...The Old Man and the Sea is a story about an old fisherman who has not caught a fish for eighty four days, but gets a hook in the mouth of the greatest fish he has ever caught. This fish takes the old man on a journey that he will never forget. At the beginning of the novel, Santiago has been fishing for eighty-four days and has not caught a fish. This symbolizes defeat in Santiago’s life. Santiago does not intend on giving up, but instead he has determination and tells himself that he will go fishing every day until he finally catches a fish. Santiago has a lot of pride in himself, and I find this to be a very rare trait, especially in today’s world. The theme of The Old Man and the Sea is to never give up in any circumstance, because you never know what might happen next. Santiago never gave up and went fishing every day until he hooked the marlin, and he stayed with that marlin until he was able to kill it. When the sharks began to attack Santiago’s boat so they could eat the marlin, Santiago knew it was hopeless and that he would lose the fish, but he still fought them off as long as he could. Even though Santiago was defeated in his fishing trip, he emerged as a hero to not only himself, but to all the people around him as well. The Old Man and the Sea has a few characters. First, there is Santiago who is a fisherman that has not caught a fish in over eighty days but refuses to give up. Santiago is the “Old Man” in the story’s title and knows more than most people about...
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...The significant religious overtones in the novel The Old Man and the Sea. This novel is only 26,500 words but it teaches and gives us an extraordinary look on life and its troubles. The Old Man and the Sea was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway. Hemingway’s story won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. The American Academy of Arts and Letters also rewarded him with the Award of Merit Medal in 1954. At first sight, the story seems to be the utmost easy novel of an old fisherman named Santiago, who set out to sea to fish. Unfortunately, for him, his luck runs out on that mission. Yet through his faith and perseverance, he comes out victoriously. The novel is enriched with significant religious overtones such as the characters, events and symbols, which have created a deeper meaning. “The Old Man and the Sea has engendered some lively debate in literary circles. Critics have concentrated on everything in the novella from the verity of Rigel’s early evening appearance over Cuban skies in September (Weeks 192) to William Faulkner’s judgment that Hemingway discovered God while writing”(Bradford 158-62). “Biblical imagery literally abounds in The Old Man and the Sea according to Donald Heiney. Santiago as a Spanish name translates to Saint James, likewise San Pedro that translates to Saint Peter. James and Peter were disciples of Jesus. In addition, these disciples were fishermen in the bible precisely The New Testament. “Santiago...
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...Monserrat Solis English III J. Rogers 20 March 2014 Old Man and the Sea There are plenty of tales of tales about the big fish that got away. However, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea is not one of those exaggerated stories of a huge fish that cannot be proven to have ever been caught. In fact, Santiago, the protagonist, truly hooks and kills the biggest marlin he’s ever seen, one that is well over 1000 pounds. Unfortunately, after winning the fiercest fishing battle in his career, this poor Cuban fisherman loses marketable parts of the fish to hungry sharks on his way back to shore. Three major themes in this novel are determination, pride, and friendship. There are many themes or lessons one can learn throughout the novel The Old Man and the Sea. Determination is one of the most important character traits Santiago portrays in this novel. It has been 84 days, and the protagonist has not caught a marketable fish that he can sell. Santiago depends on this because he is a poor man who does not have much. Despite the fact people in the town are now starting to lose hope in Santiago he does not give up. Santiago is determined to catch a fish no matter what it may take. Since Santiago has went to fish near shore he begins to think he will have more luck if he goes out further. As he takes a new route Santiago finally finds a fish but it is very hard to catch so he is struggling to kill it. As he waits for a perfect time to launch an attack to kill it he says “I’ll...
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...In Act I of The Old Man and the Sea the reader is introduced to Santiago, an old man who loves fishing. Also in act one, the reader is introduced Manolin, a boy who is not related to the old man, but was taught to fish by Santiago. Santiago has not caught a fish for eighty-four days and it is bothering him. The other fishermen call him unlucky and make fun of him. Santiago ignores all of the comments and remains unfazed, but the question whether he is too old to catch a fish arises. The boy goes to buy some sardines for Santiago. Afterwards, they discuss fishing for the next day and baseball. They later go to Santiago’s house which is a small hut. They talk about their non-existent dinner and baseball. Santiago also mentions that his longest streak of not catching a fish is eighty-seven days and he cannot deal with going that long again. Santiago falls asleep and dreams of Africa and lions on the beach. When he awakes Manolin has gotten dinner for them from Martin. They say they must pay him back when they catch their big fish. Act II begins with the duo heading down to the docks in the morning, but the moon is still outside. Manolin gives Santiago the sardines and he casts out to sea. Santiago pasts by flying fish and birds and make a comment about how the “can be so cruel” (29). Before light hits, Santiago casts out his lure. As Santiago was fishing, he notices Portuguese man of war being eating by turtles. He catches some tuna so that he can eats. Then he gets a pull on...
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...States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe to cover such events as the Greek Revolution. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises (1926). Equally successful was A Farewell to Arms (1929), the study of an American ambulance officer's disillusionment in the war and his role as a deserter. Hemingway used his experiences as a reporter during the civil war in Spain as the background for his most ambitious novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Among his later works, the most outstanding is the short novel, The Old Man and the Sea (1952), the story of an old fisherman's journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. Hemingway - himself a great sportsman - liked to portray soldiers, hunters, bullfighters - tough, at times primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society, and who in this confrontation lose hope and faith. His straightforward prose, his spare dialogue, and his predilection for understatement are particularly effective in his short stories, some of which are collected in Men Without Women (1927) and The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories (1938). Hemingway died in Idaho in 1961. From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier Publishing Company,...
