The Old Man and the Sea Book Review

In Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago is portrayed as a Christ figure. Through Santiago's Christ-like virtues, appearance, and journey, he is shown as the hero of the book.

One of Santiago's virtues is his refusal to give up or to accept defeat. "Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated" (10). Despite his age and his inability to catch fish for months, Santiago still doesn't give up; much like Christ didn't give up when he was tortured before his crucifixion. Another Christ-like virtue of Santiago is his love and compassion for everything around him. The old man had love even for the fish he was trying to catch, after it was dead he thought "You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he though. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after." (105). This love is similar to the love of Christ who taught that you should love everyone else as you love yourself and to love your enemies. Santiago's love for the fish even after its death also symbolizes Christ's love for people after their death and his promise of eternal life after death.

In addition to his virtues, Santiago is Christ-like through his appearance. When "he felt the line carefully with his right hand and noticed his hand was bleeding," it was a similar injury to when Christ's hands were punctured by the nails on the cross. After Santiago returns to shore and gets back to his shack, "he lay down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and then over his back and legs and he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and he palms of his hands up" (122). His position is the position Christ was in when he was crucified on the cross.

When he gets back to land after catching the fish he must carry the mast from his boat in a way similar to how Christ carried his cross. "He started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult and he sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked at the road" (121). Santiago carried his mast along the road as Christ carried his cross, and both became tired along the path and fell to rest. His journey is also similar to Christ's because of his reason for working to achieve it. He thinks "Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for" (40). Santiago feels he was born with the purpose of catching this fish, as Christ was born to be crucified and forgive the world. Their journeys are also similar because of their need to impress others. Santiago says "I must have the confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly" (68). DiMaggio is for Santiago similar to what God was for Christ, they both wanted to attempt to live up to them. Santiago's view of DiMaggio as being perfect is similar to God's perfection as well. Santiago's journey is also Christ-like because its significance is not realized by others until it is over. Santiago is made fun of by the other fishermen because it has been so long since he has caught anything, but they respect him once he has caught the fish even though it is only a skeleton when he gets it to sore. This is similar to Christ as he was mocked, even on the cross, but once he is dead many more people understand what he did and the importance of his life and death.

Hemingway shows Santiago's similarity to Christ in his virtues, his appearance, and his journey. Through his similarities Santiago is portrayed as being more important than is first seen and he is shown as a hero.