Human Existence as Reflected in Ernest Hemingway''s The Old Man and The Sea

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HUMAN EXISTENCE AS REFLECTED IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

A THESIS

VENANSIUS PANDIANGAN 040705050

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA MEDAN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For every second HE makes for me, I keep my thanks gratefully.

First of all, I would like to thank to my Lord, Jesus Christ, for being my only

Savior. For all tears and smiles, sorrow and happiness during my ages, I thank God,

gratefully.

I would like also to give my gratitude to Dean of Faculty of Letters, Drs.

Syaifuddin, M.A. PhD, the Head of English Department, Dra. Swesana Mardia Lubis,

M. Hum, the Secretary of English Department, Drs. Yulianus Harefa, Med. Tessol

and all of lectures for all guidance during my academic years in English Department.

It is also a high appreciation to my Supervisor, Dra. Martha Pardede, M.A and

my Co-supervisor, Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M. Hum, for all positive advises which

been given to me and for all your valuable time during the thesis writing. Thank you

for everything I learned with.

My deepest thank is highly dedicated for both of my parents; my beloved

father, M. Pandiangan and my wonderful mom, Dra. T. Sinaga for all your love and

affection, good care and sincerity, for all compassion efforts you have been taking for

us. And definitely, my big brothers, Parulian and Paulus, and my cute little sisters,

Leo and Krisna. It is always a pleasure for having family of us. I love you all.

My special thanks is also delivered to all of my friends S  B ^ T; Ando

‘Fabregas’, Herbert ‘Napoleon’, Fajar ‘Kerbo’, Angga ‘Muzek’, Patar ‘Kaydee’,

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he22. For all memories we have passed together, it’s been a wonderful to me for

sharing my time with all of you. My unforgetful thank is also intended to batch ’04

(Damianus, Rudy, Tino, Irman, Irfan, Rosa and Hossa, Siska, Gus, ‘ito’ Erlin, etc),

Class of SaStra (Bernard, Kiky, Elma, Wita), frenz of KMK (Bernadetta, Ika,

Yakobus, Henny, Romauli, Noni, Dewi) and de dayaX’03 (B’Mario, B’Jeff,

B’Memed, B’Joseso, B’Hendra). Thank you for the time we had passed by.

Last but not least, I thank the silence for being my faithful companion of my

life. That’s all.

The writer

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ABSTRACT

Skripsi ini diberi judul “Human Existence as Reflected in Ernest Hemingway’s The

Old Man and the Sea yang menganalisa tentang eksistensi manusia dalam

keberadaannya sebagai individu di dunia. Eksistensi manusia ini dipaparkan melalui tokoh Santiago, seorang pelaut tua, dalam novel The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago merupakan representasi seorang individu dengan karakeristik yang menggambarkan eksistensinya sebagai seorang manusia. Karakteristik tersebut meliputi subjectivity,

conscious being in the world, contingency, anti-materialism, humanity dan faith.

Hal-hal tersebut merupakan gambaran karakteristik manusia yang eksis dan Santiago sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel memiliki karakteristik tersebut. Lebih jauhnya, pemenuhan karakteristik melalui tokoh individu Santiago tersebut merupakan representasi manusia yang eksis secara keseluruhan.

Skripsi ini terdiri dari 5 bab, yaitu Bab Pendahuluan, Landasan Teori, Metode Penelitian, Analisis dan Hasil, serta Kesimpulan dan Saran. Pada bab I akan dijelaskan latar belakang penelitian, pembatasan dan perumusan masalah, tujuan dan manfaat penelitian, tinjauan pustaka serta pendekatan yang dilakukan. Sedangkan pada bab II yang difokuskan adalah dasar-dasar teori eksistensialisme untuk mendukung analisis eksistensi manusia dalam novel The Old Man and the Sea. Bab III merupakan metode penelitian yang dipakai dalam menganalisis novel tersebut, termasuk setiap prosedur yang digunakan. Bab selanjutnya merupakan bab analisis yaitu bagian utama skripsi yang menganalisis eksistensi manusia dalam karya sastra

The Old Man and the Sea oleh Ernest Hemingway. Analisis dilakukan dengan cara

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ABSTRACT

Skripsi ini diberi judul “Human Existence as Reflected in Ernest Hemingway’s The

Old Man and the Sea yang menganalisa tentang eksistensi manusia dalam

keberadaannya sebagai individu di dunia. Eksistensi manusia ini dipaparkan melalui tokoh Santiago, seorang pelaut tua, dalam novel The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago merupakan representasi seorang individu dengan karakeristik yang menggambarkan eksistensinya sebagai seorang manusia. Karakteristik tersebut meliputi subjectivity,

conscious being in the world, contingency, anti-materialism, humanity dan faith.

Hal-hal tersebut merupakan gambaran karakteristik manusia yang eksis dan Santiago sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel memiliki karakteristik tersebut. Lebih jauhnya, pemenuhan karakteristik melalui tokoh individu Santiago tersebut merupakan representasi manusia yang eksis secara keseluruhan.

Skripsi ini terdiri dari 5 bab, yaitu Bab Pendahuluan, Landasan Teori, Metode Penelitian, Analisis dan Hasil, serta Kesimpulan dan Saran. Pada bab I akan dijelaskan latar belakang penelitian, pembatasan dan perumusan masalah, tujuan dan manfaat penelitian, tinjauan pustaka serta pendekatan yang dilakukan. Sedangkan pada bab II yang difokuskan adalah dasar-dasar teori eksistensialisme untuk mendukung analisis eksistensi manusia dalam novel The Old Man and the Sea. Bab III merupakan metode penelitian yang dipakai dalam menganalisis novel tersebut, termasuk setiap prosedur yang digunakan. Bab selanjutnya merupakan bab analisis yaitu bagian utama skripsi yang menganalisis eksistensi manusia dalam karya sastra

The Old Man and the Sea oleh Ernest Hemingway. Analisis dilakukan dengan cara

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

“But man is not made for defeat’ he said. A man can be destroyed, but not defeated”

(Ernest Miller Hemingway in his novel, The Old Man and the Sea/1966:93)

I.1 BACKGROUND OF ANALYSIS

Literature is the collection of ideas. “Literature is thought of as form of

philosophy, as ‘ideas’ wrapped in form; and it is analyzed to yield a ‘leading

ideas’.” (Wellek/1962:110) It conveys the ideas of author in form of writing and

the ideas contain message for readers. In case of leading ideas, it will survive for

centuries as global universal value.

