《老人與海》：永不言棄的硬漢精神

安徽 梁姍姍

About the author

歐內斯特·米勒爾·海明威（Ernest Miller Hemingway，1899—1961），作家、記者，美國當代文學中最著名的作家之一，也是20 世紀最著名的小說家之一。他創作出了《太陽照常升起》《永別了，武器》《喪鐘為誰而鳴》《老人與海》等震撼文壇的中長篇小說，其巔峰之作《老人與海》相繼獲得了1953 年美國普利策獎和1954 年諾貝爾文學獎。

About the novel

風燭殘年的圣地亞哥與一條大馬林魚在離岸很遠的灣流中周旋，幾經磨難后終于將魚擊敗。然而在歸途中，他不斷遇到兇狠的鯊魚前來搶奪他的戰利品，老漁夫竭盡全力與鯊魚搏斗，等到靠岸時，大魚已經被撕咬得只剩一條白骨。作品展現了一個失敗、孤獨的強者和硬漢形象。“人不是為失敗而生的，一個人可以被毀滅，但不能被打敗。”這是圣地亞哥的信念，這句話也深深地影響了一代又一代人。

About the excerpt

該選文描述的是老漁夫圣地亞哥第五次與鯊魚搏斗的場景，面對一群饑餓的鯊魚對他捕獲的大馬林魚進行激烈的爭奪，他用盡全力保護自己的戰利品，但最終還是無法阻止鯊魚們將大馬林魚啃食殆盡。在這一過程中，圣地亞哥展現出了堅韌不拔的精神和頑強的意志，他不屈不撓地與鯊魚搏斗，直到最后一刻也沒有放棄。

重難點詞匯

stiffadj.僵硬的

clubv.用棍棒打

strainedadj.緊張的

phosphorescencen.磷光

skiffn.小帆船

tillern.舵柄

ruddern.舵

lungev.猛撲

splinterv.分裂；（使）裂成碎片；分離出來

jerkv.急拉

buttn.（武器或工具）粗大的一端

copperyadj.似銅的；紫銅色的

remedyn.補償；處理方法

sternn.船尾

carcassn.動物尸體

crumbn.食物碎屑

閱讀難點

1.感知老漁夫的硬漢形象。

2.重新建構對成功與失敗的認識。

文本分析

◆What

在返航的過程中，圣地亞哥遭遇了一系列的挑戰和困難：鯊魚的襲擊、船只的損壞、身體的疲憊……然而，他依然堅定地駕駛著船只。盡管圣地亞哥最終失去了自己的戰利品，但他并沒有對命運的不公感到憤怒和絕望，而是接受現實，并且依然懷著希望和信念，準備著下一次的挑戰。

◆Why

作者通過描寫圣地亞哥與群鯊的搏斗，塑造了一個堅定、勇敢、鐵骨錚錚的硬漢形象，表達了自己對困難和挫折的理解——只有那些頑強斗爭、勇于面對失敗的人最終才能走向成功。

◆How

一個老人、一艘船、一條大魚、一群鯊魚和一副骨架。該選文內容雖然是由簡單的元素、情節構成的，但作者用簡潔、明快的筆觸，讓我們看到了人類屹立千年而不倒的精神內核——永不言棄。細節的描寫和對人物內心世界的刻畫，使讀者能夠深刻地感受到圣地亞哥的孤獨與頑強。

“Now it is over,” he thought.“They will probably hit me again.” But what can a man do against them in the dark without a weapon?

He was stiff and sore now and his wounds and all of the strained parts of his body hurt with the cold of the night.“I hope I do not have to fight again,” he thought.“I hope so much I do not have to fight again.”

But by midnight he fought and this time he knew the fight was useless.They came in a pack and he could only see the lines in the water that their fins made and their phosphorescence as they threw themselves on the fish.He clubbed heads and heard the jaws chop and the shaking of the skiff as they took hold below.He clubbed desperately what he could only feel and hear and he felt something seize the club and it was gone.

