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摘要：《老人与海》是美国著名作家，诺贝尔文学奖获得者海明威（1899-1961）的名作。作者以摄像机般的写实手法记录了一位老渔夫捕鱼的全过程，而书中另一位形象-男孩马诺林的出现并非点缀，对他的忽视也会影响我们对《老人与海》的理解与评论。本论文则揭示了男孩的象征主义及其对全书的影响。
关键词：男孩 老人 象征主义
Hemingway has said， “I tried to make a real old man， a real boy， a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things.” Therefore， the boy’s role is not so simple.
Through the symbolism of the boy， the old man’s image will be strengthened； much more characters of the old man are known.
一、Symbol of successor of youth and hope
Santiago is already old， but the boy is young and there is a long way for him to go. The boy has been learning the fishing skills from the old man and the spirit of self-esteem and independence. The old man has less strength， while the boy as his pupil can continue the old man’s great career. To some extent， the little boy is the successor of the old man， all of the old man’s noble qualities and， more important， the lessons he draws from his experience， will be passed on to the boy， which means the fisherman’s life will continue on， in some form， even after his death.
The boy replaces the old man. That is why， when he is asleep， Santiago no longer dreams “of storms， nor of women， nor of great occurrences， nor of great fish， nor fights， nor contests of strength， nor of his wife.”（P17） For the most part， life’s challenges and adventures are no longer his. He never dreams about the boy， because the boy is part of a future Santiago can never know. The boy is an entrusted successor， “Now we fish together again.”… “I still have much to learn.”（P113） The boy is determined to fish with the old man in spite of his parents’ disagreement. The old man is the hero in the boy’s mind. Therefore， the old man’s fishing skills can pass down and the boy can accept the spirit of the old man. Then all the essence of the fisherman can pass down， the society of the human beings can progress generation by generation.
二、Symbol of the old man’s past youth
The boy is one stage of the old man’s life， namely， the boy represents the young Santiago.
“He no longer dreamed of storms， nor of women， nor of great occurrences， nor of great fish， nor fights， nor contests of strength， nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.”（P17）
Freud pointed out， dream can be interpreted as wish-fulfillment. The old man once desired great fish （food）， contests of strength （his honor） and his wife （love and companion）， so he fulfilled his wishes （food， honor and love） by the dreams； but now he only dreams of the young lions. That means in his deep mind， the old man desires for the braveness and encouragement， which the old Santiago once had. And “he loved them as he loved the boy”， to some extent， we can say the boy is the young Santiago. That is why he repeats so many times： “I wish I had the boy.” （P38.41.45） On the surface， Santiago needs the help of the boy when he is not able to deal with the hardship and the challenge； in deep sense， he desires his past youth and strength. The old man depends on “the boy” to have more strength to face the great fish. It turns out that ‘the boy” helped the old man conquer the great fish-marlin and win the hard battle.
Conclusion
The Old Man and the Sea vividly depicts the strong old man Santiago. The boy is presented only in the beginning and at the end of The Old Man and the Sea， but his presence is important， he is the ideal successor of Santiago and symbolizes the young Santiago. He not only offers help to the everyday life of the old man but also provides spiritual support and inspiration.
Notes：
[1]Hemingway， The Old Man and the Sea， Charles Scribner’s Sons ·New York World Publishing Corporation， Beijing， 1989
[2]Time magazine， December 13，1954，P.72
[3]Sigmund Freud. Interpretation of Dreams. Wordsworth Editions Ltd， 1997，P.34
关键词：男孩 老人 象征主义
Hemingway has said， “I tried to make a real old man， a real boy， a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things.” Therefore， the boy’s role is not so simple.
Through the symbolism of the boy， the old man’s image will be strengthened； much more characters of the old man are known.
一、Symbol of successor of youth and hope
Santiago is already old， but the boy is young and there is a long way for him to go. The boy has been learning the fishing skills from the old man and the spirit of self-esteem and independence. The old man has less strength， while the boy as his pupil can continue the old man’s great career. To some extent， the little boy is the successor of the old man， all of the old man’s noble qualities and， more important， the lessons he draws from his experience， will be passed on to the boy， which means the fisherman’s life will continue on， in some form， even after his death.
The boy replaces the old man. That is why， when he is asleep， Santiago no longer dreams “of storms， nor of women， nor of great occurrences， nor of great fish， nor fights， nor contests of strength， nor of his wife.”（P17） For the most part， life’s challenges and adventures are no longer his. He never dreams about the boy， because the boy is part of a future Santiago can never know. The boy is an entrusted successor， “Now we fish together again.”… “I still have much to learn.”（P113） The boy is determined to fish with the old man in spite of his parents’ disagreement. The old man is the hero in the boy’s mind. Therefore， the old man’s fishing skills can pass down and the boy can accept the spirit of the old man. Then all the essence of the fisherman can pass down， the society of the human beings can progress generation by generation.
二、Symbol of the old man’s past youth
The boy is one stage of the old man’s life， namely， the boy represents the young Santiago.
“He no longer dreamed of storms， nor of women， nor of great occurrences， nor of great fish， nor fights， nor contests of strength， nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.”（P17）
Freud pointed out， dream can be interpreted as wish-fulfillment. The old man once desired great fish （food）， contests of strength （his honor） and his wife （love and companion）， so he fulfilled his wishes （food， honor and love） by the dreams； but now he only dreams of the young lions. That means in his deep mind， the old man desires for the braveness and encouragement， which the old Santiago once had. And “he loved them as he loved the boy”， to some extent， we can say the boy is the young Santiago. That is why he repeats so many times： “I wish I had the boy.” （P38.41.45） On the surface， Santiago needs the help of the boy when he is not able to deal with the hardship and the challenge； in deep sense， he desires his past youth and strength. The old man depends on “the boy” to have more strength to face the great fish. It turns out that ‘the boy” helped the old man conquer the great fish-marlin and win the hard battle.
Conclusion
The Old Man and the Sea vividly depicts the strong old man Santiago. The boy is presented only in the beginning and at the end of The Old Man and the Sea， but his presence is important， he is the ideal successor of Santiago and symbolizes the young Santiago. He not only offers help to the everyday life of the old man but also provides spiritual support and inspiration.
Notes：
[1]Hemingway， The Old Man and the Sea， Charles Scribner’s Sons ·New York World Publishing Corporation， Beijing， 1989
[2]Time magazine， December 13，1954，P.72
[3]Sigmund Freud. Interpretation of Dreams. Wordsworth Editions Ltd， 1997，P.34