Greibstein (1968:161) states that ideas in literature become as important as

its form and style of writing. Moreover, the form and writing style of a literature

is particularly determined by its ideas. It means there is no great literature, being

created in low trivial ideas. Literature is a true essential activity. No great literary

work with a low message.

Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea is one of the great

literary works. It also contains ideas which lead us to a message. For sure, it

delivers the message of human existence. This message refers to an understanding

of the real essence of human beings, in aspects of life, such as social and

economics life. Man, by its nature, has the ability to survive in any circumstances.

Man can be destroyed, but can’t be defeated. This term becomes a philosophical

idea which is known as human existence.

Human existence is the fact or state of continued being of human life.

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They are subjectivity, the conscious being in the world, contingency, anti

materialism, humanity and faith. Subjectivity is judgement based on individual

personal impressions and feeling. Realizing the subjectivity, it will take the

human being into the conscious being in the world. Contingency is the effective

experience of human being in actual world. The anti materialism is a doctrine

which refuses the judgement based on materialistic values only. The anti

materialism will be resulted by achieving the human contingency. While,

humanity and faith is the commitment of human being towards the values of life.

These characteristics reflect the human existence.

As Hemingway’s idea about human existence is genuinely uplifting,

Santiago is performed as the main character of the novel. Santiago is the

representation of human being who is faced to the fact of the life which is the fact

of human pursuit of existence. Santiago has the characteristics which represent the

characteristics of human existence. The characteristics of human existence are

fulfilled by Santiago by process of life, not only as fisherman but real man.

Wholly, Santiago becomes an everyman - an archetypal representation of human

being.

The acceptance of Santiago towards the natural order and cycle of life

proves the subjectivity and his conscious being in the world. The enduring of

Santiago in struggling against nature proclaims contingency and its result reveals

the truth of anti materialism. While his success in passing on the values of

humanity and faith to the next generation, Manolin as Santiago’s fishing

companion; proves the success of passing his existence. In short, Santiago fulfills

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human existence. This is the most emphasized message of the novel, which is the

real essence of human existence.

Since there is relationship between the literature and ideas, the writer feels

the importance of making a further analysis about human existence. The Old Man

and the Sea provides a great inspiring message which reveals the existence of

human being. Fundamentally, this becomes the main reason of choosing this

thesis as entitled; Human Existence as Reflected in Ernest Hemingway‘s The Old

Man and the Sea.

1.2 SCOPE OF ANALYSIS

There are a lot of discussions in applying the human existence. Escaping

an ambiguous analysis, it is important to make a clear limitation about human

existence. The focus of analysis will be limited to the characteristics of human

existence in Santiago’s life. The characteristics are his subjectivity, conscious

being in the world, contingency, anti materialism, humanity and faith. The

analysis will prove Santiago’s existence, which reflects the human existence.

I.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Santiago is the main character of the novel. He has characteristics of

human existence. The characteristics are subjectivity, conscious being in the

world, contingency, anti materialism, humanity and faith. Santiago fulfills all of

these qualities. Santiago’s proclaim of existence is the representation of human

existence.

The analysis of the thesis will be conducted by explaining the problem

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1. How does the subjectivity of Santiago makes him unique from society show

human existence?

2. How does the conscious of Santiago in the world makes him alienated declare

human existence?

3. How does the contingency of old man Santiago in struggling and enduring

against nature reflect human existence?

4. How does the sense of anti materialism of Santiago among society clarify

human existence?

5. How does the success of Santiago in transferring values of humanity to

Manolin indicate human existence?

6. How does the success of Santiago in transferring values of faith to Manolin

relate to human existence?

I.4 OBJECTIVE OF ANALYSIS

The analysis is intended to answer the problem of the thesis. They are:

1.To explain the subjectivity of Santiago which shows human existence.

2.To describe the conscious of Santiago among society which declares human

existence.

3.To prove the contingency of Santiago in struggling and enduring against nature

which reflects human existence.

4.To find out Santiago’s anti materialism as result of struggling and enduring

against nature which clarifies human existence.

5.To indicate the success of Santiago in transferring the values of humanity to

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6.To relate the success of Santiago in transferring the values of faith to Manolin

as the success of human existence.

I.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF ANALYSIS

There are significances in accomplishing this thesis. The first is

theoretical. This thesis is expected to enrich the study about literature, especially

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. It is expected to be a source of

information in understanding literature in field of knowledge

. The second is practical. This thesis is expected to make the readers

comprehend in understanding the literature as inspiring ideas. Hopefully, by

analyzing this novel, it will be a substantive knowledge for readers in applying the

message of this literature, which is the message of human existence. And it is

genuinely expected; as stepping stone for readers in discussing a further analysis

about human existence.

I.6 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are a lot of discussions on Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and

the Sea, since it is regarded as an exist literature. Some of them are notes and

commentaries. One of the commentaries is made by Muzairi (2002) on his book:

Eksistensialisme Jean Paul Sartre. Another is made by Carey Gary (1973) on his

book: The Old Man and the Sea Notes: Critical Commentaries.

Muzairi states that there are several characteristics of human existence

which are subjectivity, the conscious being in the world, contingency, anti

materialism, humanity and faith. These characteristics represent the characteristics

of human being, who stand in existence. The proclaim of these characteristics

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While Carey Gary notes that human existence is resulted by the process.

By a long hard suffering process, Santiago wins his grandeur skeleton of fish and

declares his existence among society.

Santiago, the old fisherman, though old, still dares to try, persists in doing the very best he can- and succeeds only to lose. He loses the battle with the sharks and his prize fish, Marlin, but he wins a victory for himself because he knows that he had fought well and that he has the courage to try again. (Gary/1973:10)

According to Carey, Santiago is behaving perfectly while catching and

losing his great fish. Santiago expresses most effectively Hemingway’s belief that

what counts most in human existence is dignity and courage with which the

individual conducts him in the process of life in the world.

