glorious defeat
"The Old Man and the Sea" is based on a real story. While in Cuba, Hemingway heard an old fisherman tell his own experience of going out to sea to catch fish. One day in 1936, the old fisherman went out to sea and caught a very big fish. But because the fish was so big, he spent a long time at sea. On the way back, he met a shark again. Hemingway knew the meaning of death and courage on the battlefield as early as when he was less than 20 years old. He had participated in two world wars and won a lot of honors, but also left more than 200 scars for this. Therefore, he runs through the novel death, courage, failure, victory and other life meaning thinking.
When the shark ate a quarter of the fish, he felt a little sorry, but then he thought that he would be much easier to sail home without the fish. Happiness is born of inaction, and suffering from desire. Old fisherman Santiago, although the life is very poor, but always happy every day, still have hobbies, still have a dream, he thought lying on the bed covered with old newspapers to sleep and have a good dream is the most happy thing. Although his clothes were covered with patches, he still put his cleanest shirt on top of his wife's portrait to show his memory. Although he failed to bring the fish home, he was not too upset. Instead, he silently went home and fell asleep. After waking up, he continued to care about his favorite baseball game.
Through the image of the hero in the work, we can feel that even though he is a frail old man, he still refuses to bow to the fate. Even though he was so unlucky that his teammates were taken away from him, he still faced life with optimism. Even under pressure he is calm, confident to meet the challenges ahead, forgive those who laugh at him. In Hemingway's opinion, the most terrible thing for a person is to lose the courage to face difficulties. He believed that life was just a tragedy, and that the only value and way out for human beings was to face death without fear. In his old age, he committed suicide in order not to succumb to illness. He dares to face death but does not bow to fate; He dared to accept setbacks, but did not want to be defeated by them. Hemingway once said: as long as you don't care about the gains and losses, there is nothing in life can not try to overcome. It is the old man's optimism and contentment, so that he is not pessimistic in the face of bad luck, but with a positive attitude to face setbacks, with full confidence to challenge difficulties. "The Old Man and the Sea" explains Hemingway's new understanding of the spirit of the tough guy, but also to show the reader his rich philosophy of life: the strong man under pressure grace, never fail, content is happiness and character determines a person's fate.
Although the old fisherman was only left with a large skeleton of a fish, it has many symbolic meanings. Returning from the sea, the wreck of the boat carries not only the tired old man, but also a big fish skeleton. Until then, San Diego didn't know what could beat him, what failure was. Now I know what failure is like. He was defeated by the shark, the fish for his livelihood into the shark's belly, like a bet into an opponent's pocket, he had to return empty-handed. But not nothing, the white fish skeleton witnessed the efforts and strength of the old man. Sharks are like force majeure in nature. Failure is inevitable and understandable. The old man was defeated by them, but the giant fish bones made everyone surprised and regretted, but also respected the old man, and saw something indispensable besides luck. The old man's fishing was also like a struggle against fate. The sweeping winds and waves are part of destiny, so is fighting with big fish for three days and two nights, and being stripped of their flesh to the bones is part of destiny. Fate is always so unpredictable and unpredictable. In the face of this fate, we must be confident and fearless. Fight it to the end and never compromise! The old man failed, but it was a glorious defeat.
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