Old Man And The Sea Sacrifice

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” His quote embodies the true meaning of heroism. Heroism is a desirable trait in our society that is often eagerly wanted. Therefore, it is so prominent in popular culture and has left various to believe that it is only grand gestures and incredible powers that make heroic individuals. However, most fail to notice that it is the presence of perseverance, sacrifice, and personal strength in the times of devastating difficulties that can truly make any ordinary individual cable of heroic deeds of any size. This is reflected in Ernest Hemingway’s novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ (), Tom Hooper’s film …show more content…
An individual who finds the strength to make a sacrifice does so in order to allow themselves or others to move forth on their journey and for this many would label them a hero. The use of sacrifice in ‘Les Miserable’ that will be explored to exemplify this is that of Fantine’s prostitution. Fantine sacrifices her body and to some extent her soul in order to provide for her daughter. On the ship where Fantine has just finished being intimate with a man the camera is at a mid shot at eye level, however, it is off centre leaving Fantine on the side. The camera then centres on her as she begins to sing. Hooper’s use of camera angles and shots draws the viewers in where they first see Fantine isolated and distraught from this tough position she has gotten herself into and once the camera steadies and Fantine gathers herself they come to see the courage, strength and determination she holds, as she endures the aftermath of it all before she returns to it once again because she knows that her sacrifice must be done for her daughter to survive. This shows how an ordinary individual with strength to preserver can endure and overcome overwhelming obstacles. Sacrifice is explored differently in ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ through Manolin. Out of loyalty Manolin sacrifices his own personal gain in order to help Santiago. Hemmingway has provided details in this sentence “the boy had gone at (the parent’s) orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week.” that demonstrate how the capability to sacrifice something is rooted profoundly into heroic values. This is apparent as Manolin has sacrificed the opportunity to work on a superior boat, in order to aid the old man, out of love even though he personally will experience greater hardships. From these two texts it can be taken that sacrifice coincides with what a hero is. That the ability to overcome the difficulties of