What people, ideas, and events probably influenced Ernest Hemingway while writing The Old Man and the Sea

I think that many aspects of life influenced Ernest Hemingway while writing his fantastic novel The Old Man and the Sea, but none as significant as nature itself. Nature can be seen on almost every page of The Old Man and the Sea and Santiago can often be found admiring it. The reader can see that the author often portrays his own love and appreciation for nature by making Santiago feel the same about it. An example of Santiago admiring nature is when he is thinking about the sea and birds (Hemingway 29). This deep admiration that Santiago has for the birds and sea can be seen in the passage that says, "Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is very kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea." (Hemingway 29). This passage doesn't seem like Santiago's thoughts as much as the author's perspective of nature. Another example that shows how much nature influenced the author can be seen through Santiago's dreams. Santiago no longer dreams about anything, but an old memory that he has from his youth (Hemingway 25). This memory is from when Santiago sailed to Africa and saw a group of lions playing on the bright beaches of the Canary Islands (Hemingway 25). These lions had a huge impact on Santiago and he loves them like he loves the boy that helps him (Hemingway 25). It seems that Santiago feels that the lions are old friends and he looks forward to seeing them in his dreams every night. The lions playing on the beach are a strong image of nature and seem to make Santiago very happy. This satisfaction may come from Hemingway's own fondness of nature and views on how dignified nature is. By using lions, which are known for being noble, he is making nature in this book seem very proud and dignified.

Bibliography:Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. 2003 ed. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.