For many readers the old man is a symbol of an unyielding American who shows “grace under pressure”. In my eyes, however, Hemingway is describing a man’s ultimate appeal for love.
In the novel, the boy stands for the love for the old man. When the old man hadn’t taken any fish for eighty-four days, the boy’s parents said that the old man got the worst form of unlucky, and many of the fishermen made fun of the old man. Some older fishermen felt sad about him, but they did not show their sympathy. Only the boy loved the old man and did not leave him because he doubted. He remembered everything from when they first went together. He said he would not let the old man fish without eating while he was alive. And the boy thought there were many good fishermen and some great ones but there was only the old man.
Although the old man chose to go to the sea to find fish “beyond all people in the world” and showed his strong will on the sea, he wished for love and help deep in heart. He wished he had the boy when he was towed by the fish he had caught. He wished he had the boy when he lost the glare of Havana. He wished he had the boy when he remembered the sad story of a pair of marlins. He wished he had the boy when something took one of the baits that were behind him. He wished he had the boy when the bird for his company was gone. And he wished he had the boy when the fish pulled the line. Besides, he thought it was the boy who kept him alive when he thought about the sin of killing the fish. When he finally went back home, he noticed how pleasant it was to have the boy to talk to instead of speaking only to himself and to the sea.
Furthermore, the porpoises and marlins in the novel also indicate the old man’s wish for love. During the first night on the sea, the old man met a pair of porpoises. "They play and make jokes and love one another.” He also remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlins. “The male fish always let the female fish feed first” and when the female fish was hooked and panic-stricken, “all the time the male had stayed with her”. And while the female fish had died, “the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep.” It was the saddest story for the old man.
The old man’s dream of lions is also a symbol of his wish for love. After years of suffering on the sea, “he no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.” So the lions symbolize what he loves. This dream recurred when he wished he could sleep on the sea and at the end of the novel. These recurring dreams of lions show the old man’s subconscious need for love, especially after the numerous tired fights on the sea.
Therefore, instead of extolling the spirit of an undefeated man, I think Hemingway was showing his sympathy for a tough man’s tired soul. Although the old fisherman was not beaten at last, he thought he had “gone too far” and he was “tired inside”. It seems to Hemingway that only when a man gets old can he realize that the “lions” he loves are “the main thing that was left”.
一個(gè)硬漢對(duì)愛的渴望—《老人與!纷x后感
對(duì)于許多讀者來說,《老人與海》中的老人象征著“壓力下仍保持優(yōu)雅”的美國“硬漢”。在我看來,海明威在小說中反映的是人對(duì)愛的終極訴求。
在小說中,“男孩”象征著對(duì)老人的愛。老人連續(xù)八十四天沒有捕到過一條魚,男孩的父母說這老人的運(yùn)氣已經(jīng)跌到了谷底, 許多漁夫都在嘲笑老人。一些年紀(jì)較長的漁夫?yàn)樗y過,但沒有表露出同情。只有男孩敬愛這位老人, 沒有因?yàn)閷?duì)他失去信心而離棄他。從他跟老人第一次一起出海開始,每一件事他都記得很清楚。他說只要他還活著一天,就絕對(duì)不讓老人光打漁而不吃東西。在男孩眼里,有很多不錯(cuò)的漁夫,有些也頂優(yōu)秀的,但只有老人是最棒的。
盡管老人選擇“拋開全世界所有的人”去大海捕魚,并且表現(xiàn)出了堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的意志,其實(shí)他內(nèi)心深處一直渴望幫助和愛。當(dāng)老人被他逮到的魚拖著走的時(shí)候,他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)他看不見哈瓦那的光時(shí),他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)他回憶起一對(duì)馬林魚的悲慘故事時(shí),他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)他感覺有什么東西咬住了他后邊的其中一個(gè)魚餌時(shí),他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)跟他作伴的小鳥消失得無影無蹤時(shí),他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)魚在拖繩子的時(shí)候,他希望男孩在他身邊。當(dāng)他想到殺死馬林魚的罪惡時(shí),他想是男孩延續(xù)了他的生命。當(dāng)他最終回到家時(shí),他發(fā)現(xiàn)有個(gè)人可以和他講講話而不必對(duì)著海說話或自言自語是多么愉快的一件事。
小說中兩對(duì)海豚和馬林魚的意象也體現(xiàn)了老人對(duì)愛的渴望。在海上的第一晚,老人遇到一對(duì)海豚,它們“一起玩、一起嬉鬧,又彼此相愛”。他還記得他從前釣到一條母馬林魚。公魚總是讓母魚先捕食,當(dāng)母魚驚慌掙扎時(shí),公魚會(huì)一直守在她旁邊。當(dāng)母魚死去,公魚從船邊跳上空中,再望母魚最后一眼,才沉入深水中。對(duì)于老人來說,這是最悲慘的故事。
小說中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)在老人夢中的“獅子”,也象征著老人對(duì)愛的渴望。在海上經(jīng)歷了多年的苦難后,“他早已不再夢見暴風(fēng)雨,也不再夢見女人,或發(fā)生過的大事,不再夢見大魚,與人打架、比力道,也不再夢見亡妻了。如今他只夢見各種不同的地方以及海灘上的獅子。獅子們像小貓似地在暮靄中嬉戲,他喜愛它們,正如他喜愛那男孩一樣。”獅子的夢在海上他希望睡一會(huì)兒時(shí)再次出現(xiàn)。小說結(jié)尾老人又夢見獅子。這些反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的夢,表明老人潛意識(shí)中渴望“像小貓似地在暮靄中嬉戲”,尤其是在海上無數(shù)次的疲憊的斗爭之后。
所以,與其說海明威在贊揚(yáng)人類不會(huì)被擊敗的精神,不如說海明威表現(xiàn)了對(duì)人類疲憊靈魂的同情。對(duì)于老人而言,盡管他沒有被擊敗,但是他認(rèn)為他已經(jīng)“走得太遠(yuǎn)”并且“內(nèi)心疲憊”。在海明威看來,人只有到老時(shí)才意識(shí)到他愛的“獅子”是最后留下的重要的東西。
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