VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

****************
HN TH BCH NGC A STUDY ON ICEBERG THEORY IN
“THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA” BY
EARNEST HEMINGWAY

(Nghiên cư
́
u nguyên ly
́
Ta
̉
ng băng trôi trong ta
́
c phâ
̉
m “Ông
gi v bin c” ca Earnest Hemingway)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis
Major: Linguistics
Code: 60 22 15
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Nguyê
̃
n Xuân Thơm Ph.D

HANOI - 2013
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgement ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 3
3. Research questions 3
4. Design of the study 4
5. Methods of the study 4
4. Scope of the study 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theoretical background
1.1.1. Discourse and Critical discourse analysis 6

2.3.4.5. The lions 37
2.3.4.6. The mast 38
PART C. CONCLUSION
1. Summary 40
2. Limitations 41
3. Suggestions for further study 42
REFERENCES 43 1

PART A. INTRODUCTION
This initial part stated the problem and the retionale of the study, together with the
aims, objectives, the scope of the study, and the overview of the rest of this paper.
Above all, it was in this part that the research questions were identified to work as
clear guidelines for the whole research.
1. Rationale of the study
Earnest Hemingway (1899 - 1961), also known as ―Papa‖, occupies a prominent
place in American Literature by virtue of his revolutionary role in the arena of 20
th


deliberate and artificial. The language is rarely emotional. Rather, it controls
emotions by holding them in. Theory of Iceberg, the most notable in Hemingway‘s
writing style, is also reflected clearly in this novel. The "Iceberg Theory" can be
explained as such: If a writer is worth anything, and is actually going to create a
piece of art in words, he must follow this theory. The author's short story must
omit items that are obvious or are already stated by metaphors, similes, or some
other figures of speech. The author should do this to the point where the reader
must think, understand, and really delve into the character and the words that are
used to understand the entire story. In this way the words on the page are merely
1/8 of the story itself, it is the other 7/8 that the story truly lives in. Moreover,
Hemingway's Iceberg theory highlights the symbolic implications of art. He makes
use of physical action to provide an interpretation of the nature of man's existence.
It can be convincingly proved that, "while representing human life through
fictional forms, he has consistently set man against the background of his world
and universe to examine the human situation from various points of view."
(Halliday, 1956)
For the reasons above, the researcher carried out this study with the hope to have
better insights into Hemingway‘s literary work and also his impact on the whole
American literature. Although The Old Man and the Sea is only one of the great
3

novels of the author, it sets an excellent illustration of his writing principle and
literary ideology.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims at analyzing Hemingway‘s Theory of Iceberg in The Old Man and
the Sea. As the greatest principle of Hemingway‘s writing style, the theory
provides readers an obvious overlook of the writer‘s literary career. In terms of art
value, the answer to this matter would help the student of Linguistics, the novel‘s
readers as well as those who wished to specialized in American Literature realize
what made Hemingway one of the most successful authors in literature arena.

4. Design of the study
This paper is organized in the following way:
Part One presents a general introduction of the research containing the rationale,
aims and objectives, methodology and scope of the study. Part Two gives a
theoretical and analytical background for the study. Part Three goes into details
about Iceberg Theory in the novel with an emphasis on the hidden part of the
iceberg. The conclusion can be found in Part Four, which includes a summary,
limitations of the research as well as suggestions for further study.
5. Methods of the study
Descriptive and contextual methods of data collecting and analyzing are used in
the research.
First, relevant literature, publications and studies were reviewed in order to get in-
depth information on Hemingway‘s writing style in general and Theory of Iceberg
in particular. Also country specific information on the organic horticultural sector
was reviewed. Second, the researcher analyzes and agglutinates those ideas into
her own comprehensible viewpoints. Finally, the information was analyzed and
processed. Evidence is taken from the story and analyzed based on the
researcher‘s knowledge to put a light on how Hemingway used Theory of Iceberg
in his novel.
6. Scope of the study
5

The study focuses on how Hemingway exposed his striking writing style in The
Old Man and the Sea. To find the answer to the question, full attention was paid to
the conversations between characters, the symbolic images and the mood flow of
the characters.
The researcher also placed great emphasis on the language used in the novel. In
The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway practiced his familiar short and concrete
language but filled with emotions. In contrast to Romantic writers who often
emphasize on abundance, Hemingway is a classicist in his restraint and

