Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea': A Nurturing Character

In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the old man, Santiago, receives nurture and loving care from only one character in the novella. The boy, Manolin, provides Santiago with the necessary care and nurturing that keeps the old man alive. There is no predominant woman character in The Old Man and the Sea and it is the boy who takes on the responsibilities that many of the women characters in Hemingway's stories usually inherit; Manolin has similar traits to Mrs. Garner from the short story Ten Indians where both characters are associated with light, warmth, and a caring hand. By inhabiting the traits of different women characters, Manolin is one of the most emotional males seen in a Hemingway story.

The reader is introduced to Manolin as the boy, yet there are references throughout the novella that prove he is a young man by performing feats a little boy could never accomplish: 'lifted the skiff and slid her into the water ' (27). This clearly is a feat that a little boy could not do by himself which makes the actions that Manolin partake in very unique to an adult male in a Hemingway story. Manolin is not afraid of his emotions and does not hide from them like many men tend to. Howard Hannum states that expressing emotions and crying is stereotypically something that a woman would do (98); yet, Manolin is seen numerous times throughout the story expressing his feelings openly. The reader is first introduced to the boy's emotional release in the beginning of The Old Man and the Sea: ' It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty ' (9). The boy has already expressed his strong emotional ties to the old man by feeling sad for Santiago because he does not catch any fish, something that most adult males would not dare admit to feeling: ' Other of the older fishermen, looked at him and were sad. But they did not show it ' (11). Hemingway seems to be stating that the average adult man does not express his feelings, yet Manolin is still referred to as a boy and he still has his mother in his life, where all of the other men in the story seem to be without a mother's love.

Santiago lives alone. His wife is deceased and in the story the reader witnesses many times at the consequences of what life can become when there is not a woman in a man's life. Santiago's life seems to be falling in to ruin like the clothing he wears: 'His shirt had been patched so many times that it was like the sail and the patches were faded to many shades by the sun ' (18). This bothers Manolin; Manolin attempts to make Santiago put on his clean shirt. Putting on a clean shirt may not seem like a problem, yet there is a clean shirt available and Santiago does not seem to have the self-motivation to put a clean shirt on. The only thing that keeps Santiago going is the boy, Manolin. Santiago even comes to recognize this fact when he is out at sea: ' The boy keeps me alive, he thought ' (106). Manolin consistently provides Santiago with the necessary elements to survive.

Warmth is always surrounding Manolin when he is in the presence of Santiago. David Ferrero notes that warmth is typically used in juxtaposition to women in Hemingway's stories (23), yet in The Old Man and the Sea it is Manolin who is the provider. Manolin asks Santiago: ' "Do you want me to make the fire" ' (16) when Manolin provides Santiago with his meal. The reader then witnesses how Santiago's life is without Manolin there to take care of the old man: ' " I may eat the rice cold" ' (16). Santiago needs Manolin in his life to provide the warmth that is necessary to survive in a cold world; to do otherwise is a means of shortening one's life. Santiago has to be constantly reminded to keep warm as well as eating a warm meal: ' " Keep warm old man," the boy said. Remember we are in September" ' (18). The old man does not seem capable of taking care of himself and Manolin is reminiscent of a mother telling a child to put their coat on before they catch a cold. It does seem plausible that Hemingway sees some men reverting into childlike behavior when they are left without a woman figure in their lives. This is witnessed when Manolin comes back from getting sardines after just telling Santiago to stay warm: ' The boy took the old army blanket off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and over the old man's shoulders ' (18). Once again, Manolin is seen as a mother to Santiago by covering the old man up while he is sleeping, the same as a mother would do to her sleeping child. Santiago just can not seem to take care of himself without a female figure in his life, or in Manolin's case, a person with strong female influences.

Nourishment and food is another a major problem that faces Santiago in the novella. Manolin seems to be the only source that brings Santiago any food. It makes the reader wonder if the old man would even eat if the boy was not around to bring food for him. Also, there is a reference to milk made several times in the story and it comes about in the presence of Manolin. The first time is before the old man goes out to the sea and Manolin provides him with the last cup of coffee he will have until he returns to land and back to Manolin's embrace: ' They had coffee from condensed milk cans ' (26). At the same time Manolin is providing Santiago with the last warmth he will receive before he is out at sea and also it is coming from a milk can, similar to milk coming out of a woman's breast. Milk seems to be an allusion to women because it is the way that the mother nurtures a child when they are as helpless as a newborn babe. One can't help but think then as Santiago being a newborn babe in his ability to take care of himself. When Santiago comes back from his ordeal and is battered from the sea, he needs to be nursed back to health and the first thing that Manolin gets for him is hot coffee with milk: ' "Hot and with plenty of milk" ' (123). Milk is once again used as a means of nourishment to Santiago and it is used as the first attempt to bring Santiago back to his health.

The last action that Manolin has in the story is when the reader sees him crying: ' As the boy went out the door and down the rock road he was crying again ' (126). This is the last line of the story that the boy is in and it seems that Hemingway wants his readers to know that the boy truly cares about Santiago in the way that a true man would behave. The reader doesn't feel like mocking the boy for crying as many sexist males would have one think, the reader understands what the boy is feeling. It seems that the different stereotypical feminine characteristics what truly makes a noble man worthy of the reader's respect.

Without Manolin nurturing Santiago throughout the novella, the essence of femininity would be completely lost. If Manolin did not have the feminine traits that he possesses than Santiago would never have lived as long as he has. It seems that Hemingway wants his readers to recognize the positive influences that a mother/woman can have on a man and to celebrate those traits. Warmth, food, shelter, and love are the necessary elements to survival in life and Hemingway has shown his readers where to look for them.

Works Cited

1. Ferrero, David J. "Nikki Adams and the limits of gender criticism." Hemingway Review 17 (Spring 1998) : 18-31.

2. Hannum, Howard L. "Scared sick looking at it': A Reading of Nick Adams in the Published Stories." Twentieth Century Literature 47 (Spring 2001) : 92-114.

3. Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Scribner. 2003