A Journey To Enlightenment In

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Those who are direly active with the Christian religion and have read "The Old Man and the Sea" perceive the old man as an indirect reference to Saint Francis of Assisi. In the bible, Saint Francis was born to a wealthy merchant and when he grew older, he distributed his riches among the poor. Saint Francis of Assisi was best known for his love of birds and was believed to have the ability to communicate with them. While at sea, Santiago speaks to all the birds that pass because of his loneliness caused by the absence of his fishing partner, Manolin. One fish in particular, a warbler, flew by Santiago and perched on the stern of his boat. Santiago then tells the fish that he looks very tired and should take a rest. "Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish." This conversation with the bird conjures up the admonition given by Jesus to his followers. Jesus said that if his followers fought and gave it his or her ...

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seem like a coincidence, but deeper into the novel, the likelihood of a Christ figure in Santiago complicates.
The crucifixion of Jesus is a symbol that is used repeatedly to support the notion that there may be a Christ figure in Santiago. During Santiago's first night at sea, the marlin "made a surge that pulled him [Santiago] down on his face and made a cut below his eye. The blood ran down his cheek." This excerpt presents the image of a man with a tear of blood on his cheek. Strangely, this depiction recalls the famous painting of Christ with a tear of blood on his cheek after wearing the crown of thorns. The potentiality of the biblical allusions simply being a coincidence, by ...

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