Tommy Saketharam 1

Matthew Bishop

English 12

6th December, 2017

Ernest Hemingway’s Objection to Masculine Stereotypes

Ernest Hemingway, a Nobel Prize winner in literature in 1954, is one of the greatest

American novelists in the 20th century. Born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois,

Hemingway was interested in writing when he was young, and wrote newspapers for school.

After graduation, he began his writing profession as a journalist in Kansas City. Also, when

he was 18, Hemingway volunteered to work as an ambulance driver during World War 1 for

the United States in Italy, where he was severely injured (Biography.com Editors, 2017).

Accumulating experiences from these events, Hemingway developed a unique thinking and

ideology, especially regarding gender identity that is clearly uncovered in many novels, one

of which is The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea shows a

life of an old man, Santiago, who fishes for his living, and who is often accompanied by a

young boy, Manolin, to talk about baseball, African lions and life issues. One day, the Old

man sails far out from the Cuban coast alone, desperately hoping to catch fish. Ernest

Hemingway describes Santiago’s actions, thoughts and intentions in a very masculine manner

to highlight Santiago’s strength. However, within the novel, Hemingway also reveals

Santiago’s experience of fears and emotions, which can be seen very obvious during times of

struggles. Therefore, Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea demonstrates the

subversion to stereotypical masculine qualities by showing that despite Santiago’s ability to

overcome struggles, his decisive actions, and his independence, he, too, has emotions.

Firstly, Santiago is unsure of the effectiveness of his skills in catching the marlin and

relies on supernatural powers for his success because he is insecure, thus contrasting with his

aggressive actions. Within the novel, when Santiago is several days out from the mainland of

Cuba, he is catching the big fish. Santiago says ‘“You better be fearless and confident
ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S OBJECTION TO MASCULINE STEREOTYPES 2

yourself”’, as he is catching the big fish. Meanwhile, he reveals his strength by saying ‘“A

pain does not matter to a man”’ (p.84). However, at the same time, he is worried that he

cannot catch it and develops the feeling of insecurity, therefore he does not rely on his skills

anymore but rather on prayers for his success. Santiago says that ‘“I’ll say a hundred Our

Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys’” (p.87). The former quotes demonstrate Santiago’s

aggression and hostility, while the latter quote shows his unreliability. According to the

stereotypes of masculinity, men are aggressive, independent, and emotionless. Within the

novel, we see that Santiago is a physically strong, decisive in his actions and experienced

fisherman. However, we also see that during struggles, he reveals that he is emotional; in this

case, he feels insecure to rely solely on his skills; therefore, he prays to ‘Our Fathers’ and

‘Hail Marys’, hoping they will help him catch the marlin. Thus, Santiago was insecure and

afraid that his skills will not lead him to success, contradicting his own masculine

characteristic that he is unemotional. Moreover, according to Michael Roper (2007)

describing the emotional effects of WW1 on the veteran soldier, “These emotional

experiences disrupted gender expectations and could bring about a personal crisis but could

also encourage new forms of subjectivity. Men who had been on the edge mentally gained a

certain freedom to observe and to re-appraise the Edwardian ideals of the soldier hero. They

developed a reflexive understanding about the performance of masculinity” (p.265). This

quote demonstrates the necessity of emotional response for soldier to an event, which further

supports the claim that masculinity coexists with emotions. In addition, having an emotional

response to an event promotes a better understanding of an ideal soldier. Therefore, not only

is it acceptable for men to have feelings, but emotional response stimulates growth and

reshapes our understanding of the event. From this, it is clear that Hemingway intends to

emphasize that a man being physically strong does not necessarily mean that they are

emotionless.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S OBJECTION TO MASCULINE STEREOTYPES 3

Another way that Hemingway objects masculine stereotypes is showing the

compassion Santiago has towards the marlin he hooked, which represents his guilt in hurting

the marlin. At this point, Santiago is being towed by the marlin. He could not do anything but

wait for the fish to stop and find the right time to catch it. As time passes, Santiago starts to

feel pity for the fish for hurting him because he is such a great fish. For example, Hemingway

says “He began to pity the great fish that he had hooked” (p.48). At this point in the novel,

Santiago thinks “‘He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is”’ (p.48). These

quotes demonstrate Santiago’s empathy and guilt for hurting him. The feeling of guilt he

experiences results from his own action of hurting the marlin. As is expected in the masculine

stereotypes, Santiago hurts the fish and is mentally unaffected. However, we see clearly that

Santiago feels bad for what he did to the marlin, which counters Santiago’s masculine

qualities. Therefore, by expressing that he is compassionate, Santiago feels guilty.

