BSc BA ADP English Notes Novel DiMaggio A Great Source Of Inspiration For The Old Man The Old Man and The Sea (Ernest Hemingway)

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DiMaggio, A Great Source Of Inspiration For The Old Man.

Hemingway's novel 'The Old Man and the Sea' is a shining example of human valour, self-reliance and endurance. Its hero, the old man went out in the deep sea alone and succeeded in hooking a big marlin. The marlin was too strong for him and he could not haul it to the surface of the sea. The fish started dragging the old man along with his boat. The old man decided to defeat this powerful creature with his skill and experience.

The struggle with the marlin continued for two days and nights. During this time the old man got dead tired and his hands were badly injured. He did not think of giving up the struggle. He decided to boost up his morale by reviving his past victories and recalled his historic hand game competition with a Negro. Then he tried to feel strong by remembering of his hero Joe DiMaggio, the base-ball champion. DiMaggio was a great player and a remarkable leader. DiMaggio always proved to be a deciding factor for his team and brought it victories. This champion of base-ball played neatly and skillfully in spite of the pain of a bone spur in his heel. Moreover, the old man's admiration for DiMaggio owed to another factor, as DiMaggio was born of a fisherman.

By reviving his hero, the old man tried to collect his strength and managed to endure the great pain. He prayed to be worthy of his hero. He says to himself, "Pain does not matter to man." In this way the old man minimized his sense of loneliness and stimulated his falling courage.

The writer in fact wanted to show, how age and miseries of life waste human energies and weaken the vigorous one yet cannot dampen the courage. Thus the main theme of the novel is also proved by mentioning DiMaggio's importance that Man is not made for defeat.