14. SANTIAGO AS A TRAGIC CHARACTER OR SANTIAGO AS A CHRIST FIGURE
Q. Discuss Santiago as a Christ figure. ORDiscuss Santiago as a tragic hero. OR Discuss the story as a tragic story. OR The old man appears to be pitiable in the end. Do you agree? ORDiscuss sorrows and sufferings of the old man.
Answer: – A tragedy is the story of sufferings and miseries of a hero. The hero displays great qualities of steadfastness, unflinching courage, patience and perseverance. However, he has some flaw that causes his downfall in the end. Sometimes, luck plays a negative role in his downfall.
The definition of a tragedy clearly shows that the story under discussion is no doubt a tragedy and its hero is a tragic hero. Santiago looks like Christ Crucified. After a long struggle made by Santiago, we are sorry to see him sailing towards his home with nothing else but a skeleton of the fish. We observe that the old man has become totally indifferent to all the fears and sufferings after losing the battle. He becomes a man with shattered thoughts. We are dejected to see him in that position. But the way he fights makes us admire his heroic spirit. Physically he has lost the battle but spiritually he is a champion. At the end of the novel, we see him lying on his bed “with his arms straight out and the palms on his hands up.” It reminds us the story of martyrdom of Jesus Christ. (Words: 193)