Searle, 1969; Grice, 1975; and Halliday and Hasan, 1973, 1978, 1989, 1994) had
drawn certain attention to this branch by clarifying some “contextual, grammar
7

and cohesional models as well as pragmatic and conversational viewpoints”,
which were very clear and essential.
However, at the limitation of the minor thesis, the researcher wanted to focus on
the role of contextual analysis in the three major discourses for the reason that
'context' was created by the discourse and vice versa. It was what and how people
could depend on to interpret the discourses created in each context as Nunan
(1993:7-8) cited that J.R. Firth and Dell Hymes also appreciated the idea that
people always reacted toward how they understood and predicted what the others
were going to say next.
More systematically and clearly than Malinowski, a great British anthropologist
who significantly contributed in clarifying two types of ‗context‘: Context of
Situation and Context of Culture, Halliday (1989) developed a model of
contextual analysis, just following the context of situation, which included three
components as followed:
Components of a
SITUATION
Feature of the context
Field of discourse
what was happening, to the nature of the social action
that was taking place
Tenor of discourse
Who were taking part in the situation
Mode of discourse
The role assigned to language
8


appendix; bodily actions: vomit, spit, swallow

Example 2
A: Hi! I didn't know you belonged to the national Film Theatre. Have you been a
member for long?
B: No, I joined only last week. It's good, isn't it?
A: Yes, it is. There's always an excellent selection of films here. I'm just going to
get a coffee. Would you like one?
B: I'm really thirsty. Oh, don't forget that I've given up sugar.
(Hoang Van Van Ph.D, 2006)
Analysis of Example 2
Components of a
SITUATION
Feature of the context
Field
An informal conversation between friends in a cafeteria
Tenor
Two friends
Mode
Use of words related to theatre: film, member; cafeteria:
thirsty, coffee, sugar
10

In the field of Literature, no matter what the story was, the conversations might be
between or amongst people in a certain circumstance, but it was Mode that
perfectly helped recognize and distinguish an author's literary style from others'.
1.2. Literary style
Literary style was defined in various ways by a number of scholars.
According to Geoffrey Leech and Mick Short, Literary style referred to “linguistic
choice in general” or to ―those aspects of linguistic choice which concern

1.2.2. Sentence fluency
Easily seen in well-known novels that readers mostly were attracted by a variety
of sentences with different lengths and rhythms which was called “the flow and
rhythm of phrases and sentences”; in other words, it was ‗Sentence fluency‘. All
the ideas were carefully considered, chosen and then arranged in various structures
to reflect the main themes of the novel. They were not like in speaking when
people could not rethink or revise the ideas for effect. To make the sentences
fluent, sounding like an own style, the writer would re-choose the words, delete
redundancies, make vague or ambiguous words much clearer to convey the
greatest effect as possible.
1.2.3. Voice
Lord Chesterfield once shared: “Style is the dress of thoughts”; and Literary style
was most clearly defined by an author‘s voice. Although voice was difficult to be
drastically measured, it was the essential element that revealed the writer‘s
personality to the extreme; and in ‗Pride and Prejudice‘, Jane Austen was
successful in portraying characters with a great sense of irony.

“Irony is a form of utterance that postulated a double audience, consisting of one
party that hearing shall hear and shall not understand, and another party that,
12

when more is meant than meets the ear, is aware both of that more and of the
outsiders’ comprehension” (Fowler 1968, 305)
In those hidden language, actions, differences and communications, irony was
seen as an art or a means of worth and effective persuasion in speeches when it
allowed people to convey the meaning above what was said. As Socrates (cite by
Colebrook, 2004) once implied, irony was used by saying one thing and meaning
another which resulted in an insistence. Irony was believed to bring about ―truth
and recognition” even if that truth was hard to be recognized and not fully
meaningful.

and his battle with a great marlin. For 84 days Santiago does not catch a single fish
but he does not feel discouraged. He goes far into the sea again and hooks a giant
marlin. In a desperate struggle, Santiago manages to kill the fish and tie it to his
boat, only to find that on the way home he has to fight a more desperate struggle
with some dangerous giant sharks which eat up the marlin, leaving only a
skeleton. The old man brings it home and goes to bed to dream again. The struggle
leaves him with exhaustion but wins him much respect among the villagers.
1.2.1.2. Themes in The Old Man and the Sea
Theme is an idea or concept that is central to a story. A theme may be exemplified
by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of the characters in a novel.
Within a simple plot about an old poor fisherman, Hemingway praises the themes
of human pride and honor over struggle, defeat and death. A heroic man like
Santiago should have pride in his actions, and as Santiago shows us, "humility was
not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride" (14). At the same, though, it is
apparently Santiago's pride which presses him to travel dangerously far out into
the sea, "beyond all people in the world," to catch the marlin (50). While he loved
the marlin and called him brother, Santiago admits to killing it for pride, his blood
14

stirred by battle with such a noble and worthy antagonist. Some have interpreted
the loss of the marlin as the price Santiago had to pay for his pride in traveling out
so far in search of such a catch. Contrarily, one could argue that this pride was
beneficial as it allowed Santiago an edifying challenge worthy of his heroism. In
the end, Hemingway suggests that pride in a job well done, even if pride drew one
unnecessarily into the situation, is a positive trait.
The story also underlines honor in struggle, defeat and death. From the very first
paragraph, Santiago is characterized as someone struggling against defeat. He has
gone eighty-four days without catching a fish—he will soon pass his own record
of eighty-seven days. Almost as a reminder of Santiago‘s struggle, the sail of his
skiff resembles ―the flag of permanent defeat.‖ But the old man refuses defeat at

