Perseverance, honesty and struggle as characteristic spiritual streak in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Swarup’s The Accidental Apprentice

Dr. Sonu Lohat

Vol-10,Issue-6,November - December 2025

Author: Dr. Sonu Lohat

Keywords: character, nature, protagonist, spiritual, struggle, perseverance

Abstract: Ernest Hemingway and Vikas Swarup can be critically found sharing nothing in common as the former is credited to have tried for transcendental while the latter presents kaleidoscopic facets of life with varied hues and colours. Nonetheless, in terms of characterization something runs as common thread in The Old Man and the Sea and The Accidental Apprentice. No critic would gainsay the fact that Santiago in the former novella represents, and serves as a metaphorical image, of a species (human) asserting his existential presence and obeying harmony with nature and other species. The perseverant protagonist does not give up to the colossal, human size in contrast to giant marlin is notwithstanding. The old man has been projected against the vast scheme of Nature wherein the novelist showcases man’s eternal struggle against indifferent nature apart from his adjustability. The protagonist in another novel does share with Hemingway’s old man in terms of true character in the vortex of life while passing through struggles and hardships. Sapna Sinha, though an ordinary proletarian girl, has strong perseverance and honesty to the given circumstances in her character. Through contrived plots Swarup puts the protagonist through odd vicissitudes as she has to pass the seven tests designed by Acharya Vinay. It is her streak of character with honesty, acceptability, perseverance that she emerges triumphant through hard tests; wiser, more refined and enlightened Sapna attains spiritual bit sublimity at the final pages of the novel.

Article Info: Received: 18 Oct 2025; Received in revised form: 16 Nov 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025; Available online: 25 Nov 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.106.27