A STUDY ABOUT THE NOVELS OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY:

COMPARATIVE STUDY

ENGLISH

SUBMITTED BY:

YASH GUPTA

SM0117061

FACULTY IN CHARGE:

Ms. APARAJITA DUTTA HAZARIKA

Assistant Professor of English

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY AND JUDICIAL ACADEMY, ASSAM

GUWAHATI

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
1.1. Literature Review
1.2. Research Problem
1.3. Scope and Objective
1.4. Research Methodology
2. American Literature
3. About Ernest Hemingway and his contribution to the field of English literature.
4. Code Heroes of Ernest Hemingway’s novels
5. Brief Summary of the novel ‘The Old Man and The Sea’
6. Characterization
6.1. Santiago
6.2. The marlin
6.3. Manolin
7. Conclusion
Bibliography

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

American literature is the literature written or formed in the area of the United States and its
preceding colonies. During its early history, America was a series of British colonies on the
eastern coast of the present-day United States. Therefore, its literary tradition begins as
connected to the broader tradition of English literature. However, unique American
characteristics and the breadth of its production frequently now cause it to be considered a
separate path and tradition. The New England colonies were the center of early American
literature. The revolutionary period contained political writings by Samuel Adams, Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Paine. It was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that the nation's first
novels were in print. One of the most important writers of that period is Ernest Hemingway. In
this research paper the researcher is going to discuss about the novels of Ernest Hemingway but
much emphasis is made upon the novel “The old man and the sea”, its characters ,synopsis,
themes and the code hero of the novel.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short story
writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong control on 20th-century
fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. His works
were between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in
1954.Many of his works were considered classics in American literature. His writing style was
very simple he used to write in simple sentences-a childlike syntax without subordination. He
had written many novels like- (1926) The Sun Also Rises,(1929) A Farewell to Arms, (1937) To
Have and Have Not, (1940) For Whom the Bell Tolls,(1950) Across the River and into the Trees,
(1952) The Old Man and the Sea,(1970) Islands in the Stream, (1986) The Garden of Eden

In this research paper the researcher is going to discuss about the novels of Ernest Hemingway
but much emphasis is made upon the novel “The old man and the sea”, its characters, summary,
themes and the code hero of the novel. It sea’ which depicts the story of an old Cuban
fisherman’s struggle to catch a great fish. He has a devoted companion –a young boy, who has
no part in the old man’s struggles.

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 The novel is based on the real life story of an old Cuban fisherman catching a great fish
and lose it to the sharks. This real life incident inspires Hemingway first to write a brief account
in Esquire magazine and, fifteen years later, to write a great novel. There are two characters in
the opening part of the novel-an old fisherman and his boy cohort, and only one character-the old
fisherman in most of the novel, and, some tourists and, later ,the old fisherman and his boy
companion in the last part.

This reseach paper deals with f

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1.1. Literature review

P.G.RAMA RAO, ALTANTIC PUBLISHERS AND DISTRIBUTERS(P)LTD, The old man

and the sea" of Ernest Hemingway. This book founded on a simple but well-known story.
Everyone knows this great story. A lone fisherman caught a huge fish and struggled with it for
several days but he was not able to keep the fish. The first sentence of the book announce itself
as Hemingway's: "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf stream and he had
gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish" . The words are plain, and the structure, two
tightly-worded independent clauses conjoined by a simple conjunction, is usual, traits which
characterize Hemingway's literary style.

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1.2. Research problem

1. What is the role of sea in The old man and the sea?

2. Santiago is considered to be a tragic hero by many of the readers, his greatest strength-, his
pride eventually led to his downfall. Discuss the role of pride in Santiago’s plight

3.’A man can be destroyed but not defeated’ said the old man after the first shark attack. At the
end of the story is the old man defeated. Why or Why not?

1.3. Scope and objective

This short work is deceivingly simple on the surface but very baffling deeper down. It narrates
basic events in generally short sentences and with a minimum of figurative language;
simultaneously, however, it raises many questions without providing enough evidence for
conclusive answers, it also states that mental strength is of much importance rather than the
physical strength.

1.4. Research methodology

In this project doctrinal research was involved. Doctrinal Research is a research in which
secondary sources are used and materials are collected from libraries, archives, etc. Secondary
source of data collection was used which involves in collection of data from Books, articles,
websites, etc.