He jerked the tiller free from the rudder and beat and chopped with it, holding it in both hands and driving it down again and again.But they were up to the bow now and driving in one after the other and together, tearing off the pieces of meat that showed glowing below the sea as they turned to come once more.

One came, finally, against the head itself and he knew that it was over.He swung the tiller across the shark's head where the jaws were caught in the heaviness of the fish's head which would not tear.He swung it once and twice and again.He heard the tiller break and he lunged at the shark with the splintered butt.He felt it go in.Knowing it was sharp, he drove it in again.The shark rolled away.That was the last shark of the pack that came.There was nothing more for them to eat.

The old man could hardly breathe now and he felt a strange taste in his mouth.It was coppery and sweet and he was afraid of it for a moment.But there was not much of it.

He spat into the ocean and said, “Eat that, galanos.And make a dream that you've killed a man.”

He knew he was beaten now finally.Without remedies, he went back to the stern and found the jagged end of the tiller would fit in the slot of the rudder well enough for him to steer.He settled the sack around his shoulders and put the skiff on her course.He sailed lightly now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any kind.He was past everything now and he sailed the skiff to make his home port as well and as intelligently as he could.In the night, sharks hit the carcass as someone might pick up crumbs from the table.The old man paid no attention to them and did not pay any attention to anything except steering.He only noticed how lightly and how well the skiff sailed now—there was no great weight beside her.

“She's good,” he thought.“She is sound and not harmed in any way except for the tiller.That is easily replaced.”

He could feel he was inside the current now and he could see the lights of the beach colonies along the shore.He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get home.

“The wind is our friend, anyway,” he thought.Then he added, “Sometimes.”“And the great sea with our friends and our enemies.Bed is my friend.Just bed.Bed will be a great thing.It is easy when you are beaten.I never knew how easy it was.And what beat you?”he thought.“Nothing,” he said aloud.“I went out too far.”

Read for plots

1.What difficulties did the fisherman face?

2.How does the author describe the scene of fighting?

_______________________________How__sense of sig_______________ht sense of hearing Examples__________________________（1）_____________________Functions____________to emphasize the situation was stressful（2）________to describe the feeling of hands before___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________losing_the_weapon sense of touch He heard the jaws chop and the shaking________________of the skiff as they took hold below.（3）________

3.Answer the following questions.

（1）What do the difficulties faced by the old fisherman suggest?

__________________________________________

（2）What does the underlined word “it” mean in paragraph 5?

__________________________________________

（3）What does the story suggest about the relationship between humans and nature?

__________________________________________

Read for figures

1.What kind of fisherman can you see? Fill in the blanks.

______Char______________________________________acters（1）________Actions___________________________He（2）________the tiller free from the rudder and （3）________ with it,skilled and experienced____（5）_______________________________________holding it in both hands and driving it____________________________down_again_and_again.He heard the tiller break and he （4）________ at the shark with the splin-____________________________________________________________________________________________tered_butt.He （6）________ now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any kind.“She's good,” he thought.“She is sound and not harmed in any way except______________________for the tiller.Tha_____________________________________________t_is_easily_replaced.”（7）________

2.Answer the following questions.

（1）How did the old fisherman feel after he defeated the last shark?

__________________________________________

（2）What did the old fisherman think about as he sailed back home?

__________________________________________

（3）What values are emphasized in the story?

__________________________________________

Deep understanding

1.From the sentence “‘I hope I do not have to fight again,’ he thought.‘I hope so much I do not have to fight again.’”, we know the old fisherman was hesitant and wavering.Is this description contradictory to the fisherman's “tough” image?

__________________________________________

2.The fisherman knew he was beaten finally and without remedies.Do you think the fisherman is a failure? And why?

__________________________________________

Post-reading activity

1.What's your understanding of success?

__________________________________________

2.What should you own in trouble?

__________________________________________

3.The old fisherman is awarded a title “tough guy”.Please write an award speech for him.

__________________________________________