Period/Section #: _________________________
ELA 8 – Hemingway, Day 3 Questions
Name: _________________________________
Date: __________________________________
Directions: Consider the following questions and quotations taken from The Old Man and the Sea, and then answer with
complete sentences. Your responses should be thorough and thoughtful. You may need to reread certain sections in the book.
1. Consider the following:
“‘What kind of hand is that,’ he said. ‘Cramp then if you
want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good’”
(Hemingway 58).
“I hate a cramp, he thought. It is a treachery of one’s
own body” (Hemingway 61).
“…left hand was still as tight as the gripped claws of an
eagle” (Hemingway 63)
“He had tried a few practice matches with his left hand.
But his left had had always been a traitor and would not
do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it”
(Hemingway 71).
Left Hand
Historically speaking, left handed
people were not to be trusted. This
is an old belief that stems from
Christianity during the Dark &
Middle Ages.
Right Hand
“He felt the line carefully with his right hand and
noticed his hand was bleeding” (Hemingway 56).
The bleeding on the Old Man’s right
hand is symbolic of the wounds on
Christ’s hands.
“He pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before
he hooked the fish and it was cutting his forehead. He
was thirsty too…” (Hemingway 46).
“I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But
then he [Marlin] would see the cramped hand. Let him
think I am more man than I am and I will be so”
(Hemingway 64).
“‘Christ, I did not know he *Marlin+ was so big… ‘I’ll kill
him though,’ he said. ‘In all his greatness and his glory.’
Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him
what a man can do and what a man endures”
(Hemingway 66).
Christ-Like Figure
Consider the imagery in these
quotes. Hemingway is turning the
Old Man into a Christ-Like figure.
Authors do this for many reasons
and it usually foreshadows the
death of the protagonist.
“But it is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun
or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea
and kill our true brothers” (Hemingway 75).
Stoicism: Stoicism is defined as virtue (strength and moral virtue), endurance, and self-sufficiency. Another way to think of
stoicism is that it means not giving up or giving in to pain, to hardship, or other adversity.
Extended Response
Before we started reading this novella, we briefly discussed the characteristics of modernism. One of the characteristics is the
breaking away from tradition and the established institutions of that time period. Yet, Hemingway uses direct references to
Christian imagery when describing the Old Man. Why do you think Hemingway would do this?
Marlin = Old Man
Old Man + Bloody Right Hand + Blood on his brow + Treacherous Left Hand = Christ-Like Figure
Christ-Like Figure = Foreshadowed Death
As discussed in your quick-write, the Old Man and the fish are both connected – literally and figuratively. Neither one of them
are willing to give up. In other words, they are both stoic in their resolve. How is this tied to the Old Man’s tragic flaw?
When the Old Man declares the Marlin to be his “true brother,” he implies that they share a common fate. What is their fate?
Explain your answer.
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