hemingway and the old man and the sea: reading beneath the surface

Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea:

Reading Beneath the Surface

Iceberg Theory:Origin in Freudian psychology

Mind is mostly made up of feelings we are unaware of—the unconscious

More is left unsaid—reader must read between the lines to discern the meaning

Hemingway says:"No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in...That kind of symbol sticks out like raisins in raisin bread. Raisin bread is alright, but plain bread is better....I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea, a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things. The hardest thing is to make something really true and sometimes truer than true.”

Code Hero: the Macho Man

Setting: CubaSmall, remote fishing village

Santiago as immigrant from Spain

Cuba becoming Communist during this period

Fear of overtly practicing religion, though most were Catholic

Spanish terms: Salao = Unlucky Guano = palm tree Bodega = grocery store/warehouse Brisa = breeze Calambre = cramp Fuegos = games un espuela de hueso = a spur of the bone El Campeon = the champion Dorado = golden Galanos = shovel-nosed sharks San Pedro = Saint Peter Tiburon = Shark Que va = Oh, no! Agua mala = bad water

The Lost Generation:Group of writers and artists who lost faith in

America during the period of and after World War I.

Many became expatriates who settled in Europe, often in France and Spain.

Many of them grew up and “came of age” during the 1920s.

Their work is characterized by a mood of futility and despair.

Biblical Allusion: Christ Figure

Leader, mentor to others—had disciples, followers

Had deep faith and commitment to his mission

Experienced long and painful suffering and mocking from others

Crucifixion– injury to hands (where nails went in)

Crown of thorns—injury to head

Carried his cross, fell as he carried the cross

Good Friday is day of Crucifixion, Easter Sunday is the day of ascension to heaven

Names: Santiago (has the word saint in it) , Manolin (means messiah), Pedrico (Saint Peter, disciple and fisherman)

Cultural allusion: Joe DiMaggio

13 year career playing for Yankees, 56 game hitting streak.

Father thought he was lazy because he wouldn’t become a fisherman.

"Baseball didn't really get into my blood until I knocked off that hitting streak. Getting a daily hit became more important to me than eating, drinking or sleeping."

In 1934, his career almost ended due to injuries.

He made a comeback after that.

He said he had a lonely life, but felt that he had a successor—Mickey Mantle—whom he referred to as “the Boy.”