Analysis on Biblical Allusion in The Old Man and the Sea

Jiaying+Xu

【Abstract】Allusion are a very important part of creative writing， and that's why it is easy to find an example of allusion in almost any piece of writing. When I first came cross the extract of The Old Man and the Sea in my Chinese book， I was moved by the perseverance carried by the hero， Santiago. So I went through the whole story and found that Ernest Hemingway admires real Christians and used many allusions to the bible and the life of Christ. In this essay， I will try to explain the biblical allusions applied in this novel.

【Key words】analysis； biblical allusions； The Old Man and the Sea

Profile of The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is one of the best works of Ernest Hemingway. It depicts the story of an aging fisherman， Santiago， who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Florida. Throughout the whole story， Santiago tries his best to prove himself a superior individual and finds the meaning of life through nature.

Definition of Allusion

An allusion is a figure of speech applied in a piece of written work， which cites another piece of written work in itself. This reference is made directly to a particular place， person， event， another written material or even a piece of art. By using another literary work as a reference， it makes it easy for the reader to understand and also renders the required poetic justice to the current work to a considerable extent.

Allusions in The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is full of allusions to the Bible. And even the name of the hero， Santiago， is biblical reference which can be interpreted as Saint James. In addition， Santiago is believed to be an indirect reference to Saint Francis of Assisi， in particular by those who are enthusiastic with the Christian religion. According to the biblical story， Saint Francis was born in a wealthy family， but when he grew up， he gave away his riches to the poor. And Saint Francis of Assisi possesses a special ability to communicate with birds. As in The Old Man and the Sea， Santiago could also speak to the birds. When Manolin is absent from the fishing trip， he speaks to all the birds passing by to divert himself from loneliness. One day， when a warbler flies by and perches on the tern of his boat， Santiago says to the bird and tells it that it looks pretty tired and should have a rest. ‘Take a good rest， small bird， he said. ‘Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish. Santiagos advice to the bird is just like what Jesus suggests his followers. In addition， Jesus tells his followers that they could be rewarded as long as they keep fighting and giving it their all， which is the lesson Santiago learns by the end of the story. When Santiago catches the giant marlin， the marlins blood leaves a trail in the water and attracts sharks. Santiago tries his best to defend the marlin with the sharks. However， the sharks still devour the marlins precious meat， leaving only skeleton， head， and tail. Nevertheless， the gigantic creature remained is the right proof that Santiago once catches the enormous fish， which brings Santiago fame and admiration from the village.

In addition， The Old Man and the Fish also uses allusions to the life of Christ. In the Bible， Jesus is tested by the Devil， and in forty days he has nothing to eat. As The Old Man and the Sea depicts， Santiago goes forty days without catching or eating a fish， which is the similar experience as Jesus. Moreover， Santiago shares the same physical scars as Jesus. After crucifixion， there leaves stigmata in the palms of Jesus. And as described in The Old Man and the Sea： ‘His hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish but none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fish-less desert.， there are also scars in the palms of Santiago. Even if the scars in Santiagos palms are described as being ‘old as erosions， they show they show the likelihood of a Christ figure in Santiago complicates deeper into the novel.

Conclusion

In conclusion， The Old Man and the sea is a heroic story of mans strength pitted against forces he cannot control. Throughout the story， Ernest Hemingway admires real Christians and used many allusions to the bible and the life of Christ in The Old Man and the Sea.

References：

[1]Jingyu Cai.Biblical Factors in The Old Man and the Sea[J].Popular Literature，2011（13）.

[2]Weiling Gao.Biblical Factors in The Old Man and the Sea[J].China Religion，2013（7）.