Different Forms Of Symbolism example essay topic

300 words
Symbolism is used in many ways in Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea. In this book, Santiago uses many different forms of symbolism to describe the way he feels and what is going on in the world around him. Santiago often dreams of the lions. In his youth Santiago saw young lions playing on the beach. Each night when Santiago dreams of these lions it brings him back to his younger days as a sailor and reminds him of his youth. Another form of symbolism it the giant marlin which drags Santiago throughout the majority of the book.

He allows the marlin to drag him far out to sea, yet he doesn't even know what it is. Santiago must imagine it's strength, size, and determination. The marlin symbolizes his strength and how they are both working against each other for a very different goal. Santiago is trying to kill the fish, while the fish is trying to get away. The sharks symbolize death. They symbolize the death of the goals that Santiago has fought for the past few days.

The sharks eat the giant marlin which is strapped to the side of the old man's boat. The marlin is the only thing left to show the efforts of the old man. The sharks eat the marlin away leaving no meat for Santiago; however, he has shown courage and strengthen in the struggle itself. The journey has been a success despite the obstacles. In this book, symbolism is used in many different ways to help the reader gain a deeper meaning than a simple fishing story. The symbolism is clearly there despite Hemingway's own protestations in a letter to a critic in 1952.