Autobiographical Element in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

Hemingway, for most of his stories, has borrowed material from his own life. The books are therefore autobiographical in nature. The Old Man and the Sea is based on Hemingway's experience of fishing in the Gulf-Stream. The identification between the author and the code hero Santiago is complete in this novel. The story is an interesting personal allegory. In Santiago's story, Hemingway has fictionalized his artistic goals, its difficulties, its torments and its challenges. Santiago, the old fisherman who sets about his business with care and precision, represents Hemingway. The conquest of the marlin is the victory of Hemingway's creative genius and the sharks are the critics who maul it. The book is a triumph and assertion of Hemingway's own work as a writer in the face of all obstacles and problems.

However, by making use of personal experience, Hemingway gives a universal message that it is not achievement that matters but aspiration. Santiago's message to the world is that while a man may grow old and lose his luck, he can still dare and keep on striving even in the teeth of opposition and thus make his failure a thing to be proud of – a kind of victory.