Mind Supersedes Age, Conquering Incapabilities of Social Potential – A Blow to Social Prejudices as Reflected in the Novel “The Old Man and The Sea”

Abstract

Man is the mastermind of all social constructs, keeping pace with the share and distribution of the resources though in scarcity. As a man is grown up into materials maturity, his metaphysical and spiritual vigour can either vapourize him into dust or solidify him into the hardihood of survival. Santiago the aged man in the novel “The Old Man and The Sea” reflects the significance of being old in the construction of socio-economic stature. His unending passion of living a simple but dignified life in the capitalist society points to the self-help associating life, which is impeded under the capital led super structure. He is a member of such a power dominating society that being inactive in the excuse of agility is accepted under criticism of delinquency between the old and the young. The research tries to explore the immenseness of nature with grandeur provision to its major agent – human being. Nature loves and blesses those ever active persons as spiritual bond. Santiago the fisherman is neither a famous person nor a family bringer of his own. He is a lonely person which is somewhat trivial to all the neighbors but a boy Manolin who wants to learn fishing from him. A society under income discrimination can snare at its aged member of his inactiveness to be a burden. But the boy realizes the vigor and stamina the old man has to navigate himself in the ocean. What the article tries to dig out is the legacy of human activities to cohere the socio-economic status for the existence of human beings, and the ecology of society. Does Santiago at any time of his presence in the novel imply in any of his activities that he becomes aged and burdensome? Does he really? He has the power of self-dignity for which none but nature and God love him to go actively forward. He does not find noticeable fishes, but he is not disappointed. He believes in the steadiness of work as the blessing of God. Finally, he catches an enormous fish ever to his joyfulness which is a blow to those snaring at him. On his way back home, he brings not the flesh but the bones – a satire to the disrespectful and capitalistically blind society. Who knows that the enormous fish if anchored on the shore could be the root cause of more greediness and chaos for its major share and distribution? Finally, Nature does both to the old man – disappoints him for not bringing the flesh to the shore and pacifies him for not standing him into the massive chaos in greediness, thus establishing him a social critique.