Unit 1The Old Man and the SeaZhu Kunling 朱坤领朱坤领09/20101Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)l-Famous American writerl-Winner of Nobel Prize in Literaturel-A legendary figure in American lit 2Hemingway - a legendary figure l-As a glamorous public hero, his style of writing and living was probably more imitated than any other writer. l-He acted out the theme of his books, and his public image was a tough guy whom even an air-crash could not kill. 3lBorn in Oak Park, Illinois, USA.lHis mother trained his musical skills.lHis father trained his hunting & fishing skills. lHis style of living as an adult and the fact that his books abound in sports terms: partly traceable to his early life.lLater he hunted & explored in the African jungles, & fished on the Cuban seas. 4l1930s & 1940s: his non-literary activities were widely publicized.lIn WWI: ambulance driver in Italy, working with the Red Cross; the first American wounded in the war. lIn WWII: first worked for US navy in Cuba and then was a reporter with British Air Force; took part in the landing of the Allied Force (盟军) on the French coast.5lHis shattering war experience permanently affected his life and writings. lAll his life, he lived with war emotionally and continued to write about it in order to relieve and forget it. lAll these sports & war experiences became his subjects and themes later. 6lHe was injured many times, and survived 3 automobile accidents & 2 air crashes. lFrom his wounds, at least 237 steel fragments were taken out of his body. lIn his later years he often behaved in an odd manner. lHe shot himself on July 2, 1961: because he could not write any more, or he could not act out his code, or his health was poor.lWith his death, an era came to an end.7lBack to America after WWI: he met Sherwood Anderson, his stylistic mentor. lActing on Andersons advice, he went to Paris and met Stein and Pound. He benefited a lot from their schooling. 8lFormation of his linguistic style 语言风格语言风格:lAs a journalist, Hemingway trained himself in the economy of expression-lHis use of short sentences and paragraphs; vigorous, positive language; deliberate avoidance of gorgeous adjectives.9lIn Paris, Hemingway began to develop his distinct style, with：l-a Hemingway theme 海明威式的主题海明威式的主题l-a Hemingway hero 海明威式的主人公海明威式的主人公. lAll his life, he wrote about one theme, “grace under pressure” 重压下的从容重压下的从容, and created one hero who acts that theme out. 10lThe typical Hemingway situations:l-characterized by chaos and violence, by crime, death, sport, hard drinking and sexual promiscuity.lThe Hemingway hero is wounded but strong & sensitive, and enjoys lifes pleasures (sex, alcohol, sport, etc.) in face of ruin and death; he maintains, through a code of behavior, an ideal of himself. 11lThe Hemingway hero possesses “despairing courage” (绝望中的勇气绝望中的勇气). lIt enables a man to behave like a man, to assert his dignity in face of adversity. lThis is the essence of a code of honor that all the Hemingway heroes believe in.12lIn Our Time (1925): lNick Adams lives in a world of violence, chaos and death, and learns the hard way about the world. lHe is psychologically, emotionally and physically wounded in the war. He makes “a separate peace” with the enemy & learns to endure as a man. lMost of Hemingways later works repeated the Nick Adams story, which perpetually assail us with a sharp sense of anxiety & fear-we subconsciously identify with Nick.13lThe Sun Also Rises (太阳照样升起太阳照样升起, 1926): painted the image of the Lost Generation. lA Farewell to Arms (1928,永别了武器永别了武器): lThe hero Fredric Henry goes to the war & discovers the insanity & unreason of the world. He becomes disillusioned. lThis book caught the mood of post-war generation and brought international fame to the author. 14lLost Generation (迷茫的一代迷茫的一代): lYoung people in the US and the UK who were lost or disillusioned with the world. They were cut off from old values and could not embrace the new era when civilization had gone mad.lHemingway: speaker and describer of the Lost Generation.15lThe Hemingway heros break with society becomes extreme in these books:lDeath in the Afternoon (1932)lGreen Hills of Africa (1935)lFor Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) 16lHemingway was a negative writer (书写负面的作家); it is hard for him to say “yes”. lHe held a dark, naturalistic (自然主义式的) view of the world, saw it as “all a nothing,” and saw life in terms of battles & tension, which was nothingness (虚无) for him. 17lIn Hemingways chaotic & meaningless world, man fights a solitary struggle against a force he does not understand. lThe awareness that he must end in defeat, no matter how hard he fights against it, engenders a sense of despair.lHis central concept: llife is dangerous and ready to destroy you, but if you stand on your principles, you may win by yoursllf, though you get nothing except the knowledge that you have played well.18lReading him, we experience the immediacy and directness of a person wounded by a bullet and trying to talk before he dies.19lIn his latter years, he was known as “Papa Hemingway”: l-his contribution to the development of a new stylethe colloquial style (口语风格口语风格). l-his simple & natural prose, and its effect of directness, clarity and freshness. 