B. Santiago’s and Hemingway’s Perfectionism

　　Santiago and Hemingway both belong to the same kind of people with a character which been called perfectionism. From the old man’s characteristic in The Old Man and the Sea, the author of the thesis could catch a glimpse of Hemingway.

　　1. Santiago’s Perfectionism

　　In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, the old man’s eagerness to prove his capability is the best evidence which could prove the old man’s perfectionism. He has gone for 84 days without catching anything. His code man’s character leads him to prove he can catch giant fish. He has ever said to Mandolin that he is a strange man and different from other fisherman. In the story, the old man always hopes his outsized dream could satisfy himself and other people. His outsized dream is that one day he will catch giant fish to prove his ability. In order to catch giant fish, he has to choose to sail into the deep sea, but that is out of his capability, in the end of the story even he has got giant fish, his rough tools made his giant fish could not return safely to his shore for the deep sea is dangerous and full with obstacles. The old man should consider these obstacles before sailing but as a perfectionist he only pays more attention to prove his capability. So his achievement is destroyed by sharks again and again, and only leaves that giant fish’s skeleton. At last, Santiago recognizes he is still a loser, he feels sad but no one understands him. All of his sadness and loneliness is caused by his perfectionism.

　　Meanwhile, Santiago is a self-contradictory man, the miracle sea is dangerous, but he is a man loves sea very much, he even willing to regard sea as a woman, thinking that even if she do something imprudent or naughty, that’s because she can’t control herself, that’s not her fault; the old man loves the deep sea, but the sea destroyed his outsized dream indirectly; he also loves animals which live in the deep sea, the birds, fly fish and dolphins, he thinks they are all his friends which could company with him in the lonely sea; He feels happy when he saw all the sea animals live peacefully, but he has to struggle with the giant and beautiful fish; although he feels sad and regrettable for the giant fish, he still determines to kill it; he thinks marlin is beautiful and divine; however, he holds his spear and stabs into its body.

　　2. Hemingway’s Perfectionism

　　The Old Man and the Sea is always regarded as Hemingway’s biography. Hemingway’s own experiences made him become a perfectionist by degree..

　　Hemingway’s perfectionist’s life was greatly affected by his family. He was born in a contradictory family. His father, a successful physician, also committed suicide, enjoyed hunting and fishing. His mother, a musician, who wanted Hemingway could stay and study music and art in family. Hemingway’s parents wanted him become a perfectionist from his childhood education. Hemingway had a dream to be a strongand versatile man from his little age because of his family background. When he was a little boy, he went out frequently with his father, in the process, he developed a series of consideration about life and death, and meanwhile he learned such virtues as courage and endurance. He had a whole happy childhood though he did run away from home twice. In the school, he was also an outstanding student. Therefore, Hemingway’s early childhood experience and his natural temper made him becomes a perfectionist little by little. After leaving school, he joined in the army as a war reporter, like other young people lived in that period, he was disillusioned by the senseless slaughter of the First World War. In the war, Hemingway got short period praise because he saved a solider, during those days he was seemed as a hero by people, even the honor disappeared soon, his code man characteristic lasted. Hemingway paid all his life to write, create and remain his code man spirit to memory the honor that he had ever had, this represented whatever in his life or his works. Experienced so many adventures, his life were filled with depression and physical sickness, after got the Nobel Prize which Hemingway always pursuited, and underwent shock treatment for depression, Hemingway ended his life with his loved shotgun that his father ever used to committed suicide.

　　Hemingway pursuited perfectionism in all of his life, his perfectionism represents not only in his life, but also in his works. All of his works refer to war and tension, all his life full with adventures which represented his notion of a perfect life. Hemingway always wanted to finish his hero role completely, which is defined in other people’s eyes as a hero should be. Because his pursuit of everything’s perfection, he always had high expectation, if the things didn’t process according to his plan, he would lose his mind. The old year’s sickness made Hemingway could not realize his perfect dreams any more; he was tortured by sickness day by day which was created by early war experiences and kinds of adventures.

　　Hemingway’s contradictory mind is another expression of his perfectionism. He had ever joined the Communist Party, but he was also a member of Catholic Church; he had four wives but he divorced finally; people always thought he was a play boy, at least a man could not concentrate on love, but he admitted to the public that “he loved all his wives and sons”; The day when Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in 1949, Hemingway was quoted as these saying, “no son of bitch who ever won the Nobel Prize ever wrote anything worth reading afterwards”, but when he got Nobel Prize in 1954, he accepted that prize happily.

　　If Hemingway is not a perfectionist, he could live happily than any one else. Nevertheless, everyone has their own living way, he chose to live in a perfectionism way.

　　3. Sum up

　　Both Hemingway and the old man are representation of perfectionism. Indeed, in the process of pursuiting perfection, they have got the most valuable things in life, because their pursuing the perfect things made their life full of energy and motivation. However, life is not always perfect. In our life, pursuing perfection is approved but we must recognize the truth that life is imperfect, no one is perfect. It is the rule of nature. Hemingway and the old man pursuit their perfect outsized dreams, the results of their pursuits are not good. Take Hemingway and the old man for example, the results of their perfectionism are Hemingway felt depressive for the whole world and chose committed suicide; while the old man, his pursuit disappeared in several seconds, he feels sad because he realizes he is still a loser.

C. Dealing with Perfectionism

　　The most important way to deal with perfectionism is to realize the notion that the world is far from being perfect, like an old saying goes, no one is perfect, the absolute perfection is never existed in the world. Under the condition that we know we could not get two perfect things at the same time, in order to get something more important, learn to give up something will help us pass some difficulties.

　　If the old man-- Santiago realized his outsized dream is unreasonable, he should not be sad. He should abnegate his outsized dream; enjoy himself only by fresh fish, although life may be poor, no food, and no milk. He can still live happily with Mandolin’s company.

　　The prototype of the old man in the novel The Old Man and the Sea is a Cuban fisherman who had ever saved Hemingway who is in danger and at last he became one of Hemingway’s good friends. After Hemingway’s committed suicide, a hot topic had been discussed on the Internet, people start to doubt why a poor fisherman lived happily until his 101 years old, while Hemingway ended his life by shotgun after he got the honor of Nobel Prize. In fact, the reason that leads Hemingway’s death is his perfectionism. There are two ways to deal with perfectionism.