ABSTRACT

The Old Man and the Sea is Hemingway’s masterpiece. It tells a story of the fight between an old man and the sea. The American spirit in the novel serves as an important guideline for the society. In this paper, through the analysis of the text and history of the American Dream, the paper is aimed at resolving a concrete manifestation of the American Dream. On one hand, the spirit of Santiago’s independence personality, braveness and perseverance reflects the core of American spirit. On the other hand, his belief of hard work, individualism, strength of character is a perfect interpretation of the core of American Dream which is rooted in Puritanism. But the lose-lose result also shows the unreasonable factors in the American Dream. This research might be helpful in the objective understanding of the American Dream.

Key words: The Old Man and the Sea; Hemingway; the American Dream

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 The Introduction of Ernest Hemingway-1

1.2 Introduction of The Old Man and the Sea-2

Chapter Two Literature Review-6

2.1 A Brief History of Past Studies-6

2.2 The Significance of Present Study-6

Chapter Three The American Dream in The Old Man and the Sea-8

3.1 The Definition of American Dream-8

3.2 The American Dream: Effort and hard work-11

3.3 The American Dream: Individualism-13

3.4 The Inadequacy of the American Dream-14

Chapter Four Conclusion-15