Perspective

Old man and his struggle
Hemingway’s epic of courage and endurance
LITERATURE MANZUR AKASH
The Old Man and the Sea is a beautiful novel by Ernst Miller Hemingway (1899 – 1961). This novel was written in 1952 and Hemingway was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and Noble Prize in 1954. The novel is not only an allegory with numerous Christian allusions but is also remarkable for heroism, fortitude, humility, the virtue of endurance and the spirit of struggle in the face of apparently insurmountable odds.
	This novel which is a masterpiece is portrayed by only two characters – Santiago (an old fisher man) and his apprentice Manolin (a small boy). It is a story of man's constant struggle against nature. After reading this novel it becomes evident that a man's spirit remains unconquerable because he (man) is not made to accept defeat. He may be destroyed but cannot be defeated. In this novel Santiago is the hero. He provides an interesting and inspiring study in character. He is an old luckless Cuban fisherman who has lived three fourth of his life struggling on the sea and one-fourth in his little shack. He is wrinkled, worn-out, thin with blotches on either side of his cheeks. In fact everything about him is old except cheerful sea-green eyes. He lives a lovely life. He wife has died in the prime of her youth and her separation is a constant source of sorrow for him. There is nobody on this earth to look after him except a small boy, Manolin, whom he has taught fishing. But in spite of his poor physical condition, his loneliness, hunger and poverty, he puts a desperate effort to change his luck, but all in vain. He is unable to make any catch for 84 days. But on the 85th day he catches a big fish “marlin” which is two feet longer than his skiff. Santiago got only the skeleton of this great fish when he began to sail south-west. It was a large fish with huge gills, big jaws, a large sword and high tail. It was later measured to be 18 feet long from nose to tail.
	During the first forty days, the boy has been with the old fisherman. But for the rest of the days, the old man is alone as the boy's parents have removed him from the fruitless company of the old man, who according to them is definitely “a saloo” – a worst form of bad luck. The old man never loses his courage and confidence, and hopes for better luck to come his way. And after a long disappointment of eighty-four days, he goes out to sea alone and hooks the biggest marlin in Gulf Stream. For two days and nights the old man holds on the lines while he is being towed farther out to sea by the fish. Santiago, after a grim fight, brings the ‘marlin' alongside, harpoons and lashes it to his skiff. But he is not lucky enough to have his hard-earned prize. Soon the marauding sharks attack him and try to take his prize away from him. In spite of being half-dead and exhausted, he fights with the sharks like a Hercules. Thus, Santiago proves that a man may grow old and be down on his luck, but he can still dare to move the mountains if he has the courage and strength to hold on.
	Courage and fortitude are the greatest heroic virtues that come out of the character of Santiago. Santiago emerges as a character who can meet any disaster in life and extort a victory from it. He is a skilled fisherman and a fearless adventurer. He is neither religious nor purely irreligious. He loves mankind and has no ill will against any creature. His ideal of universal love contains the essence of all religions. 
	Marlin is a small boy and a disciple of Santiago, the reasoned fisherman, when he was just five. The old Santiago is a symbol of weak humanity struggling against a hostile universe. The boy is a symbol of the continuity of the human struggle against nature. Manolin is a Santiago in the making. The old man will die and then Manolin will continue the struggle with the spirit of Santiago in him. Generations come and go but man's struggle goes on forever.
	Manolin loved and respected Santiago. He had no doubts about the skill of the old man. He almost worshipped him as his hero. If Manolin had no money of his own, he would beg, borrow or steal to feed the old man and brought fresh baits. “If I can not fish with him, I would like to do service in same way”. These words of Manolin show his sincerity and devotion towards Santiago.
	Old Man and the Sea is an allegorical interpretation of Hemingway's vision of himself, and an artist's struggle with his material self. The story of Old Man and the Sea is also a parable of humanity. And the old man represents the struggle and suffering of every man. Santiago, the expert fisherman, is Hemingway the conscientious writer, the meticulous craftsman, dedicated like Santiago to his vocation. Santiago's reputation as a fisherman represents Hemingway's own literary reputation in the early 1950s. The great marlin in the story represents Hemingway's achievement in having produced this masterpiece. The sharks represents the critics who had ruthlessly been attacking Hemingway, first for making a parade of himself through his fictional heroes, and then for not showing much awareness of social concern as an author. 
	
	(The writer teaches English in Paradise Public High School Watergam (Rafiabad). Feedback at manzurakash@yahoo.co.in)