An Eco-Critical Analysis of The Old Man and the Sea

1. The reasons and significance of the topic

The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway's famous works, is studied by domestic and foreign experts or scholars for academic research. From the analysis of the existing literature, the previous comments on Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea are often confined to the image of the tough-guy, symbolism and writing style. However, this novel is one of the representative works of the Hemingway iceberg principle, which gives readers the vast boundless to think and dig the idea. Hemingway embodies a strong ecological consciousness in his works, and the creation of The Old Man and the Sea shows Hemingway's worries about the environment. This article studies The Old Man and the Sea from the perspective of ecological criticism, which contains a kind of thought: human and natural interdependence and unity. This idea suggests that humans are not superior to other species in nature. And that mankind should protect the ecological environment and live in peace with all other species. Nowadays, environmental is damaged more and more seriously. From the perspective of ecological criticism to explain Hemingway's creation is very realistic and significant.

2. Literature review

Earnest Hemingway is a world-famous writer who remains an interesting figure in the field of literary criticism for half a century. Numerous experts and scholars have spent considerable efforts on his writings, exploring his iceberg principle, ”tough-guy” spirit, tragic meaning, symbolic style, male-power culture and feminist sensibility etc, from different perspectives such as cultural anthropology, modern semantics, functional stylistics, transitivity system, stylistics, reception-aesthetic and psychoanalysis. And some criticism on his masterpiece The Old Man and the Sea will be reviewed in the following part.

First of all, it is worthwhile and necessary to mention the background and publication of The Old Man and the Sea before looking at the relevant criticism. It is believed that the years from 1940, in which For Whom the Bell Tolls was published, to 1952 were the gloomiest time for Ernest Hemingway, thus he badly needed a win. His novel Across the River and into the Trees, published in 1950, was a great disaster. It was almost unanimously disparaged by critics and was called the worst thing Hemingway had ever written. Many readers claimed it like a parody of Hemingway. The control and precision of his earlier prose seemed to be lost beyond recovery. Therefore, the huge success of The Old Man and the Sea was a much-needed vindication and it restored many readers#8217; confidence in Hemingway#8217;s capability as an author. It was initially received with much popularity.

Its publisher, Scribner, on an early dust jacket, called the novella a ”new classic”, and many critics favorably compared it with such works as William Faulkner#8217;s The Bear and Herman Melville#8217;s Moby-Dick.

Early book reviews responded quickly and well to the work and spared no effort to give it favorable comments. In Atlantic Review, Edward Weeks summed up the readers#8217; opinions with the title of ”Hemingway at His Best” (72). In the New York Times Book Review, the novella was praised as ”a tale superbly told” and was surprised by its ability to imply ”a human continuity that far transcends an individual relationship” (Robert Gorham Davis, 1). In the San Francisco Chronicle, Joseph Henry Jackson clearly stated that it is a ”miracle-play of Man against Fate” and it is ”as perfect a piece of work as Hemingway has ever done” (22).