The "Iceberg" Effect

Writing Style and Depth

Critics, and your teacher, have described Hemingway’s style as ‘the iceberg effect’ – because the extreme simplicity masks hidden depths of meaning (like an iceberg, which is mostly hidden beneath the surface of the ocean).

1) Remind yourself of the passage on page 54, another point at which Santiago is talking to himself. “‘The fish is my friend, too,’ he said aloud ... ‘It is enough to live on the sea and kill our own true brothers.’“ (near the end of Part 4)

This passage is densely packed with meaning, yet it is expressed in very simple vocabulary and sentence structure. The old man is debating:

• the conflicts in his feelings about the marlin

• the conflicts in his feelings about his relationship with nature

• the meaning of luck, fate and chance

• his feelings about himself

• the concept of worth.

2) For each of these bullet points write down the opposing ideas that they contain and the key words or phrases used to describe them.