Old Man and the Sea: Question 4

There are not very many characters in this book, which is a good thing when it comes to the question of who the hero of the book is. Since the boy was basically left behind and the fish is, well, only a fish after all, by process of elimination, the “hero” title pretty much has to go to the old man, but that also doesn’t mean that the title is unwarranted. The acts clearly embody the characteristics of the typical hero.

The traditional values that make up typical heroes are the characteristics that were displayed in the heroes of ancient Greek mythology. Like Heracles, Ajax, Achilles, and Jason, the old man displayed feats of strength and skill that almost seem supernatural. The hero that I most connect the traits of the old man with, would be Odysseus, not only because both The Odyssey and The Old Man and the Sea took place for the most part on the sea, but Odysseus was an older man too, but he was still very smart and skilled, which helped him get out of situations like when they were captured by the Cyclops. Another parallel that could be drawn is that they both defeated enemies much larger than themselves: Odysseus tricked the Cyclops, and the old man stayed with the fish and used all his skill and strength to kill the giant fish.

Another great example of why the old man is considered a hero is because to the young boy, he is one of the greatest fishermen of all time. The boy remembers when he was fishing with the old man and the old man caught a big fish and the old man kept the boy safe and then he clubbed the fish to death (Hemingway 15). No doubt the boy also heard all of the stories of the old man, like when he arm wrestled that guy for a day and a night, and he won. To the boy, the old man was still El Campeón.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1980. Kindle. Web. 21 June 2011.