Psychosocially Therapeutic Aspects of The Old Man and the...

Psychosocially Therapeutic Aspects of The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway This exceptional story should be used as a therapeutic aid for hopeless and depressed people who needed a powerful force for continuing struggles of life against fate. They should say as the boy Manolin, Ill bring the luck by myself. In the story the old man tells us It is silly not to hope...besides I believe it is a sin. Hemingway draws a distinction between two different types of success: outer-material and inner-spiritual. While the old man lacks the former, the importance of this lack is eclipsed by his possession of the later. He teaches all people the triumph of indefatigable spirit over exhaustible resources. Hemingways hero as a perfectionist man†¦show more content†¦This sentence proclaims one of the novels themes, the heroic struggle against unchangeable fate. Indeed, the entire first paragraph emphasizes Santiagos apparent lack of success. For example, It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty. And most powerfully, The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat. This type of descriptive degradation of Santiago continues with details of his old, worn body. Even his scars, legacies of past successes, are old as erosions in a fishless desert . All this changes suddenly, though, when Hemingway says masterfully, Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated. This draws attention to a dichotomy between two different types of success: outer, material success and inner, spiritual success.. Also, Santiagos eye color foreshadows Hemingways increasingly explicit likening of Santiago to the sea, suggesting an analogy between Santiagos indomitable spirit and the seas boundless strength. The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him. Manolin is Santiagos apprentice, but their relationship is not restricted to business alone. Manolin idolizes Santiago?as we are meant to?but the object of this idolization is not only the once great thoughShow MoreRelatedPsychosocial Aspects of the Old Man and the Sea6923 Words   |  28 PagesPsychosocially therapeutic aspects of The old Man and the Sea This exceptional story should be used as a therapeutic aid for hopeless and depressed people who needed a powerful force for continuing struggles of life against fate. They should say as the boy Manolin, Ill bring the luck by myself. In the story the old man tells us It is silly not to hope...besides I believe it is a sin. Hemingway draws a distinction between two different types of success: outer-material and inner-spiritual. While