--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything about him was old except his…" description: "\"Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg" --- # Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were… ![“Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg) > “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts aging with youthful vigor, using sea‑colored eyes to symbolize enduring spirit despite age. **In simple terms:** His eyes stay youthful while everything else ages. Key Takeaway Seek vitality in small details. Themes age vitality contrast Mood reflective hopeful Type literary character study When to use this quote - character description - highlighting inner strength - contrasting appearance and spirit Key Concepts humanism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the sea symbolize here? - How can we keep a “cheerful” outlook despite aging? A Different Perspective Might over‑romanticize aging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) ## Related quotes > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. 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Thankfully. He would be less than happy if he had to take on some territorial male.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/the-full-tigers-watched-him-silently-all-females-thankfully-he-would/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [“my phone beeped. I took it from my handbag and saw a text message from Dixie. It read: that man is sizzling HOT HOT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-nixon/my-phone-beeped-i-took-it-from-my-handbag-and-saw-a-text-message-from/) j d nixon ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Cheerful quotes > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/to-my-mind-a-picture-should-be-something-pleasant-cheerful-and-pretty/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Well, we can ride together for a while longer. The highway south is farther along this way. I'll be glad of some cheerful company."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-we-can-ride-together-for-a-while-longer-the-highway-south-is/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [ It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, \[but\] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/it-s-sad-if-people-think-that-s-homemaking-a-dull-existance-but-you/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [When I was about 17, I had a row with my mother and left home for six months, renting a flat and working as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/when-i-was-about-17-i-had-a-row-with-my-mother-and-left-home-for-six/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) > [Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/children-ask-better-questions-than-adults-may-i-have-a-cookie-why-is/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-was-broken-in-body-soul-and-spirit-my-natural-elasticity-was/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Love is a very contradiction of all the elements of our ordinary nature -- it makes the proud man meek -- the cheerful, sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/love-is-a-very-contradiction-of-all-the-elements-of-our-ordinary/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [To bear adversity with meek submission to the will of God; to endure chastisement with all long-suffering and joyfulness; to appear cheerful amid surrounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-angell-james/to-bear-adversity-with-meek-submission-to-the-will-of-god-to-endure/) [John Angell James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-angell-james/) [Browse all 600 Cheerful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-about-him-was-old-except-his-eyes-and-they-were-the-same/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheerful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-about-him-was-old-except-his-eyes-and-they-were-the-same/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/ernest-hemingway-83_cheerful_everything-about-him-was-old-except-his_1251345.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and…” — Ernest Hemingway", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everything about him was old except...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-about-him-was-old-except-his-eyes-and-they-were-the-same/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-about-him-was-old-except-his-eyes-and-they-were-the-same/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```