【正文】 The Symbolism in the Old Man and the Sea A Thesis Submitted to College of Foreign Languages Xingtan College Qufu Normal University In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts i ACKNOWLEDGMENT I am deeply grateful to Professor Sun huaxiang who has given me constant and valuable advice, read my drafts through meticulously and offered incisive ments on them. Without his help, the thesis could never have reached its present form. My sincere gratitude also goes to all my teachers who have given me excellent lectures and great help, which are indispensable to the pletion of this thesis. I also give my hearty thanks to all my classmates who have offered generous help and useful suggestions in the process of writing this thesis. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to all the writers whose works have been referred to in this thesis. ii 摘 要 被威 謙、?？思{譽為“這代人最優(yōu)秀的一個單篇”的《老人與海》是硬漢海明威的力作，而對于《老人與?！返南笳髦髁x，評論界各執(zhí)己見，海明威本人的解釋也模棱兩可。而小說中主人翁桑提亞哥和生存環(huán)境、大海、鯊魚、小孩等角色實際上非角色本身，表面上角色及故事情節(jié)有著深刻的象征意義，所以希望從文中的主人公、其生存環(huán)境等各個方面對其象征主義進(jìn)行剖析、總結(jié)和歸納《老人與海》的象征手法以及海明威的人生觀在各象征因素中的體現(xiàn) ，以期能幫助讀者更好的理解這部作品。 關(guān)鍵詞： 海明威；象征因素；冰山理論；生存環(huán)境；人生觀 iii ABSTRACT The Old Man and the Sea， praised by a famous writer as “the most excellent simple article in this generation”， is a masterpiece of the unyielding man －Hemingway. But with regard to the symbolism， it has been talked differently and was equivocal in the explanation by Hemingway himself. The protagonist, the living environment, the sea, the shark, the marlin are not themselves but have significant symbolical meaning. Here will analyze its symbolism through some aspects such as the leading character, the living environment and Hemingway′s philosophy of life reflected by the symbols, with a view to help the reader get a better understanding of Hemingway′s masterpiece. Key Words： Ernest Hemingway； the symbolic factors； iceberg theory； the living environment； philosophy of life iv CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………… …… … .........1 0. Definition of symbolism……………………………………………………... .....2 1. The symbolism in the Old Man and the Sea… …………………………… … ..2 old man…………………………………………………………………… … .2 sea………………………………………………………………………… … .3 sharks…………………………………………………………………… …… 4 marlin…………………………………………………………………… …… 5 boy………………………………………………………………………... .....6 symbols related to the Old Man and the Sea…………………………… … .7 2. Hemingway′s own view on symbolism in the novel… ……………………… ....8 3. Hemingway′s philosophy of life reflected by the symbol of the old man… … .8 Hemingway′s philosophy of life……………………………………………… … 9 Hemingway′s philosophy of life reflected by the symbol of the old man…… … .9 Hemingway′s attitude towards the society reflected by the symbol of the sea… .10 Hemingway′s attitude towards the enemy reflected by the symbol shark… … … .11 v Hemingway′s attitude towards the achievement reflected by the symbol marlin.........................................................................................................................12 … …………………………………………………………… ……… .13 Work Cited………………………………………………………………… …… ..14 1 Introduction The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by the American writer Ernest Hemingway in 1952. Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1989, at Oak Park Illinois. When he was a child, he loves fishing, listening to music and drawing .These experiences make him like take adventures for the reason that he experienced the two world war. The abundant social experiences have provided many new materials for his literary recreations. He took part in the first word war as the driver of Red Cross Society. In World War II, he was a thrusting war correspondent with US forces in Europe. The first and the second war had affected Hemingway a lot. He was disappointed with the war and pessimistic about the fate of the man. After the war he summarized his philosophy with marvelous economy in the Old Man and the Sea. He also became“Lost Generation”representatives in the Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952, critics also praise it as the last important novel of Hemingway. With vivid characterization, simple language and profoundly implicating meaning, the Old Man and the Sea earned the Pulitzer Prize and it helped him to win Nobel Prize for literature. Stylistically, The Old Man and the Sea was written in simple sentence structure, but there are many hidden meanings in it and each element represents different things. The theme and the description of the Old Man and the Sea is very simple, because it reveals only one－ eighth. On the face, the rest seven－ eights are hidden, when reading carefully and learning about the culture and situations at that time, you can understand the real hidden part . So the distinctive writing style of Hemingway is his iceberg theory and symbolism. In the Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway further explores the masculine theme of man renting challenges and struggling alone, manifesting extreme determination and fortitude in the face of certain defeat, and living with “grace under pressure”. (The symbolism in the old man and the sea,殷雪迎，1995,(4) )Here its symbolism will e analyzed through some aspects, such as the protagonist, the living environment, the sea, the shark, the marlin and so