thought. “For now, I manage the fish.”

This man who caught a fish much larger than his boat, who fought sharks first with a harpoon, then with a knife tied to an oar, then with a club, and finally with a piece of tiller, this man who cut his palms to the bone with fishing line, not only does not feel like a hero - he does not feel sorry for himself even in his thoughts. He brings to mind the "great DiMaggio" - a baseball player. He read in the paper that he had a heel spur that hurt. And, asking himself the question whether he would have endured such pain, he answers: “How do I know!”

The old man has respect and warm love for the world around him. He does not even remotely feel himself either the master or the center of the world.

“In his mind, he always called the sea la mar, as the people who love him call him in Spanish. The younger fishermen, of those who go on motor boats, call the sea el mar, that is, in masculine. They talk about it as a space, as a rival, and sometimes even as an enemy. The old man constantly thought of the sea as a woman who bestows great favors.

"He had a tender affection for flying fish - they were his best friends here in the ocean. He took pity on birds, especially the small and fragile sea swallows. "He loved green turtles for their grace and agility."

“You are ruining me, fish,” thought the old man. - It is, of course, your right. Never in my life have I seen a creature more enormous, beautiful, calm and noble than you.

“The fish is my friend,” he said. - I have never seen such a fish and have not heard that there are such. But I have to kill her. It's good that we don't have to kill the sun, moon and stars."

/ / / The image of Santiago in Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea"

The image of Santiago in the novel by Ernest Hemingway surprises with its depth.

Santiago is an old fisherman who has been living alone for a long time, but does not lose heart. The author characterizes him as a man with "cheerful eyes who does not give up." The hero often remembers the days of his youth, he dreams of young lions that frolic on the shores of Africa. The time of adventure has passed, and all that is left for the old man is the sea, into which he goes out to feed and little friend named Manolino. The friendship of the boy and the old man shows the connection of generations. The fact that between people with similar views, the difference in age is not important. Santiago feels that Manolino is just as passionate about the romance of the sea as he is.

Through his protagonist, the author expresses his own philosophical ideas, for example: "A man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated." To this conclusion main character came thanks to a big life experience. The writer shows that only a person who has known difficulties has the strength to fight.

Santiago lives ordinary life, in his modest world, from which he does not run away, like many other heroes of the author. He does not need to seek solitude with nature, he is part of nature. In the image of Santiago, the writer saw harmonious person. It combines humility and pride, the ability to be content with little and the desire for a dream. He did not know when humility came to him, but he was sure that it did not bring him shame. The old man did not lose his self-respect, although he lived in poverty. felt sorry for a friend and sometimes brought fish and newspapers with sports news.

surprises life position hero, according to which each creature has its own role in the world. Here he is born to be a fisherman, just like a fish is born to be a fish.

The plot of the story is based on several days from the life of the protagonist. Events develop slowly, there are not many of them, but they are described in detail and very realistically - so that the reader seems to be sitting with the fisherman in the boat and sees everything that happens.

The story begins with the fact that Santiago has been unsuccessfully going to sea for 84 days. It seems that luck has turned away from the fisherman. But the hero does not give up and believes that he will be lucky on the 85th day, he just needs to sail away from the coast, take a risk - and then he will catch the fish of his dreams. The author describes the three days spent by the old man at sea. During this time, Santiago shows willpower, endurance, overcoming pain. He catches fish so as not to starve, talks to a bird, and then to a fish, so as not to go crazy. He catches a marlin on a hook, but the fish is too big - and therefore the old man is forced to hold the line, and gradually drag it to the shore. It hurts him, the fishing line cuts his hand, but he endures, because he cannot lose to the fish. It is amazing how the old man treats marlin, not as a catch, but as an equal to himself. It's just fate: he is a fisherman, and she is a fish. Which means he can't let her go.

Unfortunately, sharks attack the fish - and the hero pulls out only its skeleton to the shore. But the writer shows that the hero did not lose, because he proved his courage.