Abstract
The Old Man and the Sea, a symbolic novel written by Hemingway of American writer, is based on the true story of a Cube fisherman whose fishing process is completely recorded by the realistic expression. The image of an old man that is unconquerable in spirit and keeps quality of grace under pressure is successfully molded. This kind of man who is never conquered in spirit becomes the famous “Tough Guy Image” in the literary history. The Old Man and the Sea receives rave reviews after being published. Critics and Writers think that Hemingway has achieved new heights. There are countless reviews of the work which has brought him great fame and honor at home and abroad. Most people commenting on this work had largely focused on the old man Santiago, but lost sight of another important figure—the little boy Manolin. This thesis attempts to elaborate on the characteristics of the little boy and puts emphasis on researching the role of Manolin in The Old Man and Sea. A truth can be exposed that the little boy is finishing touch of the pen in the writer’s masterpiece and has an irreplaceable artistic effect.
This thesis consists of five parts: Chapter one is the introductory part which presents the writer and his masterpiece The Old Man and the Sea, as well as the author’s contribution to the American literature and the impact of the work. The importance of the little boy in the work will be discussed at the same time. Chapter two summarizes the function of Manolin in presenting the theme. He is indispensible in presenting the old man’s character sideways and heir of “Tough Guy Image”. Chapter three aims to analyze the structure of the novel. Because of Manolin, the perfect anaphora, Leaping Interlude and a kind of fast and slow rhythm are added to the novel. Chapter four further probes the characterization of Manolin, whose emotion experiences three different stages in the novel: The static stage, the subtle, fluctuating stage and the outbreak stage. Each stage is very impressive in the novel. Chapter five explores the indispensable status and existing necessity of the little boy in the work from the perspective of the author. The role of Manolin is the continuance of Hemingway’s writing style—narrative manner, iceberg principle and objective, detached point of view. The last chapter is conclusion, which is the summary of Manolin’s main artistic image.
Key words: Manolin; Tough Guy Image; anaphora; rhythm; emotion; writing style
摘要
《老人与海》是美国作家海明威的代表作,这部小说是根据一位古巴渔夫的真实经历创作的,以朴实的写实手法记录了老人桑提亚哥捕鱼的全过程,塑造了一个在重压下仍然保持优雅风度、在精神上永远不可战胜的老人形象,这种精神上永远不可战胜者成为文学史上最著名的“硬汉”形象之一。《老人与海》发表后好评如潮，评论家、作家普遍认为海明威登上了新的高峰。对于这部给海明威带来巨大声誉的作品，国内外评论文章早就汗牛充栋。大部分的人评论这部作品时大都着眼于老人桑提亚哥,而忽略了另一个重要人物,那就是小男孩曼若琳。本文就对这一人物形象进行了论述，着重探索曼若林这一角色在《老人与海》中的重要作用。揭示了小男孩实为《老人与海》这一杰作的画龙点睛之笔，具有不可替代的艺术效果。
本文论述主要有五部分构成。第一章主要介绍作者及其著作——《老人与海》，作者对美国文学的贡献及其作品的影响，还介绍了文中的小男孩曼若琳的重要性。第二章概述了曼若琳在表现小说主题中所起的作用，他在侧面表现老人性格方面是不可或缺的，而且他是硬汉形象的继承者。第三章则分析了小说的结构，由于小男孩的存在，小说有了跳跃式的穿插，完美的对照和一种缓急相间的节奏感。第四章进一步探究了曼若琳形象的塑造，在小说中他的感情经历了三个不同的阶段：静止期、微妙波动期和爆发期，每一个时期都令人影响颇深。第五章则从作者的角度阐述了小男孩在作品中不可或缺的地位及存在的必要性，小男孩这一人物形象是海明威写作风格的延续,包括叙事方式，冰山原理和客观超然的观点。最后一章为结论，主要对曼若琳这一艺术形象进行总结。
关键词：曼若琳；硬汉形象；对照；节奏；感情；写作风格
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Function of Manolin in Presenting the Theme 3
2.1 Indirect Expression of Santiago’s Grace under Pressure 3
2.2 Reflection of Santiago’s Humanity 5
2.3 Necessary Compliment of “Tough Guy Image” 7
2.4 Continuance of “Tough Guy Image” 8
Chapter 3 Function of Manolin in Constructing the Structure 10
3.1 Perfect Anaphora 10
3.2 The Fast and Slow Rhythm 11
3.3 Leaping Interlude 11
Chapter 4 Artistic Effect of Manolin 13
4.1 The Little Boy’s Sympathy in the Static Stage 13
4.2 The Little Boy’s Respect and Worry in the Subtle, Fluctuating Stage 13
4.3 The Little Boy’s Affirmation in the Outbreak Stage 14
Chapter 5 Contributions to Hemingway’s Writing Style 15
5.1 Reflection of Hemingway’s Narrative Style 15
5.2 Reflection of Hemingway’s Iceberg Principle 15
5.3 Reflection of Hemingway’s Objective, Detached Point of View 16
Chapter 6 Conclusion 17
Notes 19
Bibliography 20
Acknowledgements 21
