1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
Existentialism is described as meaninglessness and absurdity
in human life.The word itself has been derieved from "Existence".
Existence means the answer of the quesetions which are related to the life of
human being's life and its objectives. The philosophy deals
with the problems of man in the universe. The philosophy of Existentialism
basically is a philosophy which stresses our individualism and choicelessness.
The philosopher of this philosophy believes than man is thrown in a universe so
immense without any choice and his life has no meanings. Sartre believes that
the philosophy conveys a modern system of beliefs which help human beings to
spend their life with objectivity. He further asserts that the philosophy takes
view of life as individual and it has nothing to do collectively. The
philosophy deals with the man and objectives of his existence in the time frame
of universe. it is a philosophical movement that takes views of human life as a
set of underlying themes and characteristics like anxiety, death, freedom and
choice. it asserts the meaning of human
being's life.
Sorein
Kierkegaard is considered as one of the pioneers or founders of the Existentialism.
Many other philosophers like Jean Paul Sartre, Blaise Pascal and Albert Camus
are more prominent figures in the history of Existentialism. It would be
interesting to elaborate that each philosopher has a different view about the
philosophy. One hurdle to define the philosophy properly is the too many
definitions of the philosophy which have given by the various existentialistic
figures. So, nobody succeeds in defining the philosophy vividly.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Earnest Hemingway has tried to show
the Existentialsim in the Old Man and the
Sea. The study would make an effort to explore Existentialism as manifested
in the novel. The research would make a focus upon the characters especially
themes of the novel.
1.3
The research
only considers The Old Man and the Sea
and relating articles to it.
1.4 Research
Objectives
•
To analyze the Existentialism in the novel
•
To find out how does the protagonist fall under the
existentialism character.
1.5 Research
Questions
•
How the novel can be classified as the Existentialist piece of
work?
•
How does the protagonist of the novel contain
characteristics of Existentialism?
1.6
Significance of the Study
The research intends to explore the
philosophy of Existentialism in the novel. The research would provide help in
understanding and analyzing the novel as well as protagonist. The research also
provides help in understanding the points which lead to Existentialism and
existentialistic way to live. The research also would assist the students of
literature in understanding the works of Hemingway through the lens of
Existentialism. The center of the
research is the protagonist, Santiago who struggles against the oddities of
life
2.LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Definition
Existentialism is a broader
philosophy and has vast criteria in the terms of understanding the philosophy.
Basically, it focuses upon the individuality and freedom of one’s. The
philosophy explains the human beings effort as fruitless as they didn’t make
any special difference as compare to whole universe. It also focuses that human
life is nothing and nothing happens in the narrative time of the life. It got
popularity in the beginning of 20th century and was under
discussion. Here are some top existentialist and their views. SoreinKriekegard,
Nieztche, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus are the men which led the
philosophy to new era.(Bloom)
2.2 John
Smith’s Persuation
John Smith comments upon
Old Man and The Sea and declares it as a persuasive novel. He describes
that the novel deals with hope and disappointment. In the beginning the novel
tries to bring out some meaning in the context of the universe but the unhappy
ending seems to fail the plan and convert the hope into disappointment. He
further asserts that the novel deals with the ideas of life and death and the
philosophy of life. He asserts that by narrating the novel he narrates the
philosophy of life and that is nothing except Existentialism.
Jean Paul Sartre coined a phrase
“Existence” Precedes “Essence”. It implies that human beings are choiceless and
their existence is by chance and their decisions are also vague and unintended.
He asserts that a human being does not come in the universe with any special
purpose and aim to spend his life. His essence is dedicated to his presence or
existence. Nothing is pre decide or new in his life nor he did anything during
his lifetime. A man can do nothing against the brutal forces of life which
stops him to win against the life.
2.3 Father
of Existentialism
SorenKierkegaard is considered as the father of the
Existentialism. He says “The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to
find the idea for which I can live and die". He says that man has to do a
struggle to recognize himself and the purpose beyond his struggle. He focuses
and says that a choice of someone does not make any impact upon the other ones.
He stresses upon religious and ethical ways to explore universe. He asserts
upon the solidarity of human being in long time frame of life.
2.4
Death of God
Fredrick Nietzhe writes an essay
entitled Death of God and gives the idea that God is dead. There is no god to
govern human because man has considered himself as his self protector. He also
exclaimed that human beings are responsible for the death of the God. He
highlights the idea that all human beings are free now and are not the slave of
religion or anything like that. The ideal got lot of criticism in the society
and it has taken as existential view of life. It would be interesting to
mention here Nietzsche was one of the Lost Generation. (p 25)
2.5 Major
Contemporation
Albert Camus one of the major
contemporary of the predecessor exposes the Myth of Sisyphus. He libellees
man’s life as an unending labour as Sisyphus whose task was to roll the stone
everyday from earth to mountain. His idea also got popularity among the critics
and he became able to prove existence as punishment for some undone crime. He
coined the term absurdity which was later coined by Martin Eslin to criticize
the Theatre of the Absurd.It gives popularity to the absurd theatre which can
be considered as the branch of the philosophy.
