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  • Essay / Hemingway's use of Christian symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea

    “But man is not made for defeat…A man can be defeated but not destroyed.” These eternal lines from Hemingway's novel, The Old Man and the Sea, reflect the strong Christian motif of hope and resurrection which is present as a strong connotation in the novel. The use of Christian symbolism elevates the text to the level of an allegory, almost a parable about the indomitable will of man who manages to remain undefeated, even in the midst of earthly losses. Therefore, God exists in the novel not in the form of an immanent will, neither benevolent nor malevolent, but it is the struggle of man in the manner of the passion of Christ that is of the greatest importance and not the result of this quest. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Christian symbolism that permeates throughout the text prominently addresses Santiago to portray him as a modern-day Christ who maintains his faith towards his struggle. In fact, Hemingway writes that the old man continues to suffer from headaches and coughing up blood while fighting the marlin, which is strongly reminiscent of Christ's pain during the crucifixion. In fact, his passion finds a direct reference when the novelist says: "Yes... feel the rail pass through his hand and enter the wood...". This feeling is recreated when Santiago reaches into his bed with his “arms outstretched” and “palms up.” his hands in the air.” All of this reflects a Christ-like endurance on the part of the old man and his transcendence toward knowledge of life and existence on the sea of ​​“being.” Even the fish constitutes a very legitimate symbol of Christ which carries the philosophy of sacrifice. -sacrificed phenomenon, leading to the acceptance of the Trinity. Joseph Waldman observes: "the phenomenon closely parallels the sacrifice of the Roman Catholic mass, in which a fusion of the priest-man with Christ takes place..." The repeated use of the numbers three, seven and forty, as if the old man The capture for eighty-seven days reminds readers of key figures from the New Testament, revealing the Passion of Christ in such a duration. The reference to forty days finds a parallel in the Christian liturgical calendar where the intermediate period between Ash Wednesday and Ascension Thursday is forty-four days. This actually shows the extreme struggle Santiago has to go through, almost like Pentecost, but he ultimately emerges undefeated. The duration of the "salao" phase of eighty-seven days followed by three weeks of fertility (after catching the Marlin) for Santiago suggests the liturgical mystery of the Incarnation as it commemorates Christ's claim as the son of God. Similarly, in Hemingway's parable, Santiago claims himself as the hero incarnate – "I may not be as strong as I think...But I know a lot of tricks and I have the resolve." It seems clear that Manolin's faith in Santiago is based on the three weeks of the miracle, which he calls the "grand narrative", much like Christ's life on earth as described in the Gospels. The old man responds to this praise from Manolin by saying, “It couldn't happen twice,” emphasizing the uniqueness of his incarnation. The importance of all this lies in the theological conception that it is only through the Incarnation of Christ that his sacrifice can have redemptive value for humanity. In Hemingway's parable, the "great record" is juxtaposed with Santiago's three days of struggle on the sea, followed by his spiritual triumph which gives greater meaning to his earlier redemptive virtues. The three-day period..