In addition, the writer also reviews former thesis researches in which

relate to the study of human existence. The researches are made by Wenina

(2005) in her thesis: Existentialism in Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King and

Lidia Dumaria’s thesis (2005): A Comparative Analysis of Theme between Ernest

Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Motinggo Boesje’s Tidak Menyerah.

Both of these theses are discussing the application of human existence in literary

work.

I.7 THEORETICAL APPROACH

In this thesis, the writer is using the expressive approach. This approach

means that literature is also the expression of author’s ideas about life. It means,

the literature concerns the existence of author as creator. The literature is

expressing ideas of author who is composing the sophisticated thought and feeling

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In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, it represents the idea of

author as creator. Furthermore, it also reveals the perspective of Hemingway in

viewing life. Hemingway expresses his idea about human existence by performing

Santiago as the main character of the novel. The way of Hemingway’s expressing

ideas is the representation of his perspective about life which is formulated by a

complex thinking, experiences and his belief in life. All of these are creating the

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

II.1 LITERATURE

Literature is one of the greatest creative and universal means of

communicating the emotional, spiritual or intellectual concerns of mankind.

Taylor (1981:1). states in his book, Understanding the Elements of Literature that

Literature is essentially an imaginative act, which is an act of the writer’s

imagination in selection ordering and interpreting life experience. So, it means

that literature also presents the real life. Literature provides a portrayal of human

life in writing form, which reflects the human actual experiences and contains

philosophical and moral concerns.

Literature can be classified into 3 general divisions. They are poetry, prose

and drama. Prose has 2 categories, they are fiction prose and non fiction prose.

Fiction prose includes myths, parables, romances, short stories and novels. Taylor

(1981:46) states that novel, the most widely form of literature, might be defined as

a fiction prose of book length which characters and actions are presented in a plot

as if representing persons and events in real life. He says:

A novel is a great art, touching the life of everyone, every where and using not only description but also dialogue that make it more dramatic. It is the form in literature, which has explored more fully the life of ordinary man and found it worthy of portrayal.

The present of novel is performed in further details, rather than other

forms of literature such as poetry or play. It also provides additional information

of the story; its nature of time, place, or events. The combinations of these details

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writing. Peck and Martin Coyle (1984:103) in their book, Literary Terms and

Criticism state this:

“Novels, however, are long works with a great amount of detail in every page. They thus present all the complicating facts that need to be taken into account before we can reach any sort judgment. The effect of this detail is that we can to recognize the complex reality of a character on event in the story.”

II.1.1 LITERATURE AND IDEAS

The concept of literature was developing into specific term. It is not aimed

for entertaining purposes only but also concerning the matter of physiological,

social, historical and idea of human beings. The concern of these elements brings

literary study to be a scientific knowledge or learning. According to Welleck

(1962:15), there is a slight difference between literature and literary study.

We must first make a distinction between literature and literary study. The two are distinct activities: one is creative, an art; the other, if not precisely a science, is a species of knowledge or of learning.

Every literary work contains ideas. Ideas represent the thought of author.

And it is conveyed to readers as message. After analyzing the ideas of literature,

it will deliver readers a message, or known as leading ideas. This message is

commonly recognized as philosophy which conveys the essence of literature.

Wellek (1962:110).states that, “Literature is thought of as form of philosophy, as

‘ideas’ wrapped in form; and it is analyzed to yield a ‘leading ideas’.” This

statement is also supported by Grebstein (1968:161) who states that a great

literature is not only the matter of writing form or style but it is determined by the

ideas. Great literatures appear because they have to. No great literary work with a

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Literature and Ideas

The Old Man and the Sea also provides ideas to the readers. The ideas

represent the thought of Ernest Hemingway about life. The ideas of literature will

be analyzed to achieve message, and in case of leading ideas it will survive as

global universal value.

It is quite interesting that Hemingway used literature to convey his idea of

life. The way of Hemingway in viewing life is formulated into a great novel. The

Old Man and the Sea contains Hemingway’s ideas about life; hopes, ideal dream,

responsibility, freedom, struggle, and human belief. By performing Santiago as

the main character, Hemingway shows the characteristics of human being who

stands in existence. The characteristics are subjectivity, the conscious being in the

world, contingency, anti materialism, humanity and faith. Santiago’s fulfillment

of these characteristics is the representation of human existence. This becomes the

philosophical idea of this literary work which is Human Existence.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA HEMINGWAY’S IDEAS _{ABOUT LIFE}

1. SUBJECTIVITY 2. CONSCIOUS BEING 3. CONTINGENCY 4. ANTIMATERIALISM 5. HUMANITY

6. FAITH

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II.2 A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT HUMAN EXISTENCE II.2.1 DEFINITION

Existence comes from ‘exist’ or ‘to exist’. It means the state of being….

In French, it comes from “existo” which are ‘ex’ and ‘sisto’. It means ‘to stand’.

So, human existence is state or fact of being real of human life.

The study of human existence is discussed by existentialism.

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the

individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence

as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the

consequence of one’s acts. This doctrine formulates human existence into field of

study.” As it will be a holistic idea, the existentialist formulates the idea of

human existence into concepts. Here are some of them:

Jean Paul Sartre in the book, in a book, A Preface to Philosophy, states:

Existentialism is a general orientation in philosophy with no set common principle. Among the theme stressed are the following: the importance of personal existence rather than abstract theorizing; the encounter with freedom and necessity of choosing; the denial of any fixed human nature and of universal moral codes; the desirability of authentic lifestyle; the encounter with death and meaningless (Woodhouse/1975:154)

Descartes formulates the human existence into well-known concept:

“Cogito Ergo Sum” which means I think, therefore I exist..

The fundamental truth of existentialism is in Descartes formula “I think, therefore I exist” (Harmon/ 2000:203)

For Kierkegaard, the concept human existence refers to personal existence.