20lHe words: common, specific, Anglo-Saxon, casual and conversational. lHis sentences: short and simple.lEffects of his prose: terse (洗练的), effective, and no nonsense.21lBut this simplicity is deceptive: suggestive and offers layers of undercurrents of meaning. lHis “Iceberg Theory” (冰山理论冰山理论): 1/8 is above water and 7/8 is hidden below.lHis influence as a stylist was neatly expressed by the Nobel Prize Committee:l“his powerful style-forming mastery of the art” of writing modern fiction. 22Some of Hemingways important books:1925: In Our Time; The Torrents of Spring1926:The Sun Also Rises1928: A Farewell to Arms1932: Death in the Afternoon1935: Green Hills of Africa1937: To Have and Have Not 1938: The Fifth Column 1952: The Old Man and the SeaHe also wrote a lot of short stories.23lBetween 1940 and 1950: critics all believed Hemingways talent to be dead. lThe Old Man and the Sea (1952):lRestored his literary image and led to his winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. 24lIt is about an old fisherman Santiago and his battle with first a giant marlin fish (枪鱼) and then sharks. lAfter 84 unlucky days, Santiago hooks the marlin in the sea. In the desperate struggle, he manages to kill the fish, but he has to fight a more desperate battle with sharks, which eat up the marlin and leave only a skeleton. lThe old man brings it home, totally exhausted. 25lIn Santiago we see again the spirit of the tragic but noble Hemingway hero, fighting with a force he knows it is futile to fight with. lHe believes that “a man is not made for defeatA man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (“不过人不是为了被打败而生的。人能够被打跨，但不能够被打败。” )26lHowever, the old man eventually realizes that he has met his doom, and he feels good to be in both the human and natural world. lThis feeling of brotherhood and love for both his fellowmen and fellow creatures in nature shows that Hemingways world view has undergone a profound change.27The Old Man and the SealThis excerpt is about the old mans fight with the sharks.lIn most of his novels, Hemingway deliberately avoided gorgeous adjectives. But strangely, in this novel we find that he used adjectives quite often. Think of the reason. 28lWarm-up questions:l1. What do you think of Hemingway and his books, plots and characters?l2. Have you read the Chinese version of the novel? If yes, what is your impression of the book and the old man? If no, what do you imagine it to be?l3. Can you imagine the old mans appearance, character and life? Think of three to five words to describe him.29lThe shark was not an accident. He had come up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood had settled and dispersed in the mile deep sea. He had come up so fast and absolutely without caution that he broke the surface of the blue water and was in the sun. lThe sharks coming: bad news for the old man and the fish-it would attack the fish; the blood smell would attract more sharks. lThese sentences are not short, but you can find “and ” and other indicators to separate different meanings.lBiblical style.30l everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. Inside the closed double lip of his jaws all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted inwards. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides. This was a fish built to feed on all the fishes in the sea, that were so fast and strong and well armed that they had no other enemy. lA beautiful but ferocious shark.lNote the description of his beauty and speedbeing heroic. lNote the detailed description of his teeth: he could conquer anything & was ready to attack the old mans fish.31lWhen the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut away to lash the fish. lThe old man realized the danger and threat. lHe would do what he should: to fight the shark and defend the fish.lNo nonsense in the language.32lThe old mans head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as he watched the shark close in. It might as well have been a dream, he thought. I cannot keep him from hitting me but maybe I can get him. Dentuso, he thought. Bad luck to your mother. lHe was ready for the fight, but he knew his fight was useless.lHe wished it were a dream: there was no hope for himself and the fish.lEven if he could kill this shark, more sharks would come.lDentuso: ferocity of the fish.33lThe sharks head was out of water and his back was coming out and the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish when he rammed the harpoon down onto the sharks head at a spot where the line between his eyes intersected with the line that ran straight back from his nose. There were no such lines. lThe fight: the old man killed the shark with his harpoon.l“There were no such lines.”: Such lines were not in the shark physically, but in the old mans mind and fishing knowledge. lHe was experienced on the sea.34lHe hit it with his blood mushed hands driving a good harpoon with all his strength. He hit it without hope but with resolution and complete malignancy. lHe was wounded, but he fought with all his will and might, although it was hopeless to defend the fish. 35l“He took about forty pounds,” the old man said aloud. He took my harpoon too and all the rope, he thought, and now my fish bleeds again and there will be others. lIt was a sad scene.lHe was sad because:l-the fish was damaged;l-he lost his harpoon and rope;l-and more sharks would come.36lHe did not like to look at the fish anymore since he had been