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 CHAPTER-2
AMERICAN LITERATURE
American literature, the body of written works produced in the English language in the United
States. Like other countrywide literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the
country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of
colonies spread along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from
which a few hardy souls uncertainly ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the
motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this
nation unlimited southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward
to the Pacific. By the end of the 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the
world—its fortunes so interconnected with those of other nations that inevitably it became
involved in two world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East
Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and
feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of
the United States molded the literature of the country. American writers expressed
disillusionment following WW I. The stories and novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
capture the mood of the 1920s, and John Dos Passos wrote about the war. Ernest Hemingway
(1899–1961) became notable for The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms; in 1954, he won
the Nobel Prize in Literature. William Faulkner (1897–1962) is notable for novels like The
Sound and the Fury. American drama attained international position only in the 1920s and 1930s,
with the works of Eugene O'Neill, who won four Pulitzer Prizes and the Nobel Prize. In the
middle of the 20th century, American drama was dominated by the work of playwrights
Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, as well as by the maturation of the American musical1.

1
https://www.britannica.com accessed on ………… time

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 CHAPTER-3
ABOUT ERNEST HEMINGWAY AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO
LITERATURE.
Ernest Hemingway has lot of colorful experiences in his life, as a war correspondent, big game
hunter, angler, writer, and world celebrity, as well as winner of the Nobel Prize. When Ernest,
the first son and second child born to Dr. Ed and Grace Hemingway,. His name in full is Ernest
Miller Hemingway (born July 21, 1899, Cicero [now in Oak Park], Illinois, U.S.—died July 2,
1961, Ketchum, Idaho) American novelist and short-story writer, awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1954. He was noted both for the intense masculinity of his writing and for
his audacious and widely publicized life. His concise and lucid prose style exerted a powerful
influence on American and British fiction in the 20th century. As a young boy, his father taught
him how to hunt and fish the untouched wilderness of Northern Michigan. Right away in
Horton’s Bay, the young boy learned a delicate appreciation for the beauty and intricacy of
nature, as he could often be found along the many streams of the area. Although his writing
carried him to many large cities like Paris, Chicago, and Toronto, the undying peace and serenity
Ernest found in Mother Nature continued throughout his life and is certainly evident in his many
works.

From 1925 to 1929 Hemingway wrote some of the most prominent landmarks of the 20th
century, including In Our Time (1925) which contained “The Big Two-Hearted River,” The Sun
Also Rises, (1926) and then Men Without Women (1927) which collected “The Killers,” and “In
Another Country.” A Farewell to Arms was published in 1929 as the most genuine (and first)
account of World War I and established him as one of the monumental writers of his time. From
there on, Hemingway traveled to such places as Key West for fishing, Africa for hunting, and
Spain for bullfighting. Drawing from his unique personal experiences, he continued his flurry of
inspiration by writing such works as For Whom the Bell Tolls, Death in the Afternoon, and The
Green Hills of Africa.

Hemingway redefined 20th century literature from the time his pen touched the paper, and his
influence is nearly the standard today. From his work at the Kansas City Star, he learned to “Use

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Short Sentences. Use short paragraphs,” thus putting an emphasis on compression, plainness, and
clarity. Certainly, he used these ideas from that day forth, as he was later quoted in saying,
“Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing. I've never forgotten them."
As illustrated in all of his works, Hemingway tossed aside the 19th century Victorian prose and
reshaped it into a clear, clean, and straight-to-the-point prose which focuses on action rather than
emotion.

The term “hard-boiled” is often used to describe Hemingway’s writing style, as it means “to be
unfeeling, callous, coldhearted, cynical, rough, obdurate, unemotional, without sentiment.” It is
this principle which has guided literature in an “ideal fashion” that earned Ernest Hemingway the
Nobel Prize in Literature "for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in
The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style."

