| 摘要: | 海明威成功的塑造了一位英雄人物。這位英雄具體呈現了人類的勇氣、堅忍和尊嚴。海明威也指出大自然是殘酷的，而且生活中充滿了困難和荒謬。他又表達人類雖是如此的渺小，以致於無法戰勝不可預知的命運和無法抗拒的大自然，然而人類卻有能力承受這種打擊和挫敗，而且人類有能力展現他的潛能以及表現出壓力下的泰然自若。
聖地牙哥三天的捕魚過程就像一部偉大的史詩。這位老人獨自殺了大馬林魚以及一大群的鯊魚。他具體展現了人類無窮的勇氣及毅力。然而，從他生活的窮困和悲苦以及他徒勞無功的努力，證明了人類無力和大自然以及命運相抗衡。
既然人類和荒謬人生對抗是徒勞無功的。怎麼辦呢? 卡繆提出三種選擇，第一是:自殺，第二是: 依賴宗教慰藉，第三是:接受荒謬的事實但反叛它。卡繆選擇了後者。在《西西佛斯的神話》論文中荒謬英雄西西弗斯是實踐卡繆思想―對抗荒謬―的具體化身。西西弗斯被眾神懲罰無止盡的推大石頭上山。他沒有因此而抱怨、嘆息和哀傷，反而輕蔑它的懲罰，並做好他該做的苦差事。卡繆認為這種無止盡、重複的工作，正是人類的現況。
《老人與海》中的主角聖地牙哥的確像西西弗斯一樣，是位荒謬英雄。他不僅承受生活中的困境，如:貧窮、孤獨、被其他人的輕視，而且經歷由這荒謬人生帶來的失望和挫敗，例如:大馬林魚得而復失。然而,聖地牙哥和西西弗斯一樣，沒有自怨自艾，反而盡力把工作做好。他也蔑視吃掉大馬林魚的那些鯊魚。
表面上，老人被殘酷和難以抗衡的大自然給打敗了，但事實上他贏得人類的尊嚴和榮耀。他戰勝了失敗。無可否認，生命中充滿荒謬，但也充滿各種可能。所以，人類心中應該抱有希望，並且保持積極和樂觀的心態。如同卡繆的論點，人們應該認為西西弗斯是快樂的；其實，人們也該認為聖地牙哥也是快樂的。
Hemingway successfully creates a heroic figure that embodies human courage, fortitude and dignity, and he also indicates that nature is cruel and life is filled with difficulties and absurdities. Moreover, he also expresses a human is so puny that he is unable to win the unpredictable fate and the powerful nature, but it is possible for him to withstand the forces of destruction and failure; he can also show his potentiality, possibility and grace under pressure.
The process of Santiago’s three-day journey is like a great epic. The old man alone kills the huge marlin and also kills many brutal sharks. He vividly displays unmeasured human courage and fortitude; nevertheless, from the misery of his life and his futile efforts, it shows that a human is too weak to fight against the power of nature and the unpredictable fate.
Now that human fighting against the absurd of the universe is futile and useless, what should he do? Camus mentions three options. One is suicide, another is relying on religion, and the other is acceptance of the fact of the absurd, but revolt. Camus chooses the last one. In his essay The Myth of Sisyphus, the absurd hero, Sisyphus is the icon which displays Camus’s idea, that is, the way to deal with the absurd. Sisyphus was punished by the gods to roll the rock to the mountain ceaselessly, but he did not complain, sigh or lament. Instead, he scorned the punishment, and did his task well. Camus deems the ceaseless task is a human condition.
The protagonist, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is definitely an absurd hero like Sisyphus. He not only suffered from his difficult life such as poverty, loneliness and despise by others but also underwent the disappointment and failure causing from the absurd of the universe such as losing the big marlin. However, like Sisyphus, Santiago did not complain, sigh or lament, but did his job well. He also scorned the sharks that had eaten all his fish.
On the surface, the old man fails in fighting with the powerful and cruel nature but actually he wins human dignity and honor. He wins the loss. Undeniably, life is filled with absurdities, but life is also full of possibilities, so humans should always keep hope in mind, and should always be positive and optimistic. Just as Camus argues, “One must imagine Sisyphus is happy,” one should imagine Santiago is happy, too. |
