MAJOR 12 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA 🌊


Name: Rakshitaba Vadher  |  Course: T.Y. B.A. English (Sem 5)

Welcome to my academic literary blog. This comprehensive portfolio contains fifteen structured assignments covering Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. It features 5 Home Assignments, 5 Class Assignments, and 5 Essay Assignments designed for Core English Literature studies.

Classic Literature Books and Journal
Comparative Literary Analysis — Austen & Hemingway

Section 1: Home Assignments (1–5)

Home Assignment 1: Elinor vs. Marianne — Character Comparison

Question: Compare and contrast the characters of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. How do their personalities reflect the novel's title?

Analysis: Elinor Dashwood represents "sense"—prudence, emotional restraint, and concern for social decorum. When she learns that Edward Ferrars is secretly engaged to Lucy Steele, she suppresses her grief to spare her family distress. In contrast, Marianne embodies "sensibility"—passion, emotional openness, and romantic idealism. After Willoughby abandons her, she surrenders completely to despair, leading to severe physical illness. Through their journeys, Austen argues that neither pure sense nor unchecked sensibility is sufficient; personal fulfillment requires a balanced integration of both.

Home Assignment 2: Major Motifs in The Old Man and the Sea

Question: Analyze the symbolic significance of the Marlin, the Sharks, and the Lions on the Beach in Hemingway's novella.

Analysis:

  • The Marlin: Represents the ultimate worthy adversary. Santiago views the fish not as an enemy, but as a noble brother deserving of respect.
  • The Sharks: Symbolize destructive, unfeeling forces of nature and society that scavenge the rewards of honest labor.
  • The Lions on the Beach: Dreamed by Santiago, they represent his lost youth, physical strength, vitality, and circular connection to nature.

Home Assignment 3: Socio-Economic Realities in Regency Literature

Question: How do estate entailment and economic dependence dictate the options of female characters in Sense and Sensibility?

Analysis: The novel opens with economic displacement. Under British inheritance laws, the Dashwood estate at Norland passes entirely to John Dashwood. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters are left with a tiny annuity, forcing them to relocate to Barton Cottage. Austen exposes marriage as an economic necessity for women in Regency England, where financial survival often eclipses romantic choice.

Home Assignment 4: The Hemingway Code Hero

Question: Explain how Santiago embodies the classic characteristics of a "Hemingway Code Hero".

Analysis: A Code Hero demonstrates endurance, self-reliance, dignity, and "grace under pressure." Santiago meets these criteria throughout his 84-day dry spell and three-day struggle with the marlin. He suffers physical torment without complaints, maintaining stoic resolve even when faced with defeat by the sharks.

Home Assignment 5: Secondary Foils — Lucy Steele and Manolin

Question: Discuss the structural function of Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility and Manolin in The Old Man and the Sea.

Analysis:

  • Lucy Steele: Serves as a foil to Elinor. Where Elinor exercises restraint out of selflessness, Lucy uses secretive calculation for social mobility.
  • Manolin: Serves as Santiago's pupil and emotional anchor. He demonstrates loyalty, preserving Santiago's legacy and ensuring that the old man's knowledge is passed down to the next generation.

Section 2: Class Assignments (6–10)

Class Assignment 6: Free Indirect Discourse Exercise

Task: Identify and extract examples of Free Indirect Discourse in Sense and Sensibility, explaining how Austen blends the third-person narrator's voice with a character's internal thoughts.

Exercise Key: Focus on passages where the narrator describes Mrs. Jennings or Fanny Dashwood. The narrator adopts their vocabulary and moral blind spots to expose their hypocrisy through irony.

Class Assignment 7: Decoding Hemingway’s "Iceberg Theory"

Task: Select a passage from The Old Man and the Sea and isolate the omitted 7/8ths of thematic meaning underneath the simple 1/8th surface narrative.

Exercise Key: Analyze Santiago's line: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." On the surface, it describes physical survival at sea. Beneath the surface, it expresses an existential philosophy regarding human dignity and spiritual resilience.

Class Assignment 8: Group Debate Outline — Victory or Defeat?

Task: Prepare arguments for a classroom debate on Santiago's expedition.

Argument: Santiago was DefeatedArgument: Santiago was Victorious
Returns with only an unusable skeleton.Proves his skill and conquers the marlin.
Suffers complete physical destruction and loss of gear.Maintains dignity and spiritual integrity.
Leaves himself with no immediate financial gain.Reclaims his identity as El Campeón and inspires Manolin.

Class Assignment 9: Plot Curve & Structure Comparison

Task: Map out and contrast the narrative arcs of both texts.

