Assignment of English

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Topic: Describe and discuss hand- game competition and bring out its importance. Submitted To Sir Saleem Department Of Psychology University Of Sargodha
Describe and discuss hand- game competition and bring out its importance?
The Old Man and the Sea is a great literary achievement of Ernest Hemingway. The novelette tells us the story of an old fisherman belonging to Cuba. Santiago (or the old man) is the hero of the novel in the technical sense. He is very old. He is weak and thin fellow. He has deep wrinkles at the back of his neck. There are brown patches of benevolent skin cancer on his cheeks. There are many cuts of fishing lines on both of his hands. His eyes are as blue as the sea where he sails and does his fishing. There is a special air of cheerfulness and undefeatedness in his eyes. He lives in a suburb of Havana, the capital of Cuba, in the West Indian Territory on the side of the Gulf of Mexico. He is the central figure of the novel.

It is he around whose character the story of the novel has been woven. There are a few other character as well like the boy, the character of the Negro who ones played hand game with Santiago when he was a brave and powerful young man (during his youth). These characters are simply present there to make the qualities of the character of the old man clear to us. Otherwise, we find the old man Santiago all alone throughout the main action of the story that takes place in the open sea for three days and three nights continuously. And it is his brave struggle at sea which makes him really hero of the novel although he is an old and weak fellow. He deserves to be called that by virtue of his brave action. Santiago was a brave and powerful young man. He was given the title of The Champion after his victory in a hand-game competition. At that time he had played hand-game with a Negro from Cienfuegos. The memorable match was played at an inn at Casablanca. The match was memorable because it lasted for one day and one night. There went a great betting at the result. Santiago had, in the end, won the game. He took part in many other hand- game competitions and won all of those. Later, he left taking part in the matches as that activity might have damaged his hand. And he had to take-care livelihood through catching fish from the open sea.

Summary of the Novel:

Santiago is an old fisherman. After passing 84 days without being able to catch a fish, he does not lose hope and starts once again for fishing in his small skiff. The fishing voyage proves to be very hard, and lucky as well as unlucky at the same time! He remained in the open sea (the Gulf of Mexico) for three days and three nights continuously. He was able to hook a great marlin (fish). But when he was bringing that back, that was attacked by sharks again and again. The sharks tried to eat the flesh of the big fish and some of

them even succeeded. But the old man was able to kill some of those sharks when it was day time. At night he was not so successful. The result was that almost all the flesh of the big fish was eaten up by the time the old man was able to reach the coast. Santiago had only the skeleton of the giant fish as he touched the coast. He was half-dead with weariness and fatigue. He made his way to his hut but with great difficulty and went to sleep. In his sleep he dreamed of the lions which showed that he had still the hope for a better future! The story tell us about Hermingways fundamental belief that the dignity and courage with which man faces the odds of life is the thing that counts in the life of man.

The Negro (From Cienfuegos)

An Absent Character: The Negro from Cienfuegos is a character which is not physically present in the novelette. He is absent. But when the old man, Santiago, remembers him in the middle of his 76-hours voyage in the sea, he gains life for us and becomes a living character. A Strong Man: Negro was a very strong man. Once he was the strongest man at the docks. It was during the period of Santiagos youth. Plays Hand-game with Santiago: The Negro had played hand game with Santiago when both were young and powerful. The match lasted for one day and one night continuously (i.e., for 24 hours). The game was so tough and both he and Santiago were so bold and strong that blood came out from under the finger nails of both of them. Once during the 24 hours, the Negro made Santiagos hand off balance for almost three inches. But Santiago got the balance very soon. People present all around and watching the competition gave rum to the Negro and lighted cigarettes for both of them. It was the historical competition.

Hand-game Competition:
Santiago, the hero of this novel, is shown to be a man of exceptional courage, physical strength, determination and power of endurance. These qualities make him a great tighter and enable him to win our sympathies and admiration. He is shown to be an old man, worn out by age and miseries of life, with a thin and lean body. But in his youth Santiago was a strong man, with a muscular body and great physical strength. He was strong and courageous enough to accept all kinds of challenges. To show bravery and to give the tough tight had always been the motto of his life. When he was engaged in the epic-fight against the powerful marlin in the deep sea, he felt deeply fatigued and broken hearted at times. But his sense of pride and honor did not permit him to give up his struggle and to accept defeat. At such moments of failing faith, he tried to boost up his morale and strengthened his confidence by recollecting his deeds of bravery in the past. His remembrance of the hand-game competition with the Negro from Cienfeugos was also an attempt to encourage himself against his difficult adversary. The Old Man recalled to his mind the great trial of physical strength and power of endurance that made him the Champion of that area. During his youth, Santiago used to live at Casablanca. At that time he was not a thin and gaunt person as he became later on. He was, at that time, a very healthy and powerful fellow. During his stay at Casablanca he met a Negro who had come from Cienfuegos. The Negro claimed to be the strongest man at the docks. Then both of them played hand-game to decide who was more powerful than the other. It was the hand-game competition held at the inn of Casablanca. His opponent was the famous Negro from Cienfeugos who was known as the strongest man at the harbor, Santiago decided to refute the popular notion that the Negro was matchless in strength and an undefeatable hero. He challenged the Negro to a hand-game

competition. Both of them sat round a table facing each other. Their elbows were resting on a line drawn across the centre of the table. They held their arms erect and gripped each others hand tightly. Both the competitors tried to bring each others hand down to the surface of the table, without leaving their seats. The competition started early in the morning and continued throughout the day and night without a break. There was a large crowd of spectators, watching the trial of strength and cheering their own heroes. There were many to bet on the fate of the competition that went on changing from time to time. People continued watching the game in the light of oil lamps. The referees were changed after every eight hours to provide them relief. The first referees sat for eight hours. After that, every pair sat for four hours as they got tired. But, strangely enough, the competition did not rest and the contest went on uninterrupted. The supporters of the Negro offered him drinks and cigarettes. Santiago continued looking into the eyes of his adversary and upon his arm. Both of them strained themselves so severely that blood began to ooze from the tips of their fingers. When the day was about to dawn, people demanded that the competition should be declared ending in a draw. But the referees did not agree to the proposal. The Negro was a man of strong nerves, great power of endurance. He once succeeded in bowing Santiagos hand three inches below the balancing position, But Santiago soon retaliated and brought his arm back to the balancing point. This gave him a new confidence. He exerted himself with full might and determination and succeeded in defeating the Negro. In this way he was declared the Champion of the dock. Thus the Negro was defeated by Santiago. Santiago was known by the The Champion after that marvelous victory over his opponent, the Negro from Cienfuegos.