Karis Katekovit

English 12
Matthew Bishop
Date: 06/12/2017
Masculinity, Object Symbolism, and Sexuality in The Old Man and the Sea

The psychoanalytical theory was discovered in the late 19th century by Sigmund

Freud, also known as the father of psychology. The three human mind tier system is broken

down into the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind. In this theory, Freud said that

the unconscious mind has the biggest influence for ones to act. The unconscious comprises

of dreams, instinct, traumas, etc.; basically the act in which is involuntary. In the

psychoanalytical theory aspect, The Old Man and The Sea has many interesting objects,

actions, and event that can be criticized and relate to this theory. The story has three main

characters, which are Santiago, Manolin, and Marlin the fish. Ernest Hemingway, the author,

elaborated a long short story about an old fisherman named Santiago that is said to be salao,

the worst form of unluckiness, went out fishing for 84 days, though he wasnt able to capture

any. In addition, towards the end of the novella, Ernest had given Santiago a heroic struggle

and an inevitable fate where the big Marlin fish he caught was vulnerable and were eaten by

hungry sharks. More important, the way that Ernest portrayed this story is that he gave a very

detailed description of when the old man caught the marlin fish, the big struggle, the

exhaustion the old man had, and the way he controlled his equipment when catching the fish.

Therefore, by analyzing the actions and the objects that Santiago used we can observe how

The Old Man and the Sea links to the Freudian theory. Hence, Santiagos action and the

objects in the story project an ideology of masculinity and sexual desires, reinforcing Freuds

theory. These repetitions reflect Freuds theory of how his tools can relate to sexuality, and

masculinity.

In the novella, Ernest writes, There were only three boats in sight now and they

showed very low and far inshore (32-33). Santiago is sailing out deep towards the ocean, but

why? To begin with, Santiago was once a strong man in his youth; however, as time has

passed, his strength had constantly deteriorated. As Santiago grew older, he still wants to
Masculinity, Object Symbolism and Sexuality in The Old Man and The Sea

obtain his strength and youth as humanly possible, which is basically a natural desire. This

action of Santiago depicts the unconscious mind in Freudian theory where we are controlled

unconsciously by our strong desire. Next, the climax of this novella where it says, He was

happy feeling the gentle pulling and then he felt something hard and unbelievably

heavy(42), Now! he said aloud and struck hard with both hands, gained a yard of line

and then struck again and again, swinging with each arm alternately on the cord with all the

strength of his arms and the pivoted weight of his body(44). A giant marlin fish struck

Santiagos fishing line, and he struggled to keep hold of the fish for nearly two full days.

During the struggle, his left hand started cramping as he kept on the tension between his hand

and the line, and it got even worse as he kept struggling, his left hand wouldnt stop

cramping. Santiago rejected the weakness of his hand and thought, I hate a cramp, he

thought. It is a treachery of ones own body (61-62). This particular statement that Santiago

made proves even more that he desires infinite power, and strength; therefore, it also

reinforces Freuds theory of how the unconscious mind controls our action.

Hemingways youth is a tragedy when compared to a standard boys life, because he

spent many years on refusing feminine influence from his mother, Grace Hemingway, but

trying to be more masculine alike his father, Clarence Hemingway, but committed suicide

leaving Ernest with an emotional scar (Encyclopedia of World Biography, n.d.). Moreover,

according to journalpsyche.org, it stated that adult personality emerges as a composite of

early childhood experiences (n.d.). This experience of Ernest can influence the way he writes

with respect to his concern for his masculine father, and wanted to cherish it. Masculinity is

what a man is expected to be, such as strength, power, control, conquer, etc., in which Ernest

expresses it very dominantly in the novella. In the story, we can see that Santiago uses very

few, yet very skillful of his equipment, this involves his harpoon, fishing line, and his hands.

These tools are generally used to subjugate a subject in desire, which really proves the fact
Masculinity, Object Symbolism and Sexuality in The Old Man and The Sea

that he wants to gain power, and his unconsciousness influences him, relating to Freuds

theory about the id of humans mind in which requires satisfaction (Thornton, n.d.).

In the story, the tools that Santiago used to catch the marlin and the setting are related

to sexuality in such ways. In Freuds perspective, these tools Santiago used can resemble the

males organ, which resembles power. For example, the harpoon has a strong shaft so that it

can support the pressure, and the sharp end for penetration, which really relates to the role of

males organ. Moving to another point, in the novella, Ernest wrote, He always thought of

the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her (29). This

allows us to interpret in a way that Santiago is trying to gain control of women, or female.

The reason is that if the la mar means the sea, and it is a woman, which women are basically

the gender who gives birth, reflecting that the sea has a feminine gender and giving life to all

living things such as, the marlin, other fishes, etc. Santiago towards the marlin was very

aggressive and he killed the marlin in which this can be seen that he is trying to control or

conquer female, in Freud's perspective. This shows an unhealthy relationship between

Santiago and the sea.

To sum up, by observing Santiagos behavior, his desires and actions can be analyzed.

Throughout the novella, Santiago has dominantly shown his masculine characteristics in

which came from his subconsciousness and the fact that he went far out, isolated himself

from other fishermen to catch a big marlin fish, and rejected his weak hand, which is all to

prove his strength and masculinity. Furthermore, from Freuds perspective, the equipment

that Santiago used can also be seen as a mans organ and resemble power, which Santiago

desires. Lastly, the objects he used also show an unhealthy relationship between him and the

sea, in terms of sexuality. As a result, this is one of the proofs where humans can be

controlled or influenced to act in some way somehow by our unconsciousness, reinforcing

Masculinity, Object Symbolism and Sexuality in The Old Man and The Sea

Freud's theory. So, if this theory is true, then do we really have control of our actions or was

it the actions driven from our unconscious after all?

Masculinity, Object Symbolism and Sexuality in The Old Man and The Sea

Bibliography

Ernest Hemingway Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from

http://www.notablebiographies.com/He-Ho/Hemingway-Ernest.html

The Freudian Theory of Personality. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from

http://journalpsyche.org/the-freudian-theory-of-personality/

Thornton, S. P. (n.d.). Sigmund Freud. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from

http://www.iep.utm.edu/freud/