A Deconstructive Analysis Of The Old Man And The Sea

As one of the most famous novelists of the 20~thh century,Ernest Miller Hemingway won many awards in his life including the Silver Brave Medal during the First World War,the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954for The Old Man and the Sea.This thesis conducts an in-depth analysis of three pairs of binary oppositions from Derrida’s deconstruction theory.In terms of the binary opposition between man and self,Santiago’s spiritual self is largely driven by his desire of catching more fish and asserting his dignity as a qualified fisherman.All his actions center on the satisfaction of this strong desire which urges him to fish on the 85~thh day.Santiago’s failing physical strength,backward fishing tools and inadequate preparations before the voyage,and too much dependence on good luck cause his bewilderment of self-identity.Then,fighting against the big marlin urges him to have an awareness of incompetence and the sharks’attacks cause him to lose self-identity.The binary opposition between man and self is totally deconstructed,with Santiago’s spiritual self being no longer dominant in the symmetrical structure.He tries to reconstruct the relationship between man and self by maintaining his rational thought,strong psychological qualities in difficulty and surviving professional dignity,thus able to find his self-identity that he can be destroyed but never defeated.Second,the binary opposition between man and society is no longer hierarchical at the beginning of the story.Santiago has a strong sense of hollowness which results from the lack of social bonds,the residential distance between him and other fishermen,his little interest in social activities.He can not adjust himself to the social life and has to experience the loss of identity in an alienated society which provides for its inhabitants few entertainment activities,little division of labor and little social welfare system.The fierce social competitions and his own narrow social circle further cause his loss of identity in the society.To reconstruct the close relationship between man and society,Santiago maintains his instinct and follows his dignity as a socialized fisherman and quickly reconciles himself with that society.Last,concerning the relationship between man and nature,anthropocentrism is responsible for the emergence of ecological crisis,with human greed being its specific manifestation.Man is destroying the ecological system;therefore,nature seeks its violent revenge as successively conveyed in the intensified struggles between Santiago and the marlin,between Santiago and sharks.Nature also brings unceasingly economic,physical and psychological losses to Santiago and other fishermen.As a result,the stably symmetrical structure between man and nature is destroyed,with man being no longer superior and nature no longer subordinate.Santiago reestablishes a harmonious relationship with nature.Man and nature interact with and restrict each other,both indispensable to and dependent on each other.Three reasons account for the relationship:Santiago always holds an attitude of awe to nature;he frequently reflects on his own behaviors;he rectifies the ways of developing himself fully.To sum up,this study has some practical and theoretical significance.First of all,the deconstruction of man and self allows us not only to cultivate a sharp awareness of Hemingway’s code hero Santiago but also to provide a case of frustration education for college students.Second,Santiago reconciles himself and develops with the society,which provides a solution to many social issues that arise from the fact that man does whatever he wants while oblivious of social rules.Finally,the study sounds the alarm for the severe ecological crises and prompts us to maintain the harmony between man and nature in the long run.