f The Old Man and the Sea was published, it was reprinted in Life magazine. Within two weeks of the Life publication, the novel was placed on the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for a period of several months (Nelson & Jones 159). The overwhelming success of The Old Man and the Sea led to Hemingway being awarded the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 1952, and the Nobel Prize in 1954.
It is evident that the character Santiago is intended to represent heroic qualities. There is a heroic code which runs through Hemingway's best works. According to that code, the hero is never a two-dimensional character, as would be seen in a comic book superhero. Rather, Hemingway's heroes are always realistic figures who must face the difficulties of life and must accept failure along with success. Santiago is heroic because he endures in the face of great hardships. Even before he embarks on his adventure, the other fishermen make fun of him because he is an old man who is no longer able to catch fish as he used to. Despite this ostracizing, Santiago refuses to simply give up his life-long profession. When he is out at sea, Santiago's heroic determination becomes even more clear. Thus, for example, he tells the great marlin that he is willing to fight it to the
death if necessary (Hemingway 52). Later, Santiago tells the sharks that he will fight them to the death as well (Hemingway 115).
Despite his determination, Santiago thinks about what he is doing as he is doing it. He is aware of his place in nature and it occurs to him that killing the marlin might be an unjust act. Nevertheless, he realizes he must kill the marlin anyway. It is his role as a fisherman to do so. Furthermore, the quest for the marlin becomes an important test of the old man's endurance. This is indicated when Santiago is struggling to hold the marlin on the line and claims: "I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures" (Hemi...