The old man is character in The Old Man and the Sea that has a lot of pride to his name. He is proud even when he does not really have anything to be proud of, and the old man is proud of his past. Pride is a present theme in the novel, and there are some quotes that show its importance:
"No. I know others better." -Day One
When the old man is complimented and called the best fisherman, he is humble but still proud that he is among the best, or that he used to be. The old man has both pride and humbleness, two characteristics that can do well when brought together.
"I wish he'd sleep and I could see and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left?" -Day Three
The old man dreams about lions often, and he seems to like lions. One thing he admires about them is their pride. The old man is not the only proud thing in the novel- the lions in his dreams are proud as well.
"He took all his pain and what was left of strength and his long gone pride and he put it into the fish's agony." -Day Four
Although the reader first thinks that the old man 'has no loss of pride', he says himself that his pride is gone when he loses the marlin to the sharks in the water on his way back home. This is a breaking point for the old man, when things really start weighing down on him and causing him all kinds of pain. However, once he gets to recuperate a little, the old man gets his pride back and returns to his normal character.
"Nothing." He said aloud. "I went out too far." -Day Five
The old man acknowledges that losing the huge marlin to the sharks was his fault for going out too far, and he is still sure of himself and of his skills and abilities, even if those skills and abilities have to stay in the past. The old man should also be proud because he admitted that his loss was his own fault. He did not whine or complain, he simply took the blame.
No comments:
Post a Comment