The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
Simon & Schuster
1952
Realistic Fiction
Hemingway`s Fishing Expedition
The
story starts off by introducing an old man named Santiago on a fishing
journey with no catch in 84 days. He had a young boy, Manolin, as a
companion for the first forty days, but the young boy`s family realized
the old man was “salao” (really bad luck). Since being alone, Santiago
has accomplished nothing. All is hopeless until an encounter with a
giant marlin. Does Santiago win the battle or does the marlin leave
him stranded in the sea with still no catch to be proud of? Find out by
reading this magnificent novel.
“Using
the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless
themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from
loss and transforms them into a magnificent twentieth-century
classic.”-Will Byrnes.
I
chose this quote not only because we have the same name, but we feel
the same way of Hemingway`s work. The story is a prime example of David
and Goliath. All odds were stacked against David, but he overcame them
by defeating Goliath. Same with Santiago and the Marlin, Santiago
overcame the fact that he had caught nothing in nearly three months, but
when he had the chance he was prepared. Even when defeated in the
inside, you can still become victorious on the out.
“He
was bright in the sun and his head and back were dark purple and in the
sun the stripes on his sides showed wide and a light lavender”
(Hemingway 62). I imaged an old man in the middle of the sea when the
sun was setting and the back of his body castes a large purple shadow
with lavender stripes running across his side.
Heat by
Mike Lupica has a similar conflict with the main character. He lives
alone in the big apple with his older brother illegally because he isn`t
18 until two more months. Trying to wait out that time the protagonist
was suspended from his baseball team because he didn't have a birth
certificate to prove he was only 13. Then the older brother got in
trouble with the cops. With all odds stacked against the protagonist,
he overcame them with a little help. Find out how by reading that
fascinating novel.
The Alex Rider series is a different scenario though. He has conflicts but has much assistance during his quests. Also, he is not stranded in the middle of a gulf in the ones I have read. Alex and Santiago are nothing alike.
“A
man can be destroyed but not defeated” (Hemingway 38). I think he was
trying to say you can be knocked down time after time, but you should
always rise back up and keep fighting until you accomplish what you need
to do. I 100% completely agree with this line from The Old Man and the Sea.
Santiago,
many others and I have faced the biggest encounter with life and
death in our lives so far. But all of us had the same determination to
be the better man (or woman) to have another day.
Rate: 4 paws
