The Analysis of the Character of Santiago as a Code Hero in The Old Man and the Sea

【Abstract】In 1954， the novel： The Old Man and the Sea got Nobel Prize for Literature. Hemingways creation of Santiago wins the success of this novel. It will analyze that Santiago is different from other heroes. He is old but not senile， unlucky but not defeated. His image shows that man should have courage to challenge the misfortune and defeat it.

【Key words】Santiago； code hero； image； courage

I. Introduction

The Old Man and The Sea， which won Hemingway Nobel Prize for literature in 1954， is one of the most influential novels of the world. The success of this novel lies in Hemingways creation of Santiago who is the model of the former heroes. From Hemingways early characters， we can see it is paradoxical to be defeated and to maintain the grace while being defeated at the same time. Such is the dilemma Hemingway is in. It presents in The Old Man and The Sea. In this novel， Hemingway meditates the great theme of the courage in the suffering world. In this paper， we will see Santiago is different from other heroes. He is old but not senile， unlucky but not defeated.

II. An Introduction to the Code Hero

Hemingways code hero has been widely recognized and accepted. On this code hero， Stanley Cooperman commented：Faced with futility， he would accept it. Even more： he would oppose it by his strength as a man. He would dribble sentimentalities or make lies to give meaning to meaningless universe. He would endure...Without exception， code heroes have much in common. They are loyal and maintain great dignity. On the other hand， they have great physical potential， courage and strong willpower.

III. Santiagos Image as a Code Hero

i. Grace under Pressure

1. Santiagos Confidence .The old man is confident and self-assured. On one hand， his physical characteristics as the power prove his confidence. Santiago is very old but his shoulders and neck are powerful. Whats more， he has few wrinkles as an aged man. Thus he depends on his remaining forces and undergoing to fight fairly with the fish. Santiago decides to use his own methods to win the struggle.

2. Santiagos Hopeful Spirit.It is very unfortunate for Santiago as a fisherman， because he hasnt got any fish for many days. Whats more， the poverty and loneliness torture the old man. Will he give up fishing？ The answer is negative. Hopefully， the early morning of the next day he sails silently on the black sea. The time he goes far out in order to have more chances of getting fish. The old man goes fishing by himself with a new hope. He has no modern fishing gear and fails to catch any fish for many days. But he still admires the scenery with his expectation.

ii. The Old Mans Unyielding Attitude

The old man sails far out and captures a huge marlin through a hopeless battle after many days of catching no fish. Unfortunately， when he sails home， the old man experiences a more hopeless fighting with fierce and great sharks. He is determined to fight against them until the end. He is struck down by forces bigger than a single man can combat， but he upholds his honor and virtue. That is his lofty code.At the end， the old man only takes the marlins skeleton home with his exhausted body， because sharks almost eat the fish completely. Although the fight is doomed to failure， the old man insists on the struggle. Because he believes that a man can be destroyed but not defeated.

iii. The Old Mans Pride

Santiagos pride enables him to kill the huge marlin. He loves the marlin， but he still wants to kill it， because he wants to prove himself. It is the pride that assists in the old mans fighting with the huge marlin to the end or he may give up the battle from the beginning. Thus his spirit power comes from the pride. It is just the pride that allows Santiago a challenge worthy of his heroism. With his courage and pride he takes all his pain and his last strength to fight against it. Though the struggle between them begins with Santiagos disadvantages， he finally defeats the big marlin and wins the battle.

IV. Conclusion

Santiago， the old fisherman is a real hero and an admirable hero. His persistent and dauntless spirit is just the sparkle of human spirit. A man can be destroyed but never be defeated. For modern man they should follow this spirit. No matter how grave the situation is and how tremendous the difficulties are， they should keep human confidence and never hang back.To sum up， the information about code hero and the old mans image combine to reveal the character of Santiago as a code hero and reflect the social significance of Santiagos image.

References：

[1]Ernest Hemingway.The Old Man and the Sea.Beijing：World Publishing Corporation Press，1997.

[2]郝林曉.海明威的最后一位悲劇英雄_圣地亞哥[J].延安大學學報（社會科學版），2003，（3）.

作者簡介： 田靜（1984-）， 女， 四川遂寧人， 碩士， 助教，研究方向： 高等教育。