A Lacanian Study of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea

Abstract

This paper sought to explore the role played by Lacan in the analysis of Hemingway’s work in The Old Man and the Sea. It is clear from the analysis that Lacan contributed immensely to the growth and improvement of the literary work between 1901 and 1981. Similarly, for effective analysis of the novel, Lacan sought to bring out issues on desires, conscious, unconscious, subconscious, psychology and others in the interpretation of the Hemingway’s literature. However, to achieve the objective, Lacan adopted his psychological stages of development that includes the real, mirror, and the symbolic stages. Through these stages, Lacan clearly brought out the content as perceived by Hemingway of social, cultural and religion. Ultimately, the analysis of the old man and the sea by Lacan showed that as people become aware or conscious they start to hope for unconsciousness.