Biblical Allusions
Throughout the book Hemingway gave biblical allusions for almost every character. One of the more obvious ones would be that of Santiago. Santiago serves as a God figure due to his role as the most powerful man (being able to kill the marlin and sharks). Manolin, a caretaker and apprentice to Santiago, is a representation of Jesus.
With this in mind there are more complex refrences and ideas such as the obvious allusion to the Crucifixion when Santiago is fighting sharks and he says "Ay." Then afterward Hemmingway explains that "There is no meaning of 'Ay', but perhaps it is the sound a man makes as his hands are nailed to wood" (Hemmingway, 107)
Another Simple allusion is when Santiago carries the mast of his boat and falls multiple times. This is representative of the journey Jesus made while carrying the cross.
With this in mind there are more complex refrences and ideas such as the obvious allusion to the Crucifixion when Santiago is fighting sharks and he says "Ay." Then afterward Hemmingway explains that "There is no meaning of 'Ay', but perhaps it is the sound a man makes as his hands are nailed to wood" (Hemmingway, 107)
Another Simple allusion is when Santiago carries the mast of his boat and falls multiple times. This is representative of the journey Jesus made while carrying the cross.
Ideas shared in The bible
Stories throughout the bible share similar ideas as The Old Man and the Sea.
The story of David and Goliath is a story that is more easily connected to the story due to the exact parallels. In The Old Man and the Sea David is represented by Santiago both by his ability to kill the stories equivalent to Goliath, the marlin, but also his childlike eyes. A second connection is the idea of both David and Santiago using primitive weapons. David uses his sling and a stone to kill Goliath and Santiago uses an oar and knife to kill sharks.
Another popular story in the Bible is that of Creation (Adam and Eve). The Old Man and the Sea displays the idea of temptation and crossing the set limits (the fruit of knowledge in Creation) by Santiago going outside of his normal fishing zone in order to catch a fish. Santiago afterwards even shows regret for crossing his limit for both the fish's sake and his own displaying regret.
The story of David and Goliath is a story that is more easily connected to the story due to the exact parallels. In The Old Man and the Sea David is represented by Santiago both by his ability to kill the stories equivalent to Goliath, the marlin, but also his childlike eyes. A second connection is the idea of both David and Santiago using primitive weapons. David uses his sling and a stone to kill Goliath and Santiago uses an oar and knife to kill sharks.
Another popular story in the Bible is that of Creation (Adam and Eve). The Old Man and the Sea displays the idea of temptation and crossing the set limits (the fruit of knowledge in Creation) by Santiago going outside of his normal fishing zone in order to catch a fish. Santiago afterwards even shows regret for crossing his limit for both the fish's sake and his own displaying regret.