Late in his life, Hemingway struggled with deteriorating health, four different marriages, and a
deep depression which eventually caused him to commit suicide in his home in Katchum, Idaho
on July 2, 1961 at the age of 61.2

2
http://www.umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/nobel%20prize%20winners/hemingway.htm

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 CHAPTER-4
CODE HEROES OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S NOVELS
The Hemingway Hero is defined by a static set of characteristics. These characteristics remain
essentially the same throughout all of Hemingway's works. The Hemingway Hero is always
daring, confident, and introspective. He does not let his fears get to him. The Hemingway Hero is
expressed differently in each of his novels, though. Sometimes he is young, and sometimes old.
In Hemingway's novels “The Nick Adams Stories” and “The Old Man and the Sea”, the Hero is
introduced differently. In “The Nick Adams Stories”, Nick Adams begins as a naive, young boy
then becomes the Hero within the view of the reader as his early life and the events that
influenced his life most are the entirety of this memoir-style novel. In “The Old Man and the
Sea’, though, the old man does not develop into a hero. Santiago begins as an old man who has
already attained the Heroic qualities that he will reveal intentionally throughout the rest of the
story.

This is a exclusive and remarkable approach, and after the failure of his previous book, certainly
a dangerous one. The book is not a portrait; it is not static, despite that the main character's
morals – his ideals- never really change. A reader of his previous works might feel that they have
seen these characteristics in Hemingway's works before. Hemingway defined the Code Hero as
"a man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage and endurance in a world that
is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful." He measures himself by how well he
handle the difficult situations that life throws at him. In the end the Code Hero will lose because
we are all mortal, but the true measure is how a person faces death.

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 CHAPTER-5
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago exemplifies Hemingway’s Code of Behavior for a noble
hero. In the novel, Santiago is a master craftsman. He is only reliant on himself. While the other
fishermen use motor boats, Santiago uses his skiff. While the other men have many workers and
helpers who hold several lines, Santiago has three lines all operated by his own hand. He is an
professional, “…the old man goes much farther out than the other fishermen and casts bait in
much deeper water”. Because he knows the waters and the movements of the fish, he has a better
chance of catching the fish. Although he is taking a greater risk by going out deeper, he has a
better chance of catching the bigger fish. Another thing that makes Santiago a master craftsman
is his experience. He has been a fisherman all his life. Therefore he has had much time to master
this art. Though many fishermen might doubt him, he is great. He has skill and he applies it in
order to succeed. He uses his hands and he uses his instincts to master the art of being a
fisherman. Santiago uses himself, his physical and mental strength to catch the fish, and by doing
these things, his difficult task becomes easier. He is a master craftsman not only through his
skill, but also through his determination. Determination defines the second characteristic that
makes Santiago a noble hero. He is determined and he struggles in order to remain undefeated.
Although he has gone 84 days without catching a fish, he does not give up. He goes out on his
85th day with the mentality that this is the day when he will catch a fish. This is what keeps him
going. He knows that he still has the ability and strength to be a good fisherman. He never gives
up. After catching the marlin, he states, “Fish…I’ll stay with you until I am dead” This shows his
willpower to win the clash and the fish. He has fought these battles hundreds of times before, he
suffered, but he won. Still this battle is different. He fights in a way he has never fought before
and he suffers. He suffers in catching the fish, killing the fish, attempting to return home, and
fighting off the sharks. But through all this suffering, he still fights, “… for he alone has to
endure the sufferings to fulfill his destiny”

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 CHAPTER-6
CHARACTERIZATION
6.1. SANTIAGO
Santiago is an impoverished old man who has endured many ordeals, whose best days are behind
him, whose wife has died, and who never had children. For 84 days, he has gone without
catching the fish upon which his meager existence, the community's respect, and his sense of
identity as an accomplished fisherman all depend. What Santiago desperately wants is one epic
catch — not just to survive, but to prove once more his skill, reassert his identity as a fisherman,
secure his reputation in the community, and make certain for all time that Manolin will forever
honor his memory and become his successor in what matters most in life. For Santiago, what
matters most in life is to live with great fervor and nobility according to his beliefs, to use his
skills and nature's gifts to the best of his ability, to struggle and endure and redeem his individual
existence through his life's work, to accept inevitable demolition with dignity, and to pass on to
the next generation everything of value that he has gained. In these desires, he reflects the desires
of us all. What makes Santiago special is that despite a lifetime of hardships that have hurt himhe
is still a man in charge and an expert who knows the tricks of his fisherman's craft. His eyes
remain young, cheerful, and undefeated. He knows how to rely on the transcendent power of his
own imagination to engender the inspiration and assurance he needs and to keep alive in himself
and others the hope, imaginings, faith, absorption, and resolution to transcend hardship.

