2. Hemingway had an approach to writing he referred to as “the iceberg theory.” How does this theory apply to The Old Man and the Sea?
Santiago's struggle with the marlin throughout the story represents a profound importance that Hemingway placed on experience in his writing. This experience could be used in order to inform a deeper understanding of the subjects that he was presenting. His prose was written in an efficient, non-description manner, which requires the reader to make their own judgments and inferences based on their personal experiences. This seems to create an underlying tension that is reflective of reality. In looking at Hemingway's “iceberg theory” it is evident that he considered these judgments to be an essential factor in his writing. These judgments demonstrate the underlying importance of his lack of descriptive writing and the depth to which it is able to help inform the reader. In the Old Man and the Sea, it is evident that Hemingway uses his own experiences in order to describe events in a simple way that can be interpreted by the reader on a more basic level.
The lack of descriptive terminology in his books demonstrates his view of the reader's need to think for themselves regarding the content that he was developing. Hemingway's prose demonstrates a “lean, strong text based on action rather than reflection” (Darzikola, 2013, p. 8). The simplicity with which Hemingway constructs his story seems to belie an underlying depth that goes beyond the depictions given and require the reader to make their own observations and considerations regarding his intent. This is able to more accurately reflect the interpersonal relationships that people have and their capacity for self-reflection. Within his writing he “captures the complexity of human interaction through subtleness and implication as well as direct discourse” (Darzikola, 2013, p. 9). This type of prose allows his work to remain concise and efficient while having a lot more beneath the surface. Through his iceberg method he is able to “depict definition and complexity to a character without straight stating what the person who reads should be thinking” (Darzikola, 2013, p. 9). He therefore seems to heavily rely on the reader's own experiences in order to convey certain ideas or thought processes. The straightforward descriptions that are presented in The Old Man and the Sea exist on top of a deeper level of understanding. This is based on the idea that “by neglecting certain portions of a story, a writer really reinforces that story” (Darzikola, 2013, p. 9). While the characters such as the old man, the marlin, and the boy might not be symbolic in any sense, they are representative of the characters that they depict. Experiences of old men, fish, and boys in general can therefore help the reader to be informed concerning the depictions, even if they have never been to the ocean or seen a marlin.
In writing in this way, Hemingway is able to convey a sense of realism in his work. Although, in everyday life it is not possible to know what everybody is thinking all of the time, as is often the case in books, it is still possible to guess at or to come to an understanding of how others feel or what they might be thinking in some cases. Hemingway's writing style is “powerfully loaded with the tension, which he sees in life” (Xie, 2008, p. 156). The experiences and interpersonal interactions that people have can help to improve these capabilities. Rather than being a literal translation of experience, his work presents the experiences that people have. “Its simplicity is highly suggestive and connotative, and often reflects the strong undercurrent of emotion” (Xie, 2008, p. 157). This allows the underlying processes going on in the story to be picked up on by the reader. This form of writing was distinct from other types that relied more heavily on description. Instead, the book's prose is “characterized by simplicity, directness, clarity, freshness and naturalness” (Xie, 2008, p. 158). Within The Old Man and the Sea the inner struggles that the old man is going through are reflected by the outer struggle between him and the marlin.
His simplistic approach towards writing is therefore evident in the prose of The Old Man and the Sea. By using this style of writing, he is able to achieve a deeper meaning “hidden among the characters and events for us, readers, to discover and interpret” (Lian-Feng, 2015, p. 803). In this sense, his writing works alongside the experiences that people have, allowing them to make judgments about the underlying meaning for themselves. Through their personal interpretations Hemingway is able to delve more deeply into the capacity of the reader to pick up on subtle descriptions in order to understand the emotional struggles in a more personal way. He is therefore utilizing his own personal experiences in order to leverage those of the reader. In this sense, “Santiago is a reflection and a mirror of the author, Hemingway himself” (Lian-Feng, 2015, p. 804). By presenting his struggles in relation to the perspectives of the reader's own experiences he is inviting them to come to know him on a more personal level.
The use of apt description and a lack of adjectives in his writing style demonstrates reliance on the personal experiences of the reader in order to become more well-informed regarding the inner dialogues of his characters. Within the Old Man and the Sea, the old man's struggles with the marlin demonstrate a profound emotional experience that has a depth of intrigue that relates to fundamental aspects of life. This reliance demonstrates the basic principles upon which Hemingway's writing is based. In developing prose that lacks a high level of descriptions he is able to achieve a greater amount of tension and inner dialogue for the readers themselves. In doing so, Hemingway is able to reflect his personal identity onto the old man and help the reader come to better understand the author's viewpoints through the actions that his characters take.
References
Darzikola, S.D. (2013). The Iceberg Principle and the Portrait of Common People in Hemingway’s Work. English Language and Literature Studies. Vol. 3. No. 3. 8-15.
Lian-Feng, Chen. (2015). A Perfect Combination of the Real Life and Literary World: An Analysis of The Old Man and the Sea. Sino-US English Teaching, Vol. 12, No. 10, 802- 805.
Xie, Y. (2008). Hemingway’s Language Style and Writing Techniques in The Old Man and the Sea. English Language Teaching. Vol.1. No. 2. 156-158.