Furthermore, Clinton S. Burhans (1960) states “In the first night of his struggle with the great

fish, the old man begins to feel a loneliness and a sense almost of guilt for the way in which

he has caught him (p.48); and after he has killed the marlin, he feels no pride of

accomplishment, no sense of victory” (p.448). Clearly, Clinton means to say that Santiago

feels guilty for hurting the marlin, thus showing his emotional state. From this, it is clear that

Hemingway establishes the idea that men are not emotionless by mentioning that Santiago

feels guilty for hurting the marlin.

Finally, Hemingway states that men care for others too by referring to marlin in the

story; male marlin follows the female marlin hooked by Santiago. Within this part of the

story, Santiago recalls when he and Manolin went out for fishing together. He hooks one of a

pair of marlin. He gets the female marlin and sees the male marlin swimming beside the boat

throughout. Then, the male marlin jumps to see where his partner is. That is the saddest thing

Santiago ever saw with the marlin. Hemingway says “He remembered the time he had
ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S OBJECTION TO MASCULINE STEREOTYPES 4

hooked one of a pair of marlin… the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat” (p.49).

From this, we see that the male marlin cares for his partner and fear of losing her. Connecting

this situation to gender identity in real life, we can see that Hemingway aims to tell us that

men are not emotionless as we see in masculine stereotypes; men have feelings of

worriedness and fear of loss. According to Schippers (2007), “While there were

characteristics considered masculine and feminine, valued masculine characteristics were not

defined in hierarchical relation or in opposition to femininity. Masculinity consisted of a

strong work ethic, skill, and maturity and was not juxtaposed to inferior and complementary

characteristics valued in women” (p.97). Here, caring for others is a major feature of

femininity. Also, this quote signifies that masculine quality is not defined by what is not

feminine, but rather on skills and ethics. From this context, emotion of caring is not restricted

from masculinity. Thus, valued masculine quality is not defined from involving emotions.

Therefore, Hemingway establishes the sense that men care for others by connecting the

masculine stereotypes to the situation of marlin partners.

Thus, in The Old Man and the Sea, we see that even though Santiago display

aggression, and decisive actions like in masculine stereotypes, he experiences feelings- a

prominent characteristic of femininity. In the story, Hemingway demonstrates the opposition

to stereotypes by referring to Santiago’s insecurity, empathy and a situation of the marlin

partner. Therefore, an obvious subversion against masculine stereotypes created in The Old

Man and the Sea is that merely because men do not possess all characteristics of masculinity

does not mean they are not ideal male. Additionally, expressing emotions to other people is a

step for a person to get through difficult situations in life and is everyone’s right with no

exceptions.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S OBJECTION TO MASCULINE STEREOTYPES 5

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. (2017, April 27). Ernest Hemingway Biography.com. Retrieved from

The Biography.com website: https://www.biography.com/people/ernest-hemingway-

9334498.

Burhan, C. (1960). The Old Man and the Sea: Hemingway’s Tragic Vision of Man. American

Literature, Vol. 31, No. 4, pg. 446-455. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.ejournal.mahidol.ac.th/stable/pdf/2922437.pdf.

Roper, M. (2007). Between the Psyche and the Social: Masculinity, Subjectivity and the First

World War Veteran. Journals of Men’s Studies, Vol. 15 Issue 3, pg. 251-270.

Retrieved from

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ejournal.mahidol.ac.th/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&

sid=b5ee119a-f89c-4af8-b3e2-e6e6e780ac73%40sessionmgr104.

Schippers, M. (2007). Recovering the Feminine Other: Masculinity, femininity, and Gender

Hegemony. Theory and Society, Vol. 36, No. 1, pg. 85-102. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.ejournal.mahidol.ac.th/stable/pdf/4501776.pdf.