american dream in the novella the old man and the sea

this paper attempts to illustrate traces of the american dream in santiago the main character of ernest hemingway’s novella, the old man and the sea. the struggle for the american dream is portrayed through santiago's battle with the ocean. the old man is proud, undefeated, hopeful, and hard working. besides, he is also a wonderful dreamer. the fact that he never neither surrenders nor gives up on his hope for a better future makes him a good example of the american dreamer, though he is cuban and the story takes place in a fishing village around cuba's capital havana. the themes of hardworking and being hopeful never leave the surface of the story and the theme of mobility is always present, even though it is not in the highlight as the previous ones. although there are few researches relating the old man and the sea to the american dream, the relation is undeniable. through studying the old man and the sea, we come to realize that not only santiago is a true american dreamer, but he also represents hemingway himself to some extent as we will see the way hemingway himself struggled to become what he is now.