Abstract:Ernest Hemingway is one the most famous as well as productive writers in American history in the twentieth century. The Old Man and the Sea is his masterpiece in the peak of his writing career, which marks that his works have entered the summary stage in thought. And with it, Hemingway achieved many literary awards including Nobel Prize for literature. This novel shows us the heroic struggle between an old but experienced Cuba fisherman and a giant marlin in the Gulg Stream. Although the language is simple and the whole novel is not so long, the words are succinct with abundant symbolic meanings. What’s more, the heroic image of Santiago impresses people deeply and, the novel has a profound and far-lasting significance to America society in his time and people today in spirit and reality. Through the analysis of several important images including the sea, the sharks, the little boy, the lions and so on, this paper aims to find out the spiritual symbols in this novel and points out the practical significance of them as well as the image of Failed Hero reflected by symbolism. Furthermore, it will explain the far-reaching influences to both the American society and today’s people spiritually and practically.

Keywords: The Old Man and the Sea; Santiago; symbolism; Failed Hero; Hemingway

摘要:厄内斯特•海明威是20世纪最著名也是最多产的美国作家之一。《老人与海》是海明威写作生涯颠峰时期的代表作，它标志着海明威的创作已进入思想艺术的总结阶段，也是凭借它，海明威获得了诺贝尔文学奖等多项文学殊荣。这部小说向人们展现了一位年迈但经验丰富的古巴渔民在墨西哥湾与巨大的马林鱼之间的英雄史诗般的斗争，虽然语言简单，篇幅不长，但是用词精炼且饱含了丰富的象征意义，桑地亚哥的失败的英雄形象也深入人心，不论对当时的美国社会还是对今天的人们来说都具有十分深广的精神和现实意义。这篇论文旨在通过该小说中几个重要的意象：大海、鲨鱼、小男孩、狮子的分析，探究《老人与海》的精神象征，并指出如此丰富深刻的象征所隐射的现实意义，以及运用象征手法所能体现的“失败的英雄”的形象，说明《老人与海》这部作品无论是对当时的美国社会还是对今天的人们来说都具有十分深广的精神和现实意义。

关键词：老人与海；桑地亚哥；象征主义；失败的英雄；海明威