英语专业本科毕业论文-《老人与海》中硬汉形象分析.doc

学士学位毕业论文学号:老人与海中硬汉形象分析学生姓名： 赵海洋赵海洋 指导教师：所在学院：文理学院专 业：英 语中国大庆2012年6月Analysis of “Code Hero” in The Old Man and the SeaName: Instructor: College: Arts & Science Major: EnglishHeilongjiang Bayi Agricultural UniversityDaqingChinaJune, 2012老人与海中硬汉形象分析摘要 海明威是美国著名的小说家之一，小说老人与海使其获得了1954年的诺贝尔文学奖。在此小说中，作者创造了一个完美的硬汉形象桑地亚哥。 老人与海是一件影响广泛，寓意深刻的世界文学瑰宝，它广泛地为大众所阅读，以至有人这样认为“只要是个文化人，你就会知道海明威其人。知道海明威，你就不可能不知道小说老人与海。”为什么这部小说如此被广泛的阅读？当然，诸多方面造就了小说的成功，但是有一点，毋庸置疑，那就是作者对小说主人公桑地亚哥这一永恒的艺术形象的成功塑造给人深刻印象，让人难以忘记这个硬汉形象的代表。 本文是从分析作品中老人这一形象出发，揭示“硬汉”的特征，倡导一种坚忍不拔，永不言败的精神。在论文因严重，我们将对小说的主要内容作一简单的叙述，揭示小说的中心思想，并提出本次设计的内容分析小说主人公桑地亚哥这一硬汉形象特征。后简单介绍此次论文的写作思路及框架。论文正文的第一部分为北京信息，我们通过介绍小说作者海明威的传奇一生，指出作者于小说主人公的诸多相同之处，其中最相似之处便是都具有“硬汉”精神。在正文的第二部分，结合老人捕鱼前后及在大海中航行的遭遇，具体分析小说主人公的“硬汉”形象特征。这种特征主要表现在四个方面：首先，在任何困难情况下都不放弃希望；其次，在斗争中始终保持高昂的斗志，永不服输；再次，在行动上勇往直前，打不到，击不跨；最后，在漫长的斗争过程中学会忍受孤独。本文的最后一部分为总结。通过对小说中“硬汉”形象的分析，深刻领会“硬汉”精神对当今社会的现实意义，倡导这种坚忍不拔，永不言败的精神。关键词：海明威，老人与海，桑地亚哥，硬汉Analysis of “Code Hero” in The Old Man and the SeaAbstractHemingway was one of the most famous novelists in America. He created a perfect image of Code Hero: Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea which won Hemingway Nobel Prize of Literature in 1954. The Old Man and the Sea is one of the most influential and far-reaching novels of literary treasure of the world. Its so widely-read that people consider that “Whatever there is an intellectual, people know Hemingway and nobody knows Hemingway without knowing his works The Old Man and the Sea.” Why the novel is so widely read? Why is it so influential and why is it so loved by the people of different colors and different nations? Surely, many factors may contribute to the success of the novel. But the main factor, no doubt, is the touching and unforgettable portrait of the immortal artistic figure, Santiago, a representative of Code Hero.In the introduction of the essay, I will make a brief description about the contents of this novel and point out the main idea of the novel. The content of the essay is to analyze the characteristics of Code Hero. And then I will set out framework of the essay. The first part of body is Literature Review. And the most familiar point is that both of them have the spirit of Code Hero. In the second part of the body, I will portray the process of his catching Marlin and fighting with the sharks. Then I will analyze the spirit of Code Hero. The spirit is concentrated on four areas: Firstly, never give up hopes in any difficult conditions; secondly, keep daring spirit and never admit defeat in the process of fighting; thirdly, behave heroically in the actual battle; and last, endure the loneliness in the long process of the fighting. The last part of the essay is the conclusion. This paper will analyze the image of the old man, reveal the characteristics of Code Hero, and advocate the spirit of never giving up.Key Words: Hemingway; The Old Man and the Sea ; Santiago; Code Hero.Contents摘要（中文）.iAbstract（英文）.iiContents .iiiIntroduction 11.Literature Review.22.The Origin of the Concept of “Code Hero”.33.The Four Characteristics of “Code Hero” .43.1 Everlasting Hope for the Future.43.2 Daring Spirit for Facing the Challenge.63.3 Heroic Behavior in the Actual Battle.73.4 Loneliness Endurance in the Long Fighting.84. “Code Hero” in The Old Man and the Sea.9Conclusion . .17Acknowledgements .18References 19Analysis of “Code Hero” in The Old Man and the SeaIntroduction Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961) is a remarkable writer. He was born on July 21st, 1899 at Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago in American. Influenced by his father who was a successful physician with a relish for hunting and fishing, he loved the outdoors from childhood. In his childhood, he was interest in hunting, fishing and so on. His variety of interests especially the love fishing almost followed all his life and had important influences on his writing inspiration and helps to develop his special personality. He loved to take adventures. He went to Europe to take part in World War I. He joined a volunteer ambulance unit in France, gained transfer to the Italian front, suffered serious injuries but had survived. In 1922 he settled in Paris was famous in the 1920s. Disillusioned by the loss of faith and hope, the expatriate intellectuals group in Paris, who replaced former ideals and values only by despair or a cynical hedonism, formed the background of his first major novelThe Sun Also Rises published in 1926, when he was only 26years old. The book deals with the living attitude of the postwar generation especially those who thought that life was nothing and meaningless and Hemingway became a representative of the “Lost Generation”. Hemingways writing career began in high school and continued until his death in 1961 and beyond, with several of his works published posthumously when The Old Man and The Sea appeared in 1952, he had been an international literary celebrity for more than a quarter of a century. In The Old Man and the Sea, there is an old fisherman, Santiago, in Cuba who has gone eighty-four days without a catch. Santiagos lack of success, though, does not destroy his spirit, as his“cheerful and undefeated” eyes show. On the eighty-fifth day, he decides to venture far out to sea, hoping to change his bad luck. He is even optimistic enough to believe that he may catch a big fish. In tune with the natural world about him, he spies birds and plankton that lead him to a good fishing spot. He carefully baits his hooks and patiently waits. Santiagos patience pays off. Something big takes his bait, and because of his