It is exist for every person and existence depends on the quality of man. Wenina

(2005:14), in her thesis, quotes the perspective of Kierkegaard. It can be seen

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“…the term existence was reserved for individual human being. To exist, he said, implies being a certain kind of individual, an individual who strives, who considers alternatives, who chooses, who decides and who above all commits himself….existence must refer to a quality in the individual, namely his conscious participation in an act…Truth, said Kierkegaard, is subjectivity”

We can also see the concepts of human existence from several

existentialists. Solomon (1987:283), in his book, From Hegel to Existentialism,

states that:

“…Existentialism is not a simply philosophy or philosophical revolt. Existentialist philosophy is the explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude – a spirit of “the present age”. It is a philosophical realization of self consciousness living in a “broken world” (Marcel), an “ambiguous world” (de Beauvoir), a “dislocated world” (Merleau-Ponty), a world into which we are “thrown” and “condemned” yet “abandoned” and “free”

(Heidegger and Sartre), a world which appears to be indifferent or

even “absurd” (Camus).”

From the brief quotations above, it is clear that existentialism as the study

of human existence has varied vast concepts. These concepts were formulated into

the idea of human existence. In order to make a comprehend analysis; the writer

decides to use the characteristics of human existence as the scope of analysis.

II.2.2 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

Since there are a lot of discussions about human existence, it is important

to make a clear limitation about it. The writer takes a certain theory, being made

by Muzairi (2002) in his book, Eksistensialime Jean Paul Sartre, who formulates

the concept of human existence into several characteristics. The characteristics of

human existence are subjectivity, conscious being in the world, contingency, anti

materialism, humanity, and faith. The Muzairi’s formulated theory is supported by

the ideas of former existentialists and the writer tries to apply this theory to The

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The result is hopefully expected to reveals Hemingway’s ideas which show the

Human Existence.

Here are the characteristics of human existence: 1. Subjectivity

Subjectivity is judgment based on individual personal impressions and

feelings and opinion rather than external facts.

The definition of subjectivity leads us to an understanding that human

existence is emphasized individually as a personal existence. Muzairi (2002:46)

says that: “Human existence is always particular and individual- always- my

existence, your existence, his existence” Subjectivity is the representation of

personal existence and it becomes one of the characteristics of human existence. It

exists for every person and always depends on the individual quality of a man.

To give a further understanding about subjectivity, we can see the concept

of human existence “Existence precedes Essence”. The understanding of

subjectivity is similar to this concept. Sartre formulates this concept from Essay

Existence precedes Essence. Wenina (2005:11), in her thesis, quotes Sartre

conception:

“…There is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exist before he can be defined by any concept…. What is meant here by saying that existence precedes

essence? It means that, the first of all, man exist, turns up,

appears on scene, and only afterwards define himself… . Man is nothing else but what he makes himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity…”

Sartre emphasizes the subjectivity as first principle of existentialism.

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existence. The first move of human existence is to exist first. How? By having

own subjectivity. That is called Existence precedes Essence.

We also can see the concept of ‘Existence precedes Essence’ from the

example of manufacturing item: a paper cutter. A paper cutter is an object that has

been created by someone who gets inspiration and makes it into reality. Sartre

(2002:43) states that:

The artist knows what a paper cutter is and what it is used for. So, that he knows recently a paper cutter has to be produced in a certain way, because it has specific use. Thus the presence of a paper cutter in front of us is determined. It has a technical view in its definite process.

The existentialists claim that we can not explain the nature of man in the

same way we explain manufacture. The reason is the whole process of

manufacture (eq. a paper cutter) states Essence precedes Existence, which

differentiates a man from object. But an object can not exist as man does, who

exist, emerge in the world and define himself. It is caused by the characteristic of

man’s conscious being in the world while an object dispossesses it. Conscious

being in the world will be further explained in next characteristic.

It is always interesting to discuss the concept of subjectivity from

Kierkegaard perspective. As Kierkegaard says: ‘Truth is subjectivity’, it becomes

a concerning question whether human existence is also a subjective truth? Does

human existence become a neither subjective, nor objective truth? We can see this

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Solomon (1987:72) in his book, From Hegel to Existentialism

states this:

Indeed, the whole Kierkegaard career might be partially construed as an attack on the notion of “objective truth” – truth that is common, true for anyone and everyone. Kierkegaard had little regard for such a promiscuous theory of truth, and he came to have contempt for much that was defended under the banner of objectivity and rationality, philosophy and theology in particular. He would make no such claims for his own philosophy. It was enough that his truths were true for him—and for an undetermined legion of individual reader.

Karl and Leo Hamalian (1987:17) also concern this term in his book,

Existential Imagination as follow:

Existentialism frequently becomes trapped by its own virtues: for if everyone is motivated ethically by his own subjectivity, then there is not only chaos, but potential immorality.

From the quotations above, it is clear that the concept of Kierkegaard’s

subjectivity emphasizes the individual truth. For him, subjectivity is the matter of

personal existence. It can be seen from his famous thesis, Concluding Unscientific

Postcript: “Truth is subjectivity doesn’t refer to any theory of knowledge, but to a

person’s mode existence. (Muzairi/2002:36). Human existence is truth and Truth

is Subjectivity. Answering the claim of subjective truth, Kierkegaard in Salomon

(1987:74) shows the subjective truth is true; even what is believed is objectively

false.

When the question of truth is raised in an objective manner, reflection is directed objectively to the truth as an object to which the knower is related. Reflection is not focused on the relationship, however, but upon the question whether the truth to which knower is related. If only the object to which is related is truth, the subject is accounted to be in the truth…..

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Furthermore, Kierkegaard shows the human existence is not only the

matter of subjective or objective. Although he emphasizes the personal existence

as first act, it doesn’t mean that everything works subjectively, being

consequently as potential chaos and immorality. That’s why; Kierkegaard also

states the importance of individual quality of a man. The quality of a man is

determined by an individual who strives, who consider alternatives, who chooses,

who decides and who above all commits himself. These are making the human

existence.

“…the term existence was reserved for individual human being. To exist, he said, implies being a certain kind of individual, an individual who strives, who considers alternatives, who chooses, who decides and who above all commits himself….existence must refer to a quality in the individual, namely his conscious participation in an act…Truth, said Kierkegaard, is subjectivity” (Wenina/2005:14)

So, it is clear that subjectivity as one of the characteristics of human

existence has a clear concept. The concept states that subjectivity is the first

principle of human existence, as ‘Existence precedes Essence’ (Sartre) and

subjectivity is always individual. It exists for every person and depends on

individual quality (Kierkegaard).

