Secondly, when Heminway was created the character of unyielding man , he didn’t choose the young man with strong physical power. On the contrary, he just chose an old and ailing man. In practice, this choice limited the physical power of the struggler. This kind of surprising choice of age. The author had his own deep purpose. The old man should have withdrew from the life struggle. But in this novel, the author entrusted such great challenge to him and strong willpower. Thus unwillingly he won the more and more readers’ sympathy and respect. The choice made the works wider and more profound symbolic meaning. Man is insignificant in the large universal. They are weakers in physical power .But they can be the stronger in mentality. The spirit and willpower can promote man to continue struggling. The strong body can’t be everyone’s possession, but everybody can build the firm willpower.
Thirdly, the novel discard the previous pattern which create the sea hero. The author stressed the old man’s willpower by ordinary description. Santiago did not have strong physical power like young man , so did the super power . He is unlucky. He is a failed hero in the struggle between Man and environment .He got nothing in the successive 84 days, also he is lonely. He risked his life in the sea without any help. While what is waiting for him may be the shabby thratched –shed, life in hunger and cold and even the unexpected fate. Exactly ,because of these plain description, the novel shows the special willpower. If a person can’t expect any help, then he have to depend on himself ,his willpower to conquer the dangerous condition.
Willpower generate courage ,and together with it . The combination show the dauntless heroism. Willpower is an important premise for the wisdom and skill to play to the full. It also keep the old man’s optimistic spirit long, which can strengthen the intensity of willpower.
二.Emotion and morality
In the procedure reading “The old man and the sea”, we obtain virtuous moral experience through the sight of the man’s inner –world . This kind of experience strengthen the character’s image and also enrich it .
As a psychology strength, the virtuous and kind personality of the old man knock many hearts now and then . Just the same as his strong-willed character .The author melt the kind character into his soul . As a result , this make the image have more spirit charm. In the nature ,he treat the opponent as his brother ,even he wants to feed it by himself. He showed sympathy to the little swallow, even when he was in war with shark and the marlin, he talk to the “bird friend’ friendly .His kindness to weakers, his stone heart to the malicious shark which make a definite contrast .In the society , he was harmony with all his villagers, and enjoyed the love of others .Though he suffered the tragic fate, he still persist non-stopping struggle. The difficulty of life caught him. It is hard to keep his good character ,but he have done it .So he is great.
Santiago is a fisherman. He has to fight against the sea to make a living. So he will kill many creatures in the struggle like marlin.Just because of this , santiago feel the contradiction. His emotion about the marlin is complicated .On the one hand he respect and love it;yet on the other hand he have to kill it in order to live. He ever asked himself if there is a crime .Killing fish may be a crime ,after all it has the right of viability .But why man has such crime ? Human want to live ,which made them should struggle . Struggle means human can not avoid the crime .This crime will bring the moral condemn ,uneasy. The reality is cruel .Man love the nature and has to conquer the nature killing living things for living and development . Is it a crime on earth or even serious crime ? In the condemn , the search of life and morality widen and deepen .The old man jump out the narrow circle at last and arrived at the regulation: “one creature kill another creature in the world .” This imply the true environment in human’s society. The cruel environment confused the people. What is right and what is wrong , what is true and what is faulse. People can’t tell.
三.Agony struggle and the sorrow emotion
Facing the harsh reality, Santiago can’t always defend his “grace under pressure”. However strong he is in spirit ,however optimistic he is .All these can’t summarize his psychology. He is not a saint. He has weakness of uncertainity and diffidence . There still exist the desolate and depressed emotion that caused by the life, society ,fate on the man. This emotion add a thick tragic power to the image.
First, the further the old man went, the more lonely he feel. This is best presented in his long monologue as he is fighting with the marlin and shark. The monologue obviously express the old man’s dignance of loneliness , a kind of drain. In the novel ,his mentioning of the boy several times proves that he finds his weakness and uncertainty growing out of age. The call for the boy , just the call that one is in danger for help.
Hemingway grew up in the age of “the lost generation” . The old man’s optimism he created is set up on the base of strong will, bold and uninhabited, while not stemmed by the confidence of the fate .Heminwei’s discussion about the crime, luck, covered with the atmosphere of lost.
The old man go fishing with good hope ,but he has disillusioned. In front of the cruel reality, failure seems to be inevitable. Avoiding risking ,fishing in the near sea area, he got nothing. Risking his life in the farther sea area, he still can’t get anything. It show that the human being is powerless. In the society and the reality, also it is a revelation of the author’s true emotion----helpless. In the last of the novel, the old man dream of the lion. The lion for three time in different situation. It’s purpose is to show the old man’s agony and loneliness, tiresome. He want to gain the power and help in the struggle to conquer the enimies by dreaming of the lion. At last , he still can’t estricate himself from the predicament.
The novel “the old and the sea” subtly delineates the complicated inner world of his characters, which just the novelist’s own feeling and experience. To Heminway ,Santiago is a new type of figure ,a man can be destroyed but not defeated. His strength are overwhelmingly powerful against his weaknesses, which have made him unquestionably great. The old man is one of us and more noble than us. Thus making him a man of eternity. Hence we see Hemingwei’s optimistic view of life and full confidence on bravery,wisdom and dignity which once well protected, will lead to success.
参考文献：
游嘉胜 1994 河南师范大学学报 （5）
由中升 1996 辽宁大学学报 （2）
