Abstract:The old man called Santiago created by Hemingway is known as a code hero and a tragic hero. The Old Man and the Sea is one of the most outstanding works of Hemingway. This novel has a profound significance. The hero of the novel is regarded as the epitome of Hemingway’s spirit. The hero is also a perfect character of Hemingway heroes. All along, the interpretation of the old man always starts from the "code hero". And they want to reveal the meaning of the novel by analyzing the content and the writing features of the novel. And they always analyze the perseverance and the tragic fate of the old man. The paper tries to reinterpret The Old Man and the Sea from the perspective of Freud’s personality structure theory. The author wants to reinterpret the image of the old man by analyzing different characteristics which the old man shows in different situations and analyzing the id, ego, super ego of the character.

Key words: personality structure theory; the old man and the sea; id; ego; super ego

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

I. Introduction-1

II. The release and the call of id: the desire for material and emotion-2

A.Analysis of his dream about childhood-2

B. Analysis of his desire of affirming his abilities-4

C. Analysis of his wish of material abundance-5

D. Analysis of his demand for accompany-6

III. The struggle of ego – self-salvation in the predicament of  life-8

Ⅳ.The struggle of superego -- the choice of big fish and morality-10

Ⅴ.Conclusion-13

Bibliography-14

Acknowledgements-15