mutilated. When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself were hit. lWhy did the old man pity the fish damaged by the shark? l-He thought the fish was humiliated, its dignity gone.lWhy did he have little hope even though he was full of resolution? l-He knew he could not kill all the coming sharks.37lBut I killed the shark that hit my fish, he thought. And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows that I have seen big ones.lIt was too good to last, he thought. I wish it had been a dream now and that I had never hooked the fish and was alone in bed on the newspaperslHe was proud of killing the sharks because he showed his power & dignity as a fisherman.l“It was too good to last”: the thing was not true; it would disappear ultimately. lHe wished he were in a dream and had not caught the fish. Why?l-If he had not caught the fish, its dignity would not be damaged.38l“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”1 I am sorry that I killed the fish though, he thought. Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon. The dentuso is cruel and able and strong and intelligent. But I was more intelligent than he was. Perhaps not, he thought. Perhaps I was only better armed. l1 How does this sentence suggest his character and the novels theme?l-The Hemingway theme, hero and “despairing courage”. This courage enables a man to behave like a man, to assert dignity in face of adversity. lThe old man used good words to describe the shark: in his mind, it was heroic like himself. 39l“Dont think, old man,” he said aloud. “Sail on this course and take it when it comes.”lBut I must think, he thought. Because it is all I have left. That and baseball. I wonder how the great DiMaggio would have liked the way I hit him in the brain? lThe old man always thought of the heroes, such as the great DiMaggio.lHe had heroes to admire, even though he himself was a hero. 40l“Think about something cheerful, old man,” he said. “Every minute now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds.” lHe tried to find an excuse to cheer himself up.lIn this part of the old mans monolog, Hemingways colloquial style is very typical: easy words, short sentences, and tense atmosphere.41lHe knew quite well the pattern of what could happen when he reached the inner part of the current. But there was nothing to be done now. l“Yes there is,” he said aloud. “I can lash my knife to the butt of one of the oars.”lSo he did that with the tiller under his arm and the sheet of the sail under his foot.l“Now,” he said. “I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed.” lThe pattern: the fishs blood would be spread by the current and attract more sharks.lHe was rearmed now as he made a new weapon.l“I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed.”: Although I am old, I still can fight.42lIt is silly not to hope, he thought.1 Besides I believe it is a sin. Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it. l1 What was his hope?l-To defend his and the fishs dignity, rather than the fish itself.lSin: he believed that he sinned by killing the fish, for otherwise the fish would not lose its dignity.43lI have no understanding of it and I am not sure that I believe in it. Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose it was even though I did it to keep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin. Do not think about sin. It is much too late for that and there are people who are paid to do it. Let them think about it. You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. lHe was not religious (“sin” being a religious concept). lHe believed not in God, but in his own will, dignity and might. l“there are people who are paid to do it”: It was a thinker or philosophers job to think about sin. lHe was a naturalistic fisherman, who believed that a fisherman is to kill, and a fish is to be killed. 44lBut he liked to think about all things that he was involved in . You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?1 l1 He believed that it was a sin to kill the fish, and that both himself and the fish were great. He was proud of being a fisherman and believed in a fishermans philosophy. lHe killed the fish: not to make money, but to show his pride and to prove himself a true fisherman.lHe always loved the fish, because he admired its dignity and beauty.45lBut you enjoyed killing the dentuso, he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do. He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are. He is beautiful and noble and knows no fear of anything.1 l“He lives on the live fish as you do.”: This is the old mans & Hemingways philosophy-everything has a right to live, & everything kills everything else for living.l1 He also strangely admired the shark: noble, beautiful, and fearless-because the shark was heroic and dignified, just like he himself and the fish.46l“I killed him in self-defense,” the old man said aloud. “And I killed him well.”1lBesides, he thought, everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I must not deceive myself too much. l1 He found an excuse for killing the shark: self-defense; everything kills everything else. This implies his philosophy.l“Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive.”: fishing is very dangerous throughout my life, and it keeps me alive. 