E. Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea”: Genre Peculiarities and Issues

The creative work of the great American writer of the twentieth century, Ernest Hemingway, has long attracted the attention of literary scholars, critics, and biographers. The study of the genre and thematic issues in Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea is considered one of the most important tasks in modern literary studies. In this article, the author explores the peculiarities of the genre and the thematic concerns of the novel by employing methods such as observation, generalization, analogy, and comparative analysis. One of the key themes in Hemingway’s creative process is the relationship between man and nature, which forms the foundation of The Old Man and the Sea. The article highlights the analysis of the old man’s character, who embodies resilience, patience in the face of hardship, hard work, pride, and the kindness of a true man. Throughout the study, the author examines the genre and thematic concerns of the story (parable, symbolic elements, existential themes), based on the "iceberg principle," revealing fundamental life issues: the relationship between man and nature, man and society, and man and the Universe. The method of literary analogy (style, plot, motif, and direction) is applied through the cinematic language of The Old Man and the Sea’s plot. The author also analyzes the Kazakh director Ermek Tursunov’s film Shal, which was inspired by The Old Man and the Sea, in which the director uses the story as the spiritual and philosophical foundation of his masterpiece. Hemingway's creative philosophy is centered around the fundamental meaning of life: a man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated – a principle that underpins Hemingway's own life philosophy.