2. Conscious Being in the World

Conscious being in the world is the state of being able to use senses and

mental power to understand what is happening in the world.

Realizing the subjectivity, it will take human being into the conscious

being in the world. The conscious being in the world means realizing the

uniqueness of every individual being. Muzairi (2002:46) says that:

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“An individual is unique, not an object or general…Because of his / her uniqueness, human beings are – individual who exists in a conscious being in the world--”

It is such a dilemma for human being in understanding his/her existence.

Since realizing the subjectivity and knowing that every individual being is unique

and exist, it doesn’t enough to realize this uniqueness, only. It needs responsibility

to respond this uniqueness in stepping for the human existence. This

responsibility is a compulsory for the state of conscious being in the world as

Sartre says: “I am thus responsible for my self and for all men…”

(Muziri/2002:211). Human being must have consciousness as the responsibility

towards his / her existence. The conscious being in the world becomes a moving

factor in proving human existence. It states human responsibility and

responsibility motivates individual to prove the human existence.

“…that self consciousness is neither a subject aware nor an awareness of an object (the self) so much as it is a motivation, an attitude that illuminates the world as well as the individual in the world” (Solomon/1987:243)

The conscious being in the world contains the sense of responsibility and

the power of motivation to prove human existence. But, as dilemma above, self

consciousness also encounters rejection from outer world. The rejection comes

from dissimilarity of every individual conscious being in the world, as well as the

fact of personal existence (subjectivity).

This rejection brings the conscious being in the world into an alienated

individual. The person who realizes his / her self-consciousness (of being exist) is

dealt with a self alienation. The sense of alienation can be viewed from the

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“The existential attitude is first of all an attitude of self consciousness. What is self consciousness? According to some recent existentialist, there is no self as such. And what is consciousness? “It is nothing” Sartre tells us, “To be conscious is to be embarrassed, to be ill at ease”. One feels himself separated from the world, from other people. In isolation, one feels threatened, insignificant, meaningless, and in responsible demands significant through a bloated view of self. (Solomon/1987:242)

From explanations above, it is clear that conscious being in the world is

realizing the subjectivity of human being as a personal existence. This

consciousness attitude needs responsibility to prove the human existence.

3. Contingency

Contingency is the effective experience of human being in actual world.

Human existence is resulted by effective experience in the world. Human beings

declare the existence by fulfilling the contingency. It means that human existence

is always a process and it is the process of being a real man in actual world.

Muzairi states that:

“Bahwa keberadaan manusia itu bukan observasi, akan tetapi kontingensi; yakni pengalaman efektif dalam hubungannya dengan dunia” (Muzairi/2002:47)

“Indeed, the existence of human being is not an observation but contingency; which is the effective experience in the world”.

“Jadi eksitensialisme betul betul mengungkapkan manusia utuh sebagai eksistensi—eksitensi yang mendahului essensi—sebab eksitensi manusia itu bukanlah selesai mantap, akan tetapi sebaliknya, terus mengada” (Muzairi/2002:42)

“Thus, existentialism is definitely trying to reveal whole human as existence—existence precedes essence—because human existence is not stable finish but on the contrary, always exist”

In applying human existence, it is not only the matter of concept. It is not

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should be applied in reality and it is a must. Human existence is always requiring

the actual experience of real life in the world.

Jean Paul Sartre concerns the contingency as he states: “When

existentialist talk of existence, they are talking of human existence. Human

existence is actual not conceptual” (Muzairi/2002:42) He also states the

everlasting process of human existence as he states: “I am condemned to exist

forever beyond my essence, beyond the causes and motives of my act”

(Muzairi/2002:30)

Furthermore, the importance of contingency as representation of action in

actual world is highly appreciated by Sartre. He emphasizes it for multiple times:

“Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. Man defines himself by his act…He is nothing else but the sum of his

actions, nothing else but what his life is” (Muzairi/2002:182-183).

So, it is clear that human existence is really determined by human contingency.

Contingency means the real actions of human beings in actual world.

4. Anti-Materialism

Anti-Materialism is the doctrine which refuses the judgment based on

materialistic values, only.

This doctrine contradicts the essence of human being against materialism

value. Materialism regards human being as the result of materialistic process, that

body, soul, passion and life of man represent the material. While anti materialism

regards the existence of human being is quite considerable. It is something called

existence beyond the material itself.

J.O. de la Mettrie (1709-1775) in his book “L’ Homne Machine”

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equaled with the function of a machine. Anti materialism denies this perspective

that human being can not be equaled with the object or thing. We can’t compare

the existence of human being to the existence of an object because man’s

existence precedes essence while an object doesn’t. This becomes the source of

anti materialism.

5. Humanity

Humanity is the value that affirms the dignity and worth of all people,

based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human

qualities.

Humanity is dealing with condition of human being in the life. It concerns

the values of lives which determine the existence of human being in the world.

When the term of humanity being related with individual being, it will discover

the fact of human existence, which is can be understood by fully accepting the

human condition.

Only human beings are known to ask themselves questions relating to the purpose of life beyond the base need for survival, or the nature of existence beyond that which is What is the here? Where will I go when I die? The human struggle to find answers to these questions — and the very fact that we can conceive them and ask them — is what defines the human condition in this sense of the term.(Wikipedia/Humanity)

The concept of humanity always emphasizes the dignity of man as a man. It means that there is sense of recognition of equality of all people. This recognition proves the characteristic of human existence which admits the truth of every individual being as a personal existence. Humanity is a sense of recognition of all human beings, respectfuly.

In accordance with human recognition, humanity is also delivers care for

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in life. This feeling can be seen from affection towards all human being and it is

clear that humanity is needed to declare the human existence.

6. Faith

Faith is a

The conception of faith becomes a debating problem of existentialism.

This debate brings the study of human existence into 2 sides, religious

existentialists and non religious (atheist) existentialists. The concept of faith is

defined by the question of God’s existence and the answer of the question

separates these sides, contradictory.

Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of trusting belief in a said being's role in the order of transcendent, spiritual things.(Wikipedia/Faith)

a. Religious existentialists

The religious existentialists believe God as the source of all existence.

Faith becomes the representation of God existence and it is manifested into

religions. The study of former existentialism can’t be separated from the

Christianity which affected most of existentialists. Some of them are Gabriel

Marcel (Roman Catholic), Nicolai Berdyaev (Orthodox) and Martin Buber (Jew).

According to them, faith is the commitment towards God, as the source of values

and it is represented in religion.

Personalisasi agama sebagai suatu keyakinan; bahwa tidak ada kekuasaan argument rasionil yang dapat mengambil tempat dari

commitment atau “ultimate concern” sebagai syarat memahami

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The personalization of religion as a faith; that there is no rational argument dominance which able to replace the commitment or

“ultimate concern” as the first rule in understanding the religion.

b. Non religious or atheist existentialists

The non religious existentialist rejects the perspective above, that their

belief is the existence of human being only. Some of them are Jean Paul Sartre,

Heidegger, Camus, and Maurice M. Ponty. According to them, man is dealing

with himself in an absolute freedom, planning his own future and creating his own

values. Sartre, in his book Being and Nothingness, states that:

“Aku ini dihukum bebas, maka Aku bebas….Hanya tinggal pilih, manusia yang bebas atau mengakui Tuhan sebagai sumber nilai…manusia tidak bisa menjadi budak dan pada saat yang sama bebas, dia bebas selamanya atau tidak bebas sama sekali” (Muzairi/2002:83)

“I am condemned to be free, then I am free (Je suis condamne a etre libre)...It is only to choose, a free man or admit God as the source of values….man can’t be a slave while simultaneously he is free, he is free forever or not at all”

This is the conception of faith. It reveals the different view of

human being in dealing with existence. It is clear that human being lives

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

Conducting the analysis, the writer is performing the descriptive

qualitative method. The method is applied by describing the data and analyzing

them, related to the focus of analysis.

Descriptive research concerned with the condition for relationship that exist opinion that are held, processes that are going on, effect that are evident or tread’s that are developing. (Best/1997:166)

There are several steps in applying this method. The first step is collecting

the books which relate to the human existence. The second step is reading the

collected books, including journals, notes and relevant sources to the thesis. The

Old Man and the Sea novel is treated as primary source. The third step is marking

the text related to the idea of human existence and its characteristics as the main

data of analysis. The next step is quoting the data and describing them into the

analysis. The analysis will be performed by explaining the characteristic of human

existence as reflected in Santiago’s character in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old

Man and the Sea. According to Muzairi (2002), there are several characteristics of

human existence which are subjectivity, the conscious being in the world,

contingency, anti materialism, humanity and faith. Santiago, as main character of

novel, has all of these qualities. So, the analysis will be conducted by explaining

the characteristics of Santiago which represents the characteristics of human

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III.1 SOURCE OF DATA

There are several books used as source of data. The books are including

journals, notes, and commentaries related to the analysis. These source’s books

are classified into 2 categories, which are primary data and secondary data. Here

they are:

III.1.1 Primary Data

There are 2 books used as the primary data. The books are Ernest

Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1966) novel and Drs. H. Muzairi, MA’s

Eksitensialisme Jean Paul Sartre (2002). These books contain the main data

analysis sources, including theory of human existence, the characteristics of

human existence and its application on literature.

The characteristics of human existence will be treated as the main theory

and the application of the theory will be conducted to the analysis of The Old Man

and the Sea novel. The characteristics of human existence are subjectivity, the

conscious being in the world, contingency, anti materialism, humanity and faith.

The analysis of The Old Man and the Sea is conducted by describing Santiago’s

character which fulfills these characteristics. Santiago’s fulfillment of

characteristics is the representation of human existence.

III.1.2 Secondary Data

In order to support primary data, the writer uses several addition books as

the secondary data. The books are journals, notes or commentaries related to the

analysis. Some of them are Solomon’s From Hegel to Existentialism (1987), Jean

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and the Sea’s Cliff Notes (1973) and commentaries from several existentialists

such as Kierkegaard, Sartre or Descartes.

These books are used to support Muzairi’s formulated theory about the

characteristics of human existence and complete the analysis of human existence

as reflected in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. An internet

explorer source is also conducted as the supplement data for the analysis. All of

these are intended to fulfill a reliable source of data and achieve a precise

analysis.

“I have always held that any method which could produce the meaning of a work of literature was a legitimate method… I came to the conclusion that …the critic’s task was …to procure a viable meaning appropriate to the critic’s time and place. Practically, this meant employing not any one method in interpreting a work of art but every method which might prove efficient. (Guerin/1987:21)

III.2 DATA COLLECTING PROCEDURE

The beginning of thesis procedures is to collect the books related to the

title of thesis. The focus of analysis is about human existence as reflected in

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. The books are collected from

several sources such as library, book store and internet.

The books which are collected contain vast information about analysis.

Thus the writer tries to select the relevant books to the analysis only, which is the

study of human existence. These selected books are separated into primary and

secondary books as explained above. The duration of data collecting process is

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III.3 DATA IDENTIFYING PROCEDURE

After deciding the relevant books as the reliable sources, the writer does

data identifying procedure. The procedure is done by reading the selected books;

primary and secondary, then marking the texts related to the thesis, Human

Existence as reflected in The Old Man and the Sea.

The selected marking text becomes the main data of analysis. Afterward,

the texts become the analysis of the thesis by describing them and analyzing the

data. All of analysis data refers to the characteristics of human existence which

are subjectivity, conscious being in the world, contingency, anti materialism,

humanity and faith. The explanation of these characteristics will be the analysis of

the thesis. The duration of data identifying procedure is about 4 weeks, from June

to July 2008.

