Men have always been favored within societies and in order to maintain their position they generally display masculinity in the form of machismo, to assert such power. In a 1950's Columbian town, a man named Santiago Nasar is slaughtered in order to preserve the Vicario's family's honor. Angela Vicario, returned newly wed, denunciates who is responsible for her lost virginity and dishonorable return. She pronounces Santiago Nasar as her perpetrator, therefore being the cause of his gruesome termination. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez, the author illustrates machismo by emphasizing the actions and behaviors of the men to oppress the women, in order to conceal the significant impact women held on the fate of Santiago
On his 85th day out to sea, Santiago encounters a marlin who resists his attempts at catching him leading to a two-day feud. Once Santiago makes it to sea he manages to get a strong and huge marlin to fall for his bait. This is reminiscent to another time of his life when he went a prolonged time with bad luck and wasn’t able to capture anything, but when he finally made a catch, it was a giant fish. Instead of the marlin allowing Santiago a quick kill, he fights back and refuses to stop swimming, dragging along Santiago’s skiff with him. In Santiago’s mind, he isn’t that bothered or worried about the fish putting up a fight thinking, “This will kill him… He can’t do this forever” (Hemingway 45).
This is because it contains a variety of raw, utterly human emotions, and usually presents the ‘drive’ for the protagonist to accomplish an unbeatable task. In the Old Man and the Sea, Santiago is driven by his wounded pride to fare out far into sea in order to kill the Marlin. He succumbs to his pride and kills the marlin, and then questions it “You killed him (the marlin) for pride and because you are a fisherman…If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?” .A more humanlike attribute has never been
The battle that The Old Man fights with the marlin, as well as the daunting task of defending the marlin from the countless sharks that follow the skiff, are two points in the novel where Hemingway really conveys the sense of struggling and suffering. This is how Hemingway tries to convey an underlying theme of the constant struggle between man and nature, by depicting the struggle between The Old Man and the Marlin, against all odds. The Old Man considers the fact that capturing the Marlin is such a great task for him since the Marlin is trying just as hard to evade and escape from The Old Man’s reach. Throughout this struggle, The Old Man, who eventually becomes very fatigued, keeps telling himself to push through the pain and bear it like a real man would. He pushes past the faintness and dizziness he experiences, he pushes himself to see beyond the black spots in his weary vision and he pushes past the pain in his hands to catch the Marlin which puts up a great fight against this frail old man.
Santiago acknowledges the marlin strength and power . So he waits for the fish to lose energy and die. Santiago express his commitment to fishing. Only one thing would come out alive, either Santiago or the marlin, maybe neither.
Throughout the text, the author uses structure to bring important sections to attention and to differentiate between the emotions and perspectives Santiago is having. In the passage, the fish is either referred to as “the fish”, or “him”. Depending on which Hemingway uses has an impact on the emotions attached to the fish. When the fish is referred to as he or him, it is almost as though he is a human and that strengthens the bond between Santiago and the fish. Santiago is persevering the fish as someone like him, as more of a brother than a fish in the sea.
The last quote: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." (Hemingway, 75). This is the strongest example of machismo and pride. I firmly believe that this quote foreshadows his eventual defeat and
Santiago is an old fisherman who goes out on a long, epic journey. He faces many challenges, both mentally and physically. On his journey he talks about many things, including the sea turtles; which he admires very much. At the beginning of his journey, Santiago is optimistic and has good mental and physical health. At the end of his journey, however he is beaten down both mentally and physically.
It is as if a ghost or celestial creature is pushing the ship, which intrigues the characters as well as the audience. The utmost memorable visualization is in the eyes of the dead men lying on the ship’s floor. “The cold sweat melted from their limbs, / Nor rot nor reek did they: / The look with which they looked at me / Had never passed away” (253-256). The eyes of the men burn into the back of the Mariner’s mind and dramatically traumatize him, influencing the decisions he later accomplishes. The last example of gothic elements is described by the Pilot on his way to rescue the Mariner.
He opens this poem by describing his story as “true song” about the “days of struggle” and “troublesome times” he suffers. (1-3) The author continuously uses imagery such as the “high streams,” the “tossing of salt waves” (33-35), and feet “bound by cold clasps […]” (8-10) to paint a picture of the seafarer’s harsh conditions during the first half of the work. The narrator explains that he sometimes becomes so lonely that he imagines the calls of the birds to be the voices of fellow sailors. In addition, the narrator differentiates himself from city-dwellers living an easy life by explaining that they cannot understand his pain and unlike them, he does not desire wealth, power or women. In the second half of the work, however, the author stops discussing the seafarer’s sufferings and changes his tone by preaching the benefits of sea exile.