Quote:
Originally Posted by bfisher
Yes, I wondered about his name, and there are the repeated references to bearing the pain of the rope on his back which suggested the flagellation and crucifixion, although I completely missed Santiago’s carrying the mast, and his maimed hands. Was Santiago’s left hand almost his Judas Iscariot?
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The left hand/right hand issue was one of those where it seemed biblical, recalling the Sermon on the Mount, but I couldn't figure out what Hemingway meant by it.
I think Santiago was meant to be Christ-like, but not in the sense of representing Christ, but in the sense that all are called to be like Christ and take up their crosses. I also see thinking that's pushing it!
On another and perhaps personal front, while I tend not to like "manly men doing manly things" novels, I didn't read this like that. Perversely, I think the absence of female characters helped in that respect. I don't care for Heminway's women overall, Catherine Barkley being the exemplar for most of them. She's entirely subjective to Frederic Henry's needs and desires even at great cost to herself; Hemingway's projection of the ideal woman, it seems to me. But since Santiago is post-sexual and Manolin is pre-sexual there's no need for the pesky creatures.