My Thought

    The story of The Old Man and the Sea is set in Cuba in the mid-20th century.The main character is an old fisherman named Santiago, and the supporting role is a child named Manolin.The old fisherman, who had not caught a single fish for 84 days, refused to concede defeat, but was full of fighting spirit, and finally caught an 18-foot-long, 1,500-pound marlin on the 85th day.The big fish dragged the boat to the sea, but the old man was still holding on, even if there was no water, no food, no weapons, no assistant, left hand cramp, he was not discouraged.After two days and two nights, he finally killed the big fish and tied it to the side of the boat.But many sharks immediately came to seize his prize.He killed them one by one, leaving only a broken rudder handle as a weapon.As a result, the big fish is still doomed to be eaten up, eventually, the old man exhausted to drag back a pair of fish bones.When he got home and lay in bed, he had to dream back the good old days to forget the cruel reality.In my opinion, this book not only demonstrates the relationship between man and nature, but also embodies American values centered on "individualism."

     The first sentence of the work begins with an allegorical desolation: an old man alone in a small boat fishing in the Gulf Stream.He has nothing to do with 84 days.There seems to be something symbolic, something moral.The fable begins with the American tradition of depicting a lonely and tenacious individual, except that the lonely and tenacious individual is an old man.

    Solitary individual is the representation of American traditional value-individualism, which is the core of American spirit."When it comes to the spirit of America, we can immediately think of many words that are positive or negative: independence, enterprise, innovation, greed, indifference, selfishness, and so on."If we look at these words in the light of American reality, we can see that they describe only some of the characteristics of certain categories or certain Americans in certain situations, not a complete generalization of the American spirit.The uniqueness of American individualism lies in its strong sense of mission.The strong missionary tendency of American individualistic values stems from the American cultural tradition of early New England Puritans' beliefs and beliefs. The Puritans came from England. They were the urban free men, the backbone of the British bourgeois revolution. They believed themselves to be the electors of God; they were uncompromisingly opposed to alternative interpretations of doctrines and interference in the church by secular power; for this reason they were persecuted by sects and kings in their homeland. The move from Holland to America gave their faith a place and a chance to experiment: the Puritans wanted to create a "city on the top" in this new world to praise God's glory and serve as a model for the world. Every congregation should have this sense of mission and consciously permeate its daily activities; to live independently, diligently, and simply a life of dignity to the soul; to associate with noble people and things to realize the destiny of the New World.From Hemingway's "old man", we can see the very embodiment of this individualism.As Hemingway's early work demonstrated, he excelled at portraying individualistic individuals who were lonesome and strong, rather than focusing on the grand social scene. This is not so much a regret as the best quality to express his unique thinking.In this way, he made a unique and profound reflection on the American cultural tradition he inherited in The Old Man and the Sea.

    He was a lonely old man fishing in the bay. His wife had died for many years, had no children or other relatives and had little to do with the villagers; his only companion and helper, the "child", had also been forced to leave him because he had been unlucky.But he had a belief that he would be lucky and fight again for glory.He traveled from village to village but watched baseball heroes with reverence; he, hungry but calm, imagined dinner dishes with the "child"; he lay fast asleep on makeshift pillows in the face of 84 days of fruitless bad luck and gossip from the village. He said, "Put the line in a sure place, and when luck comes, you'll be ready."What we can see from the accurate description of the behavior of the elderly is the author's affirmation and approval of the independence and firm belief of American individualism.This individualism was early manifested in pioneers of a generation of states represented by B. Franklin. They are independent, independent, self-reliant, self-improvement and pursuit of ideals (whether national independence, human justice and equality, or wealth obtained by industry and wisdom).It is the strong sense of mission that supports them in doing so.

2023-01-30

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