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Hyperbole
Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Day One
Explanation and Analysis—Dreaming of Africa:
The first day detailed in the novella ends with imagery describing Santiago's dreams:
He dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes and the great brown mountains. [...] he heard the surf roar and saw the native boats come riding through it. He smelled the tar and oakum of the deck as he slept and he smelled the smell of Africa that the land breeze brought at morning.
The entire description is full of imagery that focuses on Santiago's senses, such as "the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes." What is heard is also described by Hemingway—“he heard the surf roar"—and even what is smelled, from the "tar and oakum of the deck" to "the smell of Africa that the land breeze brought at morning." This quotation is the first time the reader hears of Santiago’s dream, and the imagery used by Hemingway highlights the grandeur that Santiago remembers from visiting Africa as a youth.
Specifically, the dichotomy between the rich landscape of Africa and the mundane, impoverished day-to-day life of Santiago is highlighted by the imagery. Santiago's recurring dream of Africa represents a time that feels long past, with the vivid description above emphasizing the fact that Santiago’s youth is so far in the past that it belongs to a different world. However, the one constant between Santiago's dreams and his real life, between Africa and Cuba, is that he spends his time on a boat and fishing.
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Day Two
Explanation and Analysis—Man-of-War:
Hemingway describes the Sargasso weed and the Portuguese man-of-war (a sea creature closely associated with jellyfish) that Santiago sails by with imagery and a simile:
Nothing showed on the surface of the water but some patches of yellow, sun-bleached Sargasso weed and the purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close beside the boat. [...] It floated cheerfully as a bubble with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it in the water.
Hemingway describes the appearance of both the Sargasso weed and the Portuguese man-of-war using imagery. For instance, the two are characterized by vibrant colors: the Sargasso weed is "yellow" and "sun-bleached," while the jellyfish is "purple" and "iridescent." Both the Sargasso weed and the man-of-war float along on top of the water beside Santiago's skiff. Despite the similarity in descriptions, however, the Sargasso weed is helpful—Santiago later eats shrimp from some Sargasso weed—while the man-of-war is deadly and potentially harmful.
There is a similar juxtaposition inherent to the description of the man-of-war. The simile comparing the Portuguese man-of-war to a bubble is barely a simile, as the Portuguese man-of-war does in fact float like a bubble. The use of "cheerfully" in "floated cheerfully as a bubble" is also an instance of personification, as the jellyfish presumably does not do anything "cheerfully" or otherwise. While both the simile and the personification suggest that the jellyfish is well-meaning and harmless, it is in fact neither.
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Day Three
Explanation and Analysis—The Marlin Emerges:
Both imagery and simile is used by Hemingway as he describes the first time Santiago lays eyes on the marlin he has hooked:
He was bright in the sun and his head and back were dark purple and in the sun the stripes on his sides showed wide and a light lavender. His sword was as long as a baseball bat and tapered like a rapier and he rose his full length from the water and then re-entered it, smoothly, like a diver and the old man saw the great scythe-blade of his tail go under and the line commenced to race out.
Imagery is everywhere in The Old Man and the Sea, but the description of the first time Santiago sees the marlin is particularly important. From the "dark purple" of his head and back to the "light lavender" of his sides, what the marlin looks like is described first and foremost. There are also two similes in the brief description: one compares the length of the marlin's “sword" to "a baseball bat” and another describes the marlin re-entering the water as smooth "like a diver."
The imagery and similes both suggest that the marlin is a formidable opponent. They also, however, highlight his beauty and humanity. After all, Santiago has a particular affinity for baseball, and a diver is a human. Thus, the first time Santiago lays eyes on the marlin, the marlin’s humanity is gestured at through figurative language at the same time as its fearsome and capable nature is also emphasized.
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Day Four
Explanation and Analysis—Teeth like Fingers:
Hemingway describes Santiago's first shark sighting with imagery and simile:
His back was as blue as a sword fish’s and his belly was silver and his hide was smooth and handsome. [...] all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted inwards. They were not the ordinary pyramid-shaped teeth of most sharks. They were shaped like a man’s fingers when they are crisped like claws. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides.
Hemingway uses the same type of figurative language to describe this first shark sighting as he uses to describe Santiago's first sighting of the marlin. In both instances, the aquatic animals are described as beautiful (or "handsome") yet dangerous, whether that's because of the marlin's long sword or because of the shark's sharp teeth. The shark's teeth have "razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides," and they are compared through simile to "claws."
However, the jaws are also compared to "man’s fingers" generally and to "the fingers of the old man"—meaning Santiago—specifically. The creature Santiago is attempting to kill is thus compared to a human through figurative language. The similarity between sharks and Santiago extends beyond this simile, too: Santiago spends his life hunting fish just like a shark does. While both the marlin and this shark are similar to Santiago in a myriad of ways, Santiago nevertheless kills them both.
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