III.4 DATA ANALYZING PROCEDURE

This procedure is the process of describing the data and analyzing them

into the thesis’s analysis. The data are including the characteristics of human and

The Old Man and the Sea’s selected texts. These characteristics are described by

explaining Santiago’s characteristics which represents the human existence. The

characteristics are subjectivity, conscious being in the world, contingency, anti

materialism, humanity and faith. Here are the sums of the analysis:

Ex:

1. Subjectivity

Subjectivity is always individual and it emphasizes the personal existence

of human being. In accordance to the human nature, subjectivity always

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The Old Man and the Sea also provides the elements of subjectivity as

reflected in Santiago’s character. We can see the uniqueness of Santiago, not only

as a man in a vast world, but also as a true fisherman.

The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and

undefeated. (Hemingway/1966:1)

The beginning of novel shows the uniqueness of Santiago as a man.

Hemingway introduces the main character, Santiago as a unique man. Santiago is

described as an old man with cheerful and undefeated eyes. From Santiago’s

physical descriptions, it is a clear that Hemingway tries to introduce a strong

character to the readers. He introduces Santiago, who is old but still cheerful and

undefeated. This description shows the uniqueness of Santiago’s character as a

strong man, although he is old now. Carey Gary, in his Critical Commentaries,

states this:

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2. Conscious Being in the World

Hemingway also shows the conscious being in the world by describing an

‘alienated’ Santiago. Santiago is alienated by the society because he is old now.

The society of local fishermen regard him as a ‘salao’ or ‘very unlucky’ or even

‘useless’. Santiago is being regarded as a useless because he is too old now and

can’t make money by catching fish any more. This is the value of society in which

Hemingway tries to discover that Santiago is temporary regarded as useless

because he is old and unproductive any more.

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally ‘salao’, which is the worst form of unlucky…. They sat on the Terrace and many of the fishermen made fun of the old man and he was not angry. (Hemingway/1966:5-7)

Exactly, Hemingway tries to criticize the value of materialistic society. It

is quite surprise that Hemingway attack the materialism by using the defeat of

Santiago against shark but Santiago wins his ‘great skeleton’ of Marlin, the fish.

Societies of local fishermen regard fishing as the way of making money. Fish

symbolizes money and man is nothing without it. But here, Hemingway reverses

this materialistic value by only using ‘skeleton’ not ‘fish’ to show his perspective

about being a man. It means that everyone can prove existence, not only by using

money (as symbolized by the fish) but only a ‘skeleton’ that symbolizes the

process of getting our existence.

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he has no money; otherwise he is not a man……Santiago and Manolin are men because of their codes of honor. Each of them is an idealist for whom fishing is more than an occupation. For them, fishing is not merely way making money: it is a way of life. (Carey/1973:12)

Above are some examples of doing the data analyzing procedures. It

becomes the main research process of this thesis. For further, the research method

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Human existence has several characteristics. The characteristics are

subjectivity, conscious being in the world, contingency, anti-materialism,

humanity, and faith. These characteristics are fulfilled by Santiago, as the main

character of the novel. The analysis of the novel will be conducted by describing

Santiago’s characteristics which represent the characteristics of human existence.

Santiago’s proclamation of existence is the representation of human existence.

The result of analysis will reveal the perspective of Hemingway in viewing life

and the message about Human Existence as reflected in his novel, The Old Man

and the Sea.

IV.1 ANALYSIS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE IN THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

The analysis of the novel will be conducted by describing Santiago’s

characteristics which represent the characteristics of human existence. The

characteristics are:

IV.1.1 SUBJECTIVITY

Subjectivity is always individual and it emphasizes the personal existence

of human being. In accordance to the human nature, subjectivity always

recognizes the uniqueness of every human being.

The Old Man and the Sea also provides the elements of subjectivity as

reflected in Santiago’s character. We can see the uniqueness of Santiago, not only

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The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and

undefeated. (Hemingway/1966:1)

The beginning of novel shows the uniqueness of Santiago as a man. Hemingway

introduces the main character, Santiago as a unique man. Santiago is described as

an old man with cheerful and undefeated eyes. From Santiago’s physical

descriptions, it is a clear that Hemingway tries to introduce a strong character to

the readers. He introduces Santiago, who is old but still cheerful and undefeated.

This description shows the uniqueness of Santiago’s character as a strong man,

although he is old now. Carey Gary, in his Critical Commentaries, states this:

Note also how Hemingway has created Santiago for us: he is thin, gaunt even; he has deep wrinkles, discolored blotches, and deep creased scars. Hemingway is emphasizing Santiago’s age to show us that he is indeed old and worn; to all appearances, he seems to be a man ready to be written off as a has been. He is old and, too often, societies dismiss the old as useless. (This, indeed, happened in Hemingway’s own situation; the critics, prior to the publication of this novel, unanimously agreed that he was ‘finished’)…..the old man’s physical features have been worn away like the land, and this emphasizes the idea of Santiago’s age and also his character. Like the land, he is old but he survives, despite the erosion. His eyes perhaps the key of his soul; they are blue like the sea, and “undefeated”. (Gary/1973:14)

Furthermore, Hemingway shows the uniqueness of Santiago as a

fisherman. Santiago is described as a unique fisherman. For him, fishing is not

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You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio….You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. (Hemingway/1966:95)

This subjectivity proves the uniqueness of Santiago as a fisherman. His

perspective about fishing shows that he is not only a fisherman in common, but

also a true fisherman.

Hemingway also shows the uniqueness of Santiago as a fisherman by

using Manolin’s compliment towards Santiago. Mandolin praises Santiago as the

greatest fisherman and it declares his uniqueness from other fishermen.

“Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?” “I think they are equal.” “And the best fisherman is you.” “No. I know others better.” “Que Va,” the boy said. “There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you.” “Thank you. You make me happy. I hope no fish will come along so great that he will prove us wrong.” (Hemingway/1966:17)

As the boy and the old man talk of great baseball players, of who the

greatest team manager is, the discussion very naturally turns to who is the greatest

fisherman. The boy says to Santiago that there are many good fishermen and some

great ones, but there “is only you”. It is simple recognition of the old man’s

uniqueness and value.

Subjectivity is also reflecting the dream of a man. It reflects the hopes and

idealism of man. Hemingway describes his idealistic hope by using Santiago’s

dream about lion.

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I could sleep and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left (p:58)….the old man was dreaming about lions. (Hemingway/1966:114)

Hemingway’s idea about human existence contains ideal dream. He tries

to encourage his reader by using the ‘lions’ as the symbol of courage and strength.