47lHe had sailed for two hours, . when he saw the first of the two sharks.1 l“Ay,” he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood. l They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat. l1 Two more sharks come. He got ready to fight them.lHe felt painful, for he knew a hard, desperate and hopeless battle would begin, and he knew they were extremely ferocious.48l“They must have taken a quarter of him and of the best meat,” he said aloud. “I wish it were a dream and that I had never hooked him. Im sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong.” He stopped and he did not want to look at the fish now. Drained of blood and awash he looked the color of the silver backing of a mirror and his stripes still showed. l“Im sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong.”: it is me who caused the loss of your dignity. lSo he felt sad for the fish and did not want to look at it.49l“I shouldnt have gone out so far, fish,” he said. “Neither for you nor for me. Im sorry, fish.”1lNow, he said to himself. Look to the lashing on the knife and see if it has been cut. Then get your hand in order because there still is more to come. l1 He went out too far, so he regretted and was very tired. It was bad for the fish because he had caught it and was eaten by the sharks.lHe knew more sharks would come, and he got ready to fight again.50l“I wish I had a stone for the knife,” the old man said after he had checked the lashing on the oar butt. “I should have brought a stone.” You should have brought many things, he thought. But you did not bring them, old man. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is. l“You give me much good counsel,” he said aloud. “Im tired of it.” lHis head was a little unclear now.l“You”: he himself.51lHe was a fish to keep a man all winter, he thought.1 Dont think of that. Just rest and try to get your hands in shape to defend what is left of him. The blood smell from my hands means nothing now with all that scent in the water.2 Besides they do not bleed much. There is nothing cut that means anything. The bleeding may keep the left from cramping. l1 The fish was valuable: the old man could sell it for money or eat its meat.l2 The blood smell of the fish overwhelmed the blood smell of his hands.lThe old man was almost in ruins now: wounded and exhausted.52lWhat can I think of now? He thought. Nothing. I must think of nothing and wait for the next ones. I wish it had really been a dream, he thought. But who knows? It might have turned out well.1l1 Anything could happen. He was ready to accept it as fortune or misfortune. But he still had hope.53lNow they have beaten me, he thought. I am too old to club sharks to death. But I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller. lHe was too old and tired, but he would never give in to the sharks nor give up his hope.54lI could not expect to kill them, he thought. I could have in my time. ll“It will be dark soon,” he said. “Then I should see the glow of Havana. If I am too far to the eastward I will see the lights of one of the new beaches.” lHe could have killed them in his younger days.lHe was eager to go home and be in the human world, as he knew he had met his doom in the natural world on the sea.55lI cannot be too far out now, he thought. I hope no one has been too worried. There is only the boy to worry, of course. But I am sure he would have confidence. Many of the older fishermen will worry. Many others too, he thought. I live in a good town.1 l1 He thought of the kind people in his town and the boy, who were worried about him. lHe was tired of being alone.56l“Half fish,” he said. “Fish that you were. I am sorry that I went too far out. I ruined us both. But we have killed many sharks, you and I, and ruined many others. How many did you ever kill, old fish? You do not have that spear on your head for nothing.” 1 l1 He felt sorry that half of the fish was eaten by sharks, but he was still determined to fight. lHe talked with the fish; both of them killed many sharksthey fought together. He wanted to use the fishs bill as a weapon, a spear.57lBut if I had, and could have lashed it to an oar butt, what a weapon. Then we might have fought them together. What will you do now if they come in the night? What can you do? l“Fight them,” he said. “Ill fight them until I die.”1 l1 He was determined to fight the sharks until he died. He would never be defeated.58lThis is part of the novel. Can you imagine what the old man would do consequentially? lWhat other real or literary figures that you know are similar to the old man?lSummarize the plot, the old mans character and philosophy, and Hemingways style.59Comprehension questionsl1. What is the excerpt about? Why did the old man love the marlin but still kill it?l2. Why did the old man use positive words to comment on the sharks?l3. The old man said, “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” What does this imply about his character? Does it have anything to do with the “Hemingway hero”? 60Brainstorming and discussionl1. Discuss with your partners: l(1) Suppose you had not caught any fish for 84 days and was laughed at by other fishermen, what would you do?l(2) Suppose you were confronted with ferocious sharks at sea all by yourself, what would you do?l2. Creative writing: Imagine how the old man fished at sea, fought the great marlin and finally killed it. 61Good-bye!62