2.6
Jean Paul Sartre
Existence precedes essence is the motto
of Jean Paul Sartre with which he relates the existentialism. He talks about
the lack of choice and freedom in human being's life. He states that human
beings have no freedom of choice. He is born without will and hereafter in his
life is free to make his choices which is a confiscated freedom. Lack of
freedom is involved in human being's fate and he is condemned to be free as
desribed by Sartre.
2.7
Picture of Human Life
Blaise Pascal mentions human
weakness in his essay. He gives picture of human life and shows how man is
choiceless and absurd in the universe. He makes a comparison between the
enormous universe and minor human beings. He makes lot of further explanations
on the existence of God, relation of man to God and God to man. Blaise Pascal
asserts that human beings are weak and choiceless in the universe. He explains in his essay entitled Man is a
broken Reed, a thinking entity and miserable in both condition, with god or
without god. He beliefs that a human being is forced to believe in any one to
believe or to disbelive.
3.
METHODOLOGY
The Research is qualitative in its
approach. The research has sifted out The
Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway as primary source of the study.
The novel would be treated as primary text and that it would be analyzed to
sift out Existentialism in the novel. The studies also will percept the
historical perspective of the philosophy in the context of novel. The efforts
of the protagonist would be analyzed with the lens of Existentialism. The
previous researches would have been providing assistance in my study. The
research is qualitative and analytical in nature. The research is going to
prove the aversion of female community in the novel.
Research
Paradigm
The research is qualitative in its
approach. Textual elements would be sifted out with the help of reader response
criticism. The study would explore the existentialism in the novel.
Sample:
The
Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway is the sample of the study.
Literary
Analysis:
Man and existence of man always
remain under discussion in the universe.The study has establishes a hypothesis
to see Hemingway as an existentialistic writer. The study would help in
understanding of the writer points of view and the philosophy itself. It will
help to see Hemingway as existentialistic figure. The novel has previously
taken it for its optimistic view of the writer but it the sucide ending of the
writer displays another point of view. It will enhance the understanding of the
philosophy as well as provide assistance to comprehend the writer’s other works
through the lens of existentialism. The new ways and interpretation would be
explored in the novel and it would be analyzed in a new way. The novel is
always quoted as optimistic novel but it’s contradicted with Hemingway’s
suicide ending. The novel would be analyzed as the continuous struggle of the
man and his choiceless and remorse ending as compare to the writer.
4. CONTENT
ANALYSIS
4.1 Existentialism a Broad philosophy:
As we have discussed earlier in the
existentialism is a broad philosophy that lay emphasizes on freedom, upon
freedom of choice and actions. It notions towards ones who tries to convey his
own meanings and concludes his own way of freedom in this absurd universe. It
also focuses that each is responsible to his own choice and action’s result. It
also deals with the human and the purpose of human beings’ existence. In the
chapter the research is going to sift out the text and will provide some
textual support to make the novel as an Existentialist novel and the
protagonist as existentialist figure. The study will help in understanding the
protagonist efforts to compete the oddities of life with crushing pressure of
life.
Most quoted extract of the novel “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
(p-63) explains the fact of the Existentialism. The word “A” here, presents the
protagonists’ will against the hurdles of his life. He compares the human
suffering with himself and called them universal. He says that the absurdity
begins from the day one and one has not to need worry of them. He believes that
in the odd battle against the unexplored and undisciplined universe, one has
going to win. He feels that the sufferings are unable to stop but their
competition is the property of life.
“Far out to
come in when the wind shifts, I want to be out before it is light” (p-6).
4.2
Conciousness of the Protagonist:
Here in
these lines the protagonist is most willing to know about his existence. He
wants to make sure his objectives of life before the death. He knows life is
short and is too short to find out the meaning of the universe. He here, is
sure to understand the life before it ends. He makes his decision himself and
his decision is to fight a battle with the oddities of the life. He is optimist
that the meaning and objective of his existence would come out by fighting an
ordeal and exploration of the universe. His will to fight against sharks makes
him completely an existentialist figure and protagonist. His long journey
without a companion symbolizes the existential concept of loneliness of human
being.