Sense and Sensibility (Multi-threaded Social Drama)
[Exposition: Norland Estate] -> [Rising Action: London/Barton] -> [Climax: Marianne's Fever] -> [Resolution: Balanced Marriages]

The Old Man and the Sea (Linear Mythic Journey)
[Exposition: 84 Days No Fish] -> [Rising Action: 3-Day Marlin Fight] -> [Climax: Shark Attacks] -> [Resolution: Sleep & Dreams of Lions]

Class Assignment 10: Literary Terms Worksheet

Task: Match the literary term to its correct text application.

  1. Free Indirect Discourse: Austen blending narrative voice with Elinor's internal thoughts.
  2. Novella: Hemingway's concentrated focus on a single plot arc and minimal cast.
  3. Foils: Marianne and Elinor contrasting emotional responses.
  4. Allegory: Santiago's voyage representing human life and spiritual endurance.

Section 3: Essay Assignments (11–15)

Essay 1 (Assignment 11): The Balance of Reason and Emotion in Austen

Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility examines the tension between rationality and romantic idealism in 18th-century English society. Through Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, Austen demonstrates that neither unyielding self-restraint nor unchecked emotion leads to happiness.

Elinor's restraint protects her family from social humiliation, but it also causes internal suffering as she isolates herself with her grief over Edward. Conversely, Marianne's devotion to sensibility leaves her vulnerable to Willoughby's betrayal and leads to physical collapse. By the novel's end, both sisters mature: Marianne learns prudence, while Elinor learns to express her feelings. Austen advocates for a synthesis of sense and sensibility as necessary for personal fulfillment.

Essay 2 (Assignment 12): Heroism and Existentialism in Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea explores human resilience within an indifferent universe. Santiago's journey is defined not by material success, but by moral victory.

Santiago's battle with the marlin tests his physical limits, yet he treats his opponent with reverence, calling it his brother. When sharks consume the marlin's flesh, they destroy the outcome of his work, but they cannot destroy his spirit. His return to port with the skeleton proves his endurance. Santiago embodies the principle that true dignity lies in how one faces suffering and adversity.


Essay 3 (Assignment 13): Financial Constraints in Regency England

In Sense and Sensibility, economic structure directly dictates social survival. Austen portrays a world where romantic choices are continuously constrained by financial necessity.

The Dashwood family's displacement shows how legal entailment leaves women dependent on male relatives. Willoughby abandons Marianne to marry Miss Grey for her fortune, revealing how financial interests shape personal relationships. Similarly, Edward Ferrars faces disinheritance when he refuses to comply with his mother's demands. Austen presents marriage not merely as a romantic union, but as a socio-economic contract critical for survival in Regency society.

Essay 4 (Assignment 14): Christian Imagery in The Old Man and the Sea

Although The Old Man and the Sea is a secular narrative, Hemingway employs Christian symbolism to elevate Santiago's struggle to a universal scale.

When Santiago sees the sharks, he utters an involuntary sound that Hemingway compares to a man feeling nails driven through his hands. Upon returning to shore, Santiago carries his heavy mast up the hill, falling under its weight in an echo of the carrying of the cross. He sleeps in his shack with his arms extended open and palms facing upward. These images frame Santiago's suffering as a transcendent endurance of life's hardships.

Essay 5 (Assignment 15): Social Isolation vs. Community in Austen and Hemingway

Comparing Sense and Sensibility with The Old Man and the Sea reveals two contrasting approaches to the individual's place in society. Austen examines individuals within a social network, while Hemingway isolates his protagonist in nature.

In Austen's world, privacy is rare; gossip and societal expectations constantly influence choices. Characters must navigate rigid social norms to maintain their standing. In contrast, Hemingway strips away social conventions by placing Santiago alone in the Gulf Stream. Away from societal judgment, Santiago's test is internal and elemental. Together, these works illustrate two dimensions of human existence: navigating obligations within a community, and maintaining personal integrity in isolation.

Comparative Overview Matrix

Structural ElementSense and SensibilityThe Old Man and the Sea
Author & YearJane Austen (1811)Ernest Hemingway (1952)
Primary ConflictIndividual desire vs. social & economic expectationsMan vs. natural forces & existential destiny
Narrative ToneWitty, satirical, critically observantStoic, spare, allegorical
Core Moral PhilosophyBalanced integration of reason and emotionDignity through endurance under pressure

Created by Rakshitaba Vadher | T.Y. B.A. English (Sem 5)

© 2026 Academic Literature Portfolio

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