"A man can be destroyed but not defeated." These words may seem straightforward, but in actuality they are some of the most inspirational in all of literature. This phrase is from Ernest Hemingway's fictional novel The Old Man and the Sea. Which is the story of the epic struggle between an old exhausted fisherman named Santiago and the greatest catch of his life. In this novel Hemingway uses symbols, metaphors and imagery to give emphasis to detail and the main points in the story. Ernest Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea uses literary devices to make it a marvelous read and an outstanding piece of literature. .
Symbols are an extremely significant literary device used through out this novel. Symbols are anything that suggests an idea or quality. In The Old Man and the Sea the book itself is a symbol. It is a symbol for the human condition, the struggle to survive and maintain one's dignity in an often unkind and heartless world. Another symbol shown in the novel was the lions which where a sign of courage. "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." Santiago was a sailor in his youth, and traveled to Africa, where he saw young lions playing on the beach. Dreaming about the lions each night provides Santiago with a link to his younger days, as well as the strength and optimism that are associated with youth. .
"A man is never lost at sea." is an example of a metaphor used in this novel. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another. Hemingway uses metaphors to elaborate details and key points through out this book. Another example of a metaphor shown in the novel is the old man's sail. "Patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat" Other fishermen seem to believe that Santiago himself is a walking symbol of permanent defeat, because he hadn't caught a fish in eighty- four days.