“I will Stay
with you until I am Dead” (p-31) in the lines he is vowing to himself. As an existential
he is off the view that he cannot escape from the harsh commodities of life
until his death. Like other existential heroes, he is off the view that death
provides a kind of relief to human and these sufferings are the part of the
life. He suffers a lot and is the aware of the fact that a human sufferings
last to his death. He already had given a clue of light which remembers us
about the Meursault another existentialist protagonist. He accepts the two ways
which philosophy provides him the suffering or the death.
“And pain
does not matter to a man” (p-51). Here, Santiago, the protagonist acts like a person
who has a profound knowledge of human as well as universe. He knows that a long
time frame of life pain has spread over the constant panorama. He is an
embodiment of human struggle which his endless. He knows that a fruitless
effort leads to end which has nothing in the end. Despite having all kind of
oddities and sufferings Santiago’s continued his struggle. Santiago, with the help of incidents, tries
to convey a lesson to reader that the fish stands for all the oddities of life.
although he is badly hurt by the encounter still he does not wore down before
the clamities of life.
“I told the boy, I am a strange old
man.” (p-40).
The strangeness of the protagonist
is similar to the strangeness of the all absurd and existentialist figures. He,
all his life, could not comprehend himself. He does not know the meaning of his
existence and cannot understand the objective behind his existence. He knows that
it is almost difficult to find meaning in so immense universe. The existential
claims that life is short and universe is immense to explore out the
meaning.
4.3 Individuality of Existence:
The philosophy of Existentialism
laid emphasis over the individuality of existence and the loneliness of man in
universe. The protagonist of the novel from beginning to the end explains the
individuality. He in whole narrating time remains alone and not has any
companion. In his encounter with sharks remain completely alone and the
individuality remains constant. The boy although lives him for sometime but has
gone after a short period which symbolizes that man is responsible for his own
deeds. “My big fish must be somewhere”
also notions toward the vastness of the universe. headresses the fish and says
, “You are going to have to die anyway”(p-56)
shows his thinking about the themes of death. He shows that the death is the
cure of all worldly diseases and clamities. Like Meursault, a protagonist of
Albert Camus, he believes that death is remedy of all diseases and problems. He
is off the view that death is the end of his sufferings. he wants to do
something new and innovative before his impending death.
“Every day
is new day” (p-19). To make you understand the quote lets have look on
the background of the philosophy. Albert Camus, one existential figure explains
the Myth of Sisyphus. He writes that once he was a god and for his crime he was
punished to roll a stone from the flat toward the top of the mountain. He,
everyday performs the same labor and next day, he has to do it again. So, for
Sisyphus, every day is new day. This also comes true on the protagonist of the
novel. He says that no matter if he can’t catch it. There would be nothing
change if we could catch it. So, as being an existentialist figure he knows the
fact that it will make no difference if he make can do it or not. Because in
every case he has to do it again, that’s life according to Existentialism
5.
CONCLUSION
5.1 Findings
In human history one can see that
the conflict between Existence and essence has been discussed as a major issue
for an individual. Plato who was an essentialist by nature said that essence
precedes Existence while Jean Paul Sartre expands the statement by saying that
Existence precedes essence. Ernest Hemingway also reflects the existentialism
in his novel, The Old Man and the Sea.
There are different characteristics of the Existentialism that are found in the
novel. The novel contains individuality, strangeness, fruitless struggle, uncertainty
and lack of faith etc. Man is mortal but it will have more prevailing of time
upon the epoch. Man has a wish to prevail over the human feelings. According to
the existentialist figures man has a developed tendency to conquer the man. The
dilemma of fleeting time is also
there in the life. The life of the old man is absurd before waiting for the
fish. In 84 days, he was disappointed in his life which can be defined as
absurdity.
5.2
Recommendation
The novel has proved as
Existentialistic novel, the protagonist struggle shows pessimism instead of
optimism and falls in the category of the Existentialism. The entire struggles
of the protagonist fall under the Existentialism as he is ended in suffering
and failure to get a fish. His whole ordeal proves nothingness and despite
having a greatest ordeal against the forces of life he is destined to fail.
The research also proposes to reader
to show Hemingway’s other works as existentialistic point of view. Although he
never lays any claim to being an existentialistic. The study suggests that an
analytical study should be done. His other works should be minutely studied in
order to gain an understanding of the word.
5.3
Concluding Remarks
The thorough and deep study of the
novel is recommended to the reader and the critics that novel is an embodiment
of the philosophy of the existentialism. it also can be studied under the post structuralism
which claims that the meaning of the novel would not convey by the language.
the structure can misled the reader and can make a subjective approach. it also
help the reader to show Plato's view of world as eternal entity.
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