The Patriarchal Values Embodied in the Tough Image in The Old Man and the Sea

Abstract

Ernest Miller Hemingway is a representative of America’s “Lost Generation” writers. He has always been known as a tough man in the literary world, and he is a spiritual monument of the American nation. Hemingway’s works marked the formation of his unique creative style, which occupies an important position in the history of American literature and even in the history of world literature. Since its publication, The Old Man and the Sea has attracted extensive research from scholars all over the world. This article selects the patriarchal values embodied in the tough guy image in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea as the object of study. In order to explore the profound connotations of the spirit of the tough guy in Santiago, the author will combine specific novel excerpts and use relevant background of English and American literature to explore the intrinsic relationship between the images of the tough guy patriarchal values. Hemingway created a series of tough guy images in his works, which all reflect Hemingway’s philosophy of life and moral ideals. According to patriarchal values, readers can think about the concept of gender roles and patriarchal society, so as to help us understand Hemingway’s characters better.