The concern of Santiago towards the readers becomes his intention. He tries to

convey the hope of a man in proving existence with a full courage and strength, as

lion is. Lion is the representation of ideal dream of human being which contains

qualities of courage, grace and strength. It can be seen from commentary below:

Conventionally regarded as kings of the animal world, the young lions symbolize (represent) qualities such as courage, strength, grace, dignity—in short, all the qualities of a champion that Santiago holds dear in his own youthful memories and would bequeath to Manolin. (Wikipedia)

The sense of subjectivity also can be recognized by the personal existence

of Santiago. We can see the individual feeling of Santiago in catching fish and

accepting the personal existence of others. This is showing the subjectivity of

Santiago which is always individual and personal.

He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred. But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. (Hemingway/1966:26)

The subjectivity of Santiago in catching fish can be seen from this

quotation. Santiago believes in his own feeling of putting his bait under the sea.

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because he thought ‘I keep them with precision’. Santiago trusts himself and his

own perspective shows his personal existence.

He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats; bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought. (Hemingway/1966:24)

The quotation above also shows the individual feeling of Santiago in

viewing the sea. For him, sea is a feminine creature; a woman or ‘la mar’ who

gives great favors. While the other fisherman regard sea as ‘el mar’ or masculine.

It means that sea is a contestant of a place or even an enemy. These 2 quotations

prove that Santiago has the sense of personal judgment based on individual

feeling rather than external facts. This is called as subjectivity.

Santiago’s concern on his own subjectivity proves his personal existence.

He also regards others’ subjectivity by accepting Manolin parent’s decision

towards his son to stay in a lucky boat. This acceptance shows that Santiago

receive others perspective about personal existence. It also proves that ‘Truth is

subjectivity’ and it depends on every individual feeling.

.” The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, confident loving eyes. “If you were my boy I’d take you out and gamble,” he said. “But you are your father’s and your mother’s and you are in a lucky boat.” (Hemingway/1966:8)

Subjectivity is always individual and personal. Instead of its individual, it

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human being shows the feeling of subjectivity as one of the characteristics of

human being who stands in existence.

The Old Man and the Sea also contains the sense of irrational. It can be

seen from the conversation between Santiago and Manolin which seems to be

irrational. Santiago and Manolin are talking about ‘a pot of yellow rice’ and ‘cash

net’ as if they were real. In fact, they are only a fiction.

What do you have to eat?” the boy asked. “A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?” “No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?” “No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold.” “May I take the cast net?” “Of course.” There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction every day. There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too….?” “I’ll get the cast net and go for sardines. Will you sit in the sun in the doorway?” “Yes. I have yesterday’s paper and I will read the baseball.” The boy did not know whether yesterday’s paper was a fiction too. (Hemingway/1966:11)

Furthermore, Hemingway also emphasizes Santiago’s irrational behavior

on the sea. He shows the irrational Santiago by describing an inanimate

conversation between him and animal, such as fish, bird, or shark.

“If you are not tired, fish’ he said aloud, ‘You must very strange’ (p:59)…….“How do you feel fish; he asked aloud ‘I feel good and my left hand is better and I have food for a night and a day. Pull the boat fish. (Hemingway/1966:65)

In another condition, Santiago’s irrationality can be seen from his

conversation between him and the bird. Santiago is speaking as if the bird is able

to understand him.

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The sense of irrationality is also shown by Santiago when he speaks to the

shark, and soon he realizes that he becomes so irrational but he never remembers

when he had first started to talk alone.

“Albacore,” he said aloud. “He’ll make a beautiful bait. He’ll weigh ten pounds.” He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself…..He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember……“If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy,” he said aloud. “But since I am not crazy, I do not care.” (Hemingway/1966:32)

All of the conversations are illogic and they seem to be ‘absurd’

conversations. The conversations prove the irrationality of Santiago. Hemingway

describes the illogical conversations between Santiago and the fish, or bird or

shark, as if they are human. In glance, Santiago’s behavior makes him judged as a

‘crazy’ person but Santiago emphasizes that he is still a normal, although

sometimes he seems to be irrational.

From all of explanations above, we can know that subjectivity has the

sense in discovering the truth of human existence. It contains the uniqueness of

human being, hopes and dreams, recognition of personal existence and the sense

of irrational individual being. These are the perspective of Hemingway in viewing

subjectivity of man in his pursuit of existence.

IV. 1. 2 CONSCIOUS BEING IN THE WORLD

Realizing the subjectivity, it takes human being into self-consciousness.

Conscious being in the world means the sense of responsibility in dealing with the

world. It shows the awareness of human being towards his/her uniqueness as an

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The Old Man and the Sea reveals the conscious being in the world by

describing Santiago’s responsibility in proving his uniqueness. Santiago realizes

that he must responsible to his own subjectivity, that he is a unique fisherman, in

order to declare his existence in the world. We can see the sense of Santiago’s

responsibility from the quotations below:

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing, he thought. Today I’ll work out where the schools of bonito and albacore are and maybe there will be a big one with them. (Hemingway/1966:24)

Santiago proclaims his responsibility by giving his commitment that he

will work out for the fish. This responsibility also can be seen when he convinces

himself not to think baseball now because he must only think for being a true

fisherman, which he was born for.

Now is no time to think of baseball, he thought. Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for. There might be a big one around that school, he thought (p:33)….Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for. (Hemingway/1966:43)

Santiago also needs to prove his uniqueness of being ‘a strange old man’

as he said to the boy. It can be seen from quotation below:

Although it is unjust, he thought, but I’ll show him what a man can do and what a man endures. ‘ I told the boy that I was a strange old man, he said, ‘ Now is when I must prove it'. (Hemingway/1966:57)

Santiago has the sense of responsibility in doing his work as a true

fisherman. He needs to prove that he is a ‘strange’ old man as he said to the boy.

That’s why he must not think of baseball because he needs to work out in order to

get his Marlin. This shows his consciousness that he is born to be a fisherman.

Human Existence as Reflected in Ernest Hemingway''s The Old Man and The Sea

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS