《老人与海》：永不言弃的硬汉精神

梁姗姗

About the author

欧内斯特·米勒尔·海明威（Ernest Miller Hemingway，1899—1961），作家、记者，美国当代文学中最著名的作家之一，也是20世纪最著名的小说家之一。他创作出了《太阳照常升起》《永别了，武器》《丧钟为谁而鸣》《老人与海》等震撼文坛的中长篇小说，其巅峰之作《老人与海》相继获得了1953 年美国普利策奖和1954 年诺贝尔文学奖。

About the novel

风烛残年的圣地亚哥与一条大马林鱼在离岸很远的湾流中周旋，几经磨难后终于将鱼击败。然而在归途中，他不断遇到凶狠的鲨鱼前来抢夺他的战利品，老渔夫竭尽全力与鲨魚搏斗，等到靠岸时，大鱼已经被撕咬得只剩一条白骨。作品展现了一个失败、孤独的强者和硬汉形象。“人不是为失败而生的，一个人可以被毁灭，但不能被打败。”这是圣地亚哥的信念，这句话也深深地影响了一代又一代人。

About the excerpt

该选文描述的是老渔夫圣地亚哥第五次与鲨鱼搏斗的场景，面对一群饥饿的鲨鱼对他捕获的大马林鱼进行激烈的争夺，他用尽全力保护自己的战利品，但最终还是无法阻止鲨鱼们将大马林鱼啃食殆尽。在这一过程中，圣地亚哥展现出了坚韧不拔的精神和顽强的意志，他不屈不挠地与鲨鱼搏斗，直到最后一刻也没有放弃。

重难点词汇

stiff adj. 僵硬的

club v. 用棍棒打

strained adj. 紧张的

phosphorescence n. 磷光

skiff n. 小帆船

tiller n. 舵柄

rudder n. 舵

lunge v. 猛扑

splinter v. 分裂；（使）裂成碎片；分离出来

jerk v. 急拉

butt n.（ 武器或工具）粗大的一端

coppery adj. 似铜的；紫铜色的

remedy n. 补偿；处理方法

stern n. 船尾

carcass n. 动物尸体

crumb n. 食物碎屑

阅读难点

1. 感知老渔夫的硬汉形象。

2. 重新建构对成功与失败的认识。

文本分析

What

在返航的过程中，圣地亚哥遭遇了一系列的挑战和困难：鲨鱼的袭击、船只的损坏、身体的疲惫……然而，他依然坚定地驾驶着船只。尽管圣地亚哥最终失去了自己的战利品，但他并没有对命运的不公感到愤怒和绝望，而是接受现实，并且依然怀着希望和信念，准备着下一次的挑战。

Why

作者通过描写圣地亚哥与群鲨的搏斗，塑造了一个坚定、勇敢、铁骨铮铮的硬汉形象，表达了自己对困难和挫折的理解——只有那些顽强斗争、勇于面对失败的人最终才能走向成功。

How

一个老人、一艘船、一条大鱼、一群鲨鱼和一副骨架。该选文内容虽然是由简单的元素、情节构成的，但作者用简洁、明快的笔触，让我们看到了人类屹立千年而不倒的精神内核——永不言弃。细节的描写和对人物内心世界的刻画，使读者能够深刻地感受到圣地亚哥的孤独与顽强。

“Now it is over，” he thought.“ They will probably hit me again.” But what can a mando against them in the dark without a weapon？

He was stiff and sore now and his wounds and all of the strained parts of his body hurtwith the cold of the night.“ I hope I do not have to fight again，” he thought.“ I hope somuch I do not have to fight again.”

But by midnight he fought and this time he knew the fight was useless. They came in apack and he could only see the lines in the water that their fins made and their phosphorescenceas they threw themselves on the fish. He clubbed heads and heard the jaws chop andthe shaking of the skiff as they took hold below. He clubbed desperately what he could onlyfeel and hear and he felt something seize the club and it was gone.

He jerked the tiller free from the rudder and beatand chopped with it， holding it in both hands and drivingit down again and again. But they were up to thebow now and driving in one after the other and together，tearing off the pieces of meat that showed glowingbelow the sea as they turned to come once more.

One came， finally， against the head itself and he knew that it was over. He swung thetiller across the sharks head where the jaws were caught in the heaviness of the fishs headwhich would not tear. He swung it once and twice and again. He heard the tiller break andhe lunged at the shark with the splintered butt. He felt it go in. Knowing it was sharp， hedrove it in again. The shark rolled away. That was the last shark of the pack that came.There was nothing more for them to eat.

The old man could hardly breathe now and he felt a strange taste in his mouth. It wascoppery and sweet and he was afraid of it for a moment. But there was not much of it.

He spat into the ocean and said，“ Eat that， galanos. And make a dream that youvekilled a man.”

He knew he was beaten now finally. Without remedies， he went back to the stern andfound the jagged end of the tiller would fit in the slot of the rudder well enough for him tosteer. He settled the sack around his shoulders and put the skiff on her course. He sailedlightly now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any kind. He was past everythingnow and he sailed the skiff to make his home port as well and as intelligently as he could.In the night， sharks hit the carcass as someone might pick up crumbs from the table. Theold man paid no attention to them and did not pay any attention to anything except steering.He only noticed how lightly and how well the skiff sailed now—there was no great weightbeside her.

“She＇s good，” he thought.“ She is sound and not harmed in any way except for thetiller. That is easily replaced.”

He could feel he was inside the current now and he could see the lights of the beachcolonies along the shore. He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get home.

“The wind is our friend， anyway，” he thought. Then he added，“ Sometimes.”“And thegreat sea with our friends and our enemies. Bed is my friend. Just bed. Bed will be a greatthing. It is easy when you are beaten. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you？”he thought.

“Nothing，” he said aloud.“ I went out too far.”

Read for plots

1. What difficulties did the fisherman face？

2. How does the author describe the scene of fighting？

3. Answer the following questions.

（1）What do the difficulties faced by the old fisherman suggest？

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（2）What does the underlined word“ it” mean in paragraph 5？

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（3）What does the story suggest about the relationship between humans and nature？

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Read for figures

1. What kind of fisherman can you see？ Fill in the blanks.

2. Answer the following questions.

（1）How did the old fisherman feel after he defeated the last shark？

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（2）What did the old fisherman think about as he sailed back home？

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（3）What values are emphasized in the story？

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Deep understanding

1. From the sentence“ ‘I hope I do not have to fight again， he thought.‘ I hope somuch I do not have to fight again.”， we know the old fisherman was hesitant and wavering.Is this description contradictory to the fishermans“ tough” image？

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2. The fisherman knew he was beaten finally and without remedies. Do you think thefisherman is a failure？ And why？

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Post?reading activity

1. Whats your understanding of success？

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2. What should you own in trouble？

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3. The old fisherman is awarded a title“ tough guy”. Please write an award speech for him.

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