skill, the old man is able to hook it, beginning the adventure of the story. For three days and nights, he does battle with this giant creature from the sea. For most of the journey he does not even know what he is fighting, though he assumes it is a giant marlin. When the magnificent fish finally surfaces, Santiago is tremendously impressed with its size, its beauty, and its nobility. He begins to identify with the fish, almost regretting that he feels compelled to kill it. He tries to justify his actions by saying that he is not fishing for sport, but to feed himself and others.1. Literature ReviewHemingways life was active and adventurous but full of pains. He lived in the period that the World War One broke out when many young volunteers took part in the war which also called “a war ends all wars”. But the cruel reality made them aware that modern warfare was not as glorious as they thought. Actually the First and the Second World Wars had affected Hemingway a lot, for he had once joined the army and had injured in Italy, so he suffered much which was brought about by the war deeply. He was disappointed with the world at that time and became very pessimistic about the fate of the human beings. As a young writer and spokesman of the “The Lost Generation”, and influenced by the greedy and heedless way of life in America, Hemingways works all vividly recorded the life of those physically and mentally wounded soldiers, revealed the frustration, loneliness when “God is dead”.The novel The Old Man and the Sea is based on a real story. The story goes that in the late 1940s, upon return from an early morning fishing trip, Fuentes (Hemingways friend) and Hemingway saw a small boat 10 miles out to sea. Hemingway asked Fuentes to approach the vessel to see if they needed help. Inside the boat were an old man and a boy. As the vessels closed, the old man began yelling at them with insults including telling them to go to hell, indicating that they had scared away the fish. Fuentes and Hemingway looked at each other in surprise. Just the same, Hemingway asked Fuentes to lower them some food and drinks while the old man and boy glared at them. Without another word exchanged, the two boats parted ways. According to Fuentes, Hemingway began immediately to write in his notebook and later asked him to find the old man. But he never was able to find the fisherman that had made such an impression on Hemingway. A few years after The Old Man and the Sea was published, residents of Cojimar believed that the old fisherman that Fuentes and Hemingway ran into at sea was a humble local fisherman they called el viejo Miguel; some described his physical appearance as a wiry Spencer Tracy. The other circumstances that made Hemingway wrote the novel was Hemingways writing capability had been questioned by people at that time. Under kinds of gossip, Hemingway decided to write The Old Man and the Sea which had been constructed in his mind for more than 10 years. At last, this masterpiece proved his writing talent.2. The Origin of the Concept of “Code Hero”As early as 1930, critics noticed the common features in Hemingways characters and began to discuss the“code” belief of Hemingway, namely, the code of courage and honour in this non-intellectual writer. Lincoln Kirstein, Max Eastman, Wyndham Lewis, and Delmore Schwartz all emphasized Hemingways attention to death and physical courage, and believed that the“tough guys” of Hemingway were still under construction and far from maturity. Some critics furthered the point that the“pretentious persistence” in Hemingways characters is but a deliberate disguise of the“depression, disguised skepticism, and despair” that is deep-rooted in their true self. In his The Great Tradition: An Interpretation of American Literature since the Civil War Granville Aicks made important distinctions for Hemingways characters. He thought there are two types of characters, that is, one is the“autobiographical” guy, the other is the kind of guy that Hemingway himself is not but expects to be, namely, the tough guy. According to such categorization, Captain Henry in Farewell to Arms is the“autobiographical” guy and his friend is the tough guy. The criticism prevailing in the thirties in China held that the main features in Hemingways guy are that“they become dumb because of the injuries of war. They no longer think, nor do they meditate. And they despise traditional morality and well-respected values. What is left in them is but self-abandonment and a strong desire for sex.” Such criticism is basically a reflection of the contemporary views abroad at that time. In the fifties, Young expanded the concept of the“Hemingways guy” and the“tough guy” and related them to“psychopathological morbidity”, believing that the reason“Hemingways guy” always confront death and injury is due to the forced repetition of the wounded experience caused by their psychological morbidity, whereas the“code”serves to provide a solution to the dilemma of such characters, enabling them to control their emotions. And the relationship between the two is one of giver and receiver. The representation of such a relationship is successfully realized in Santiago; that is to say, two kinds of guy have merged into one entity. The sixties saw the new terms“tyro” and“tutor” in place of the“autobiographical guy” and“tough guy” and“Nada” in place of the wound theory.3. The Four Characteristics of “Code Hero”3.1 Everlasting Hope for the FutureOne may lose the battle in life, but he can achieve a moral significance after his courage, bravery and ability to endure have been tested. Because hope does