Santiago, the protagonist of the novella, is an elderly widowed Cuban fisherman
whose ―luck‖ seems to have run out. He has not caught anything in 84 days.
Santiago is humble in his dealings with others, yet takes great pride in his work
and himself, and is frustrated and embarrassed by his failures. He views his aging
body as a kind of betrayer, and fondly remembers his younger days, when he was
exceptionally strong and a successful fisherman. Other than fishing, Santiago‘s
greatest joys are the time he spends with his former apprentice, Manolin, and the
time he spends talking about baseball, and, in particular, his favorite player, the
―great DiMaggio.‖ Besides Manolin, Santiago considers his only friends to be the
sea, the fish, and the stars. In his conquest over the marlin, Santiago exhibits
exceptional determination and endurance in the face of physical and psychological
pain. Although he loses the marlin to sharks, the entire struggle constitutes a
spiritual triumph in which Santiago emerges as a Christ figure.
16

Manolin is an adolescent Cuban boy who has fished with Santiago since he was a
child. Manolin is Santiago‘s devoted apprentice. He cares for Santiago in his old
age, and encourages him in his fishing even though Manolin‘s parents have forced
Manolin to seek out a ―luckier‖ employer. He is Santiago‘s only human friend,
and looks up to Santiago as a mentor and father-figure. Manolin exemplifies traits
of fidelity, selflessness and compassion. He accepts hard work happily, never
complaining.
The marlin – The giant, 18-foot fish that battles with Santiago in the middle of the
ocean for three days and three nights. Although Santiago hooks the marlin on his
first afternoon at sea, the marlin refuses to come to the surface and pulls Santiago
farther and farther from land. Santiago admires the marlin‘s beauty and endurance,
and considers it a ―noble‖ adversary and a brother, telling the fish repeatedly that
though he loves him, he must kill him.
The shovel-nosed sharks – Scavengers and little more than swimming appetites,
the shovel-nosed sharks are Santiago‘s fiercest antagonists. Although Santiago

some other figures of speech. The author must do this to the point where the
readers must think and understand the characters, the words to understand the
entire story. Hemingway keeps 7/8 of his meaning unwritten for the readers to
decipher from the 1/8 that he is writing. Actually, by omitting certain parts of a
story, the writer strengthens that story. He must be conscious of the omission and
be writing true enough in order for readers to sense the omitted parts. When they
can, a greater perception and understanding of the story can be achieved.
1.2.2.2. Features of Hemingway‟s Iceberg Theory
Hemingway‘s style includes the use of short, choppy sentences that are descriptive
and have underlying meanings that are integral to the work. Hemingway uses this
technique, the iceberg, to portray meaning and depth to a character without
18

directly stating what the reader should be thinking. The iceberg technique allows
readers to use their intelligence to figure out Hemingway‘s underlying meanings.
This writing style is effective because it involves the reader in the work by forcing
the reader to dig beneath the layer of description and find the depth of the writing.
Hemingway‘s creativity and intelligence is shown through his knowledge of the
human condition and his ability to write about people in a realistic way through
the iceberg style. Hemingway made his stories so short. They are like icebergs,
with a lot going on underneath the surface. He revised his stories carefully,
making them tighter and yet more suggestive with each version. He packed a lot of
meaning into a small amount of words.
Iceberg Theory is applied in many of Hemingway‘s novels. Besides The Old Man
and The Sea which is discussed in this paper, ―A Clean, Well Lighted Place‖
(1933) also sets an illustration. It gives account of an old man and two waiters at a
café. Third person narration sticks only to readily discernible facts, allowing the
reader to apply judgment of events and characters. He includes only essential
information, often omitting background information, transitions, and dialogue tags
such as ―he said‖ or ―she said‖. He often uses pronouns without clear antecedents,

the ―rosary‖ beads near the end of the story. The girls stresses inclusiveness in
speech; reflecting her desire to include both the man and the unborn baby in her
life while the man stresses independence in his speech; stressing the importance of
not being tied down with a baby and possible not even the girl. Until the end of the
story, nothing is clear. The reader is expected to decide from the clues the man and
girl's fate. Did they return to Barcelona and ―have everything‖(35) as the main
finally passing through the ―rosary‖ beads implies? Did the man establish his
independence from the girl as the solitary drink at the bar implies? Readers have
their own answers, as Hemingway said ―Read anything I write for the pleasure of
reading it. Whatever else you find will be the measure of what you brought to the
reading‖(Plimpton 128-29) -Ernest Hemingway.
20

Hemingway‘s economical writing style often seems simple, but his method is
calculated and used to complex effect. He believes that a writer could treat the
subject honestly only if the writer had participated in or observed the subject
closely. His stylistic influence on American writers has been enormous and the
Iceberg Theory is also commonly adopted by many writers around the world
today.