English Literature

Perhaps one of the best loved of the works of Ernest Hemmingway, The Old Man and the Sea, has been seen to be a symbolism of many things in life.  There are those who regard the tale as an allegory on life and others who see this as an existentialist piece that reflects the struggles of man.  While these interpretations can certainly be argued as plausible, the beauty of this piece is in the way in challenges the mind to draw up similarities and establish lesson.  One such theme is that on the influences of the times that are reflected in the tale of The Old Man and the Sea, particularly the underlying Cuban influences.

Published in the year 1952, The Old Man and the Sea, came out at a time when relations between countries such as Cuba and the U.S. were, in general, rather cordial since 1934.  That year marked the end of the Platt Amendment that had given the U.S. the right to intervene in Cubas affairs.  However, American ownership of many Cuban sugar mills was a constant source of dispute.  It is necessary to note that in the year 1952, President Prio Socarras was overthrown in a military coup by General Fulgencio Batista (Jobes, 21).  Batista was before that a dictator from 1933 to 1940.  He would rule again until 1959, when he would be overthrown by Fidel Castro (Jobes, 21).  Hemingway then moved to Ketchum, Idaho, soon after Castro and his supporters overthrew the Batista regime.  The writer had supported both the overthrow and what he called the historical necessity of the Castro revolution.  As such, these same sentiments and political ideologies are evident in this book.
           
In order to understand the historical and cultural background of the novel, it is important to mention Cuban culture as well.  It is marked most of all by an ambivalent position concerning the Catholic Church in the first half of the twentieth century.  Not as similar as in other Latin American countries, there was an active separation of Church and state in Cuba.  However, due to its long Spanish heritage, Cuba was still largely dominated by Catholic cultural impacts.  As a result there was a contradictory situation in which eighty-five (85) percent of the whole Cuban population called itself Catholic, and only ten (10) percent actually practiced their root faith (Kashkin, 24).  This is depicted on several occasions in Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea. For instance, when Santiago fights with the marlin, he says the following, I am not religious, but I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys that I should catch this fish, and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cobre if I catch him. (Hemingway)  Then, a bit later, after the fish had been killed, the old man wonders whether it is a sin to hope that he will make it back to shore with the fishs meat intact, but he rather fast rejects the thought. He thought the following, Do not think about sin. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it (Hemingway).

In comparison with other Latin Americans, Cubans, put a high value on the inner worth of the individual.  Santiago is considered to be a skilled and unique person even though he has not caught a fish in three months.  As seen with the eyes of Manolin and the omniscient narrator of the story, Santiago is being a heroic character who, as compared with Odysseus or even Christ, has undergone a great ordeal and gives an example to emulate.

Maleness, or machismo, is being an essential male aim in traditional Latin American society. It is ideally realized in ways, involving military, athletic, and intellectual exercises, and sexual prowess. The majority of men in Cuba are supposed to live up to the machismo ideal in traditional manners.  So by cultivating these powers, the person can approach becoming the ideal man. For example, Santiago is adored due to his physical power of endurance. He is proud of having in his youth defeated a powerful Negro in an all-day hand-wrestling contest conducted in Casablanca.  He takes a high value on such mental qualities as his self-confidence and his vast knowledge of the tricks of fishing.  Yet, despite his so machismo qualities, he is still not respected by the other fishermen, and is regarded as old and unlucky.

In his quest for bravado and to stand up for his machismo, Santiago bets everything (in the meaning of the fish has) against only my will and my intelligence.  One should note also that in his own life, the writer as well strove to challenge himself intellectually via his friendships and writing, and also physically, via boxing, war service, hunting, fishing, and bullfighting (Mellow, 27). However, the writer may be sometimes criticized for what is widely comprehended as an attraction to violence for its own benefit it is not difficult to understand the reason why the Latin American belief in maleness appealed to Hemingway (Kashkin, 35).
       
When the novel was published in the year 1952 to broad critical acclaim, twelve years had passed since the authors previous critical success called For Whom the Bell Tolls. His key writing effort in the course of the intervening period, Across the River and into the Trees (1950), had been broadly dismissed as a near-parody of the writers traditional style and themes. However, The Old Man and the Sea was a well-known success, and nearly 5.3 million copies were sold in the process of two days since its publication in a particular edition of Life magazine (Meyers, 15).  Although there were some complaints coming from critics concerning the stilted language of some of the Latin American transliterations, some of them considered Santiagos philosophizing to be unrealistic. However, the novel was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in the year 1953. One year later, the author himself won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Perhaps the Cuban influence and political ideology comes from the infatuation that Hemmingway displays for Latino Machismo.  The work The Old Man and the Sea was especially accepted with praise for its describing of a new dimension to the usual Hemmingway hero, being less macho and more respectful of life (Jobes, 14).  Particularly in his main character Santiago, the writer had at last achieved a personage that could meet the human condition and survive without cynically dismissing it or dying while attempting to better it. Besides, Hemingway had released a vehicle to proclaim the power of love in a broader and deeper way than in his previous works in the old mans relationship with the world and all those people around him.

However, apart from all else, some believe that The Old Man and the Sea was simply an representation of the enmity that the writer felt concerning the criticism of his most recent work called Across the River and into the Trees (Jobes, 14). Taking into consideration the fact that his previous stories had been accepted positively by the public, the abject disdain for his latest novel not only caused him huge emotional pain, but also pushed him towards writing a new fictional work that might capture the minds and hearts of the proletariat and critical public (Kashkin, 25).

It is necessary also to mention that the old man Santiago lends insight into Hemingways psyche at the time, and that he could perceive himself even as martyr-esque, the beaten up aged man that yet up to the time felt a necessity to battle the good fight. One even could notice that in the novel, after some long period of stasis, he at last completes the prodigal big catch, only in order to see it snipped at and eaten away as he attempted with all his powers to bring it to fruition as financially and so personally.