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6.2 THE MARLIN

The marlin is more than a great fish locked in an evenly balanced and protracted battle with an
accomplished fisherman. It is also a creature onto whom Santiago projects the same qualities that
he possesses, admires, and hopes to pass on: nobility of spirit, importance in living, faithfulness
to one's own identity and ways, endurance, beauty, and dignity. As Santiago and the marlin
remain locked in battle for three days, they become intimately connected. Santiago first pities
and admires the fish and then empathizes and identifies with it. He recognizes that just as the
marlin was born to be a fish, he was born to be a fisherman. They are brothers in the inevitability
of their circumstances, locked in the natural cycle of predator and prey.

The marlin's death represents Santiago's greatest victory and the promise of all those intangibles
he so desperately hopes for to redeem his individual existence. Yet, like the marlin, Santiago also
must inevitably lose and become the victim. After the shark's attack, Santiago eats the marlin's
flesh to sustain himself, finishing the ordinary cycle in which the great creature passes on
something of itself to Santiago. The fisherman who measures the marlin's skeleton reports that it
is 18 feet long — evidence of the largest fish the villagers have ever known to come out of the
Gulf. And when Manolin accepts the marlin's spear, he accepts for all time everything that
Santiago wishes to bequeath him.

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6.3. MANOLIN

The boy manolin is the pupil of Santiago and has been learning the ‘Tricks’ of fishing from him.
When Santiago fails in catching any fish, he is driven away by his parents. So Manolin joining
other fisherman to join other fishermen to catch a fish. The boy is sad to part with the old man.
The boy is emotionally attached to old man because “ the old man had taught the boy to fish and
the boy loved him”. The old man is a hero for the boy so he is devoted to him. He helps him and
serves him like a son. He offers the old man a beer, brings sardines and fresh baits for the old
man.

The boy has a great love for old man. He thinks him the best fisherman. He takes care of his
needs every time. Manolin’s love for Santiago natural and spontaneous. He has deep personal
sense for him. He talks to Santiago lovingly in spite of the age difference. Manolin is very
careful for the service of Santiago. He looks after his shack. Each morning, he waits for his
returning. He serves coffee to old man when he returns from the fishing. He always consoles the
old man in his desperation and tells that “ now we fish together again”.
The boy is an important character of this novel, though he does not play an active part in the
adventure of the old man. In fact, this character has been drawn to the atmosphere of the
story. The boy symbolizes the old man’s youthful strength. He is the constant reminder of youth
age, courage and bravery for the old man. He becomes a source of inspiration for the old man.
He admits “ the boy keeps me alive.

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 CHAPTER-7

CONCLUSION

In spite of hunger and pain and 84 days of bad luck, Santiago keeps the faith he has in himself.
He dreams of days long gone by--of hand-wrestling and of golden lions on the beach of Africa.
He tries to be like Joe DiMaggio who overcame pain (a bone spur) and believes the baseball
player would be proud of him. Santiago has faith that he can be like the sea turtle whose heart
keeps beating even in death, and so the old man will never give up. At the end "something is
broken inside," but the old man's eyes remain alive. The body may be fragile, temporary,
vulnerable; the spirit is enduring, unbeatable, eternal. Although he prays and promises to say
hundreds of Hail Mary's, Santiago's faith is in himself, not in God. When anyone else would give
up, Santiago and Manolin have faith in each other and make plans to fish together. The very last
line foreshadows the old man's renewal in his dreams about the lions of his youth.
Ultimately, Santiago's honor, bravery, endurance, and faith are what make him a symbol for
the best in any of us. Our battles are not with marlins, with sharks, with poverty, or even with
old age; yet we all struggle against some foe at some time in our lives. Hemingway has created a
character whose skill can help us in our own battles. Santiago shows us that defeat lies only in
refusing the battle, not in losing the fight.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

P.G.RAMA RAO,ALTANTIC PUBLISHERS AND DISTRIBUTERS(P)LTD,

WEBSOURCES

http://mseffie.com/assignments/hemingway/oldmanessay.html

https://neoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/character-and-role-of-manolin-the-boy-in-the-
novel-the-old-man-and-the-sea/

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