The Old Man And The Sea
(Ernest Hemingway)
After re-reading what is arguably Hemmingway's simplest story, I've become fixated on one thing; the lions.
Yeah sure, the comparison of the old man with the great Dimaggio is nice since it provides a connection with American culture and it's difficult not to enjoy the conversation the old man shares with the fantastic marlin while he is reeling him in (i respect you but you must die fish). But where do the lions fit in?
First, we know that the old man only sees the lions when he is deep asleep and dreaming of the African coastline. It's important to note that everytime the old man sees the lions, he is at a distance aboard a ship watching them run along the shoreline. He acts as a voyeur on their activities. We can see the old mans placement on the ship as his entrapment with the ocean; he has spent his life devoted to the sea, the one wife that has never died on him or left him high and dry. His reliance on the ocean has turned into a dependency; he can no longer be as free as the lions, choosing between whether or not they want to dip their paws into the surf. He needs La Mar to survive yet the ocean doesn't need him.
Since the old man has just recently begun to dream about the lions, their existence can also be seen as his gateway to death. The story ends with the old man exhausted after his endless battle with the graceful marlin. After the sharks destroyed the beauty of the marlin, the old man was emotionally sunk. He saw himself as that marlin; unwilling to be defeated in battle, strong enough to persist with the hook in his mouth (the old mans hook being his loss of the boy and his humiliation among other fishermen). After losing such an ally as that great fish, all that is left is to accept fate and see the lions awaiting him on the shore.
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