not die, power is not off. Even if the hope is slim, we also must try our best to fight for it. The author believes that, hope makes the old man to fight with the Marlin, fight with the sharks and fight with his own will. At the beginning of the novel, the author portrays the image of the man. “The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of the neck. The brown blotched of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his cords. But none of these scars were flesh. They were as old as crossing in a fishless desert”(Hemingway,1997:1). When we read here, we maybe show our sympathy to the old man and think that he cannot do anything. Further more, Santiagos life is not in good condition. He lives in a shack in which there is only a bed, one chair and a place on the dirty floor to cook with charcoal. He is so poor that had no “pot of yellow rice and fish to eat” (Hemingway,1997:2). While sailing for fishing, he has only a bottle of water with him. He leads a lonely life. His wife dies leaving him no children. Except a boy he once taught to fish, he has few friends. It seems that few people care him. What is more, he is failure in catching fish. For eighty-four days he fished in a skiff without taking a fish. Eighty-four days is a long period of time. Eighty-four days without a fish is very unfortunate for a fisherman. For a weather-beaten, poverty-stricken and lonely old man like Santiago, the misery might be beyond anyones intolerance. For a man can tolerate failure, but cant tolerate continuous failure. Too much failure will sure defeat a man even with strong will. For this reason, we may arrive at the conclusion that Santiago will give up fishing. But to our surprise, the color of the character is brighter in the following, “everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated”(Hemingway,1997:2).The eyes of the old man are not stuffy and he has the eyes those “were the same color as the sea” that only the young man has, which shows the old man has a young heart as the young. “He fitted the rope lashings of the oars onto the whole pins and, learning forward against the thrust of the blades in the water, he began to row out of the harbor in the dark”(Hemingway,1997:18).The old man firmly insists that he will not always be unfortunate, and ships into the deep sea without looking back. What makes the old man make such a decision under the difficult condition? Through the man, the author points outeven though life is harder, even the wretched standpoint, “But who knows? Maybe today, every day is a new day”(Hemingway,1997:22).This is the hope for the future, never give up hope for the future. The author further strengthens the character of the old manthe Code Hero. When the sharks have eaten half of the Marlin, “it is silly noy to hope, he thought. Besides I believe it is a sin. Do not think about sin, he thought”(Hemingway,1997:90).“he forked the tiller free from the rudder and beat and chopped with it, holding it down again and again.” Finally, he saw one shark came against the head of this fish, and he knew all was over. He swung the tiller across the sharks head where the jaws were caught in the heaviness of the fishs head which would not tear. He swung it once and twice and again. He felt it go in and knowing it was sharp he drove it in again. The shark let go and rolled away. That was the last shark of the pack that came. There was nothing more for them to eat. At last, he sailed back into harbor exhaustedly, with a skeleton of his fish and a broken skiff. “Shes good, he thought. She is sound and not harmed in any way except for the tiller. That is easily replaced”(Hemingway,1997:109). All what the old man sees are good side. He failed, however, “he is not defeated, despite the fact that has been beaten, as he himself admits, by his violation of the sacred code. He pronounces that nothing beat him really and that his only fault was that he went out too far ”(Hu,1994:90). 3.2 Daring Spirit for Facing the Challenge The process of the old mans fishing is just like the humans whole life. Everyone in the world lives a hard life and has to face the vast and vast sea. The greedy sharks with sharp tooth, and along with himself is just a boat and his soul that support him live in the world. Facing with the respected but fearsome nature, the human being is so insignificant. However the author has raised such a question: by what the human being should have to live in the work? At the same time, the author answered this question by portraying the way that the old man faces the sea and deals with the sharks along. “Just then, watching his lines, he saw one of the projecting green sticks dip sharply.” (Hemingway,1997:90)A big fish is hooked. At the first round of contest, the old man suppresses his own desire and waits the fish to eat the hook quietly. The old mans silent sounds reflect his strong desire from the deep heart. “Eat them, fish. Eat them. Pleased eat them. How fresh they are and.” “Come down, the old man said aloud. Make another turn. Just smell them. Arent they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Dont be shy, fish. Eat them.” With patient the old man faces the silent before the battle. Next is the contest of the strength. The old man “swing with each arm alternately on the cord with all the strength of his arm and the pivoted weight of his body.” But “nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him in inch.” The fish is so big that can pull away the boat to the wider deep sea. At one side is a very old man, and at the other side is unfathomable sea and unknown injuries, the readers can imagine the