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...Caleb Friginal Mrs. Chupp English II Honors 11/2/11 Pain is a Useful Thing Have you ever had to do something hard to get somewhere? Well in one way, shape, or form all of us have had to do something difficult to get where we want to be. Whether a student stays after school to get help from a teacher or an athlete wakes up for an early morning jog they are showing Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote, “No Gains Without Pains” that he wrote in Poor Richard Almanac. Franklin tried to show the people that you could not get anywhere without a struggle now and then. The United States of America, athletics, and even school have shown that there are not gains without pains. The United States of America is such a tremendous place to live. We could not have gotten this far without some growing pains. Even the great United States has had to go through some arduous times. But, because of those hard times we are here today. Our country has gone through a Revolution, a Civil War, and even a terrorist attack on our own country. Even throughout these excruciating times we have made it through tougher and better for it. American have become a super powers in the world and we would not have gained this much without some pain. All this pain didn’t feel good at the time, but it was worth it in the end. These facts prove Franklin’s point “No Gains Without Pains”. The United States of America is an exceptional example of how there are not gains without pains. All sports are difficult and very tough...
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...I’m Maria Alexandrea D. Seraspe, 16 years old, Paranaque City. I love to sing, to draw, to paint and to dance. I dislike reading fictional stories. I prefer non-fictional stories because I find it more interesting. Yes, I’m not good in writing essays but I love writing essays. ------------------------------------------------- THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Ernest Hemingway “ There was an old man that goes by the name Santiago. Santiago had been labeled as a "Salao" or the worst form of being unlucky. Because he had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish and that his companion, Manolin, was forbidden by his parents to sail with the old man and had been tasked to go with other blossoming fisherman but the boy disobeys his parents and visits the old man each night. Santiago tells Manolin that he will set far out into the Gulf Stream, north of Cuba and Straits of Florida to fish. Santiago was convinced that his fate will change. On the eighty fifth day, he sat out alone to Gulf Stream. By noon, a Marlin takes his bait. The marlin was too colossal for him so he was unable to pull it up to his boat. Santiago waited while his body was throbbing and aching. Two days and two nights passed, still he was unable to pull it out. On the third day, Santiago releases the strength left in him to pull the Marlin out and stabs the giant with a harpoon and ends the battle. He heads home while daydreaming about the high price the fish is about to bring him. The blood trail of the Marlin...
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...In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and the movie The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger have many similarities in the main characters. The main similarities that Santiago and Billy Tyne share are their pride, the losses they both have, and how they are both treated throughout their days of being a fisherman. Santiago is the main character in the novella, The Old Man and the Sea. He is an older man who is a fisherman where recently he has not caught any fish for eighty-four days. His pride is to keep fishing and trying to catch something so people in his village would stop laughing at him because he has not caught a single fish for a long time. Even though he has not caught anything for that amount of time and listens...
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...significant to occur. Every person experiences hope at least once a day. In the Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago was desperately trying to catch a marlin. This marlin represents hope. The marlin represents hope because it is the one thing that Santiago will not let go, it gives Santiago strength, and in the end, is mostly lost. The marlin, which represents hope, is one thing that Santiago will not let go. When the tug loosens on the fishing line Santiago exclaims, “‘He can’t be gone’ he said, ‘Christ knows he can’t have gone’” (Hemingway 42). Santiago keeps holding the marlin for strength and will not give up. He was so hopeful that the fish was there that there was no way in his mind that he could give up. “You work now, fish...I’ll take you at the turn” (Hemingway 89). Santiago will not let go of this fish. The marlin is everything to him and once that is gone he is left with nothing but himself. He has calculated every move so that he will catch the fish. Nothing is able to stop him. When Santiago does have the marlin on his line, than he is filled with both hope and strength. The marlin that Santiago is trying to catch...
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...ability to choose his own actions, and therefore must be responsible for their consequences. Of course, the others in this ‘personal hell’ may have physically or mentally injured us; but that does not mean that we should, in this, result living in hell, but can rather choose to live in paradise. Take injustice, the easiest way to allow our lives to turn into sheer nightmare. Inequality, or discrimination happens in our society, purely because that one is of a different nationality, different status, different abilities and talents; to the point even when appearance could be taken in and laughed at. Injustice is everywhere, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it entirely; as Kino from The Pearl (Stein) and Santiago from The Old Man and The Sea (Hem), the two protagonists from the respective novellas experiences. The former lives in poverty, right next to palaces; and the other has not, being a fisherman, caught any fish for a continuous eighty four days. These unfortunate events, however, is only the basis for their undeserved discrimination. Such happenings contribute to creating a ‘living hell’ towards the both men; it is only a place among internal conflict, pain and hardship that makes the protagonists who they are in the end. Both Kino and Santiago, strive for self respect to break the injustice that society forces onto them creating an illusion of a “living hell” while still coping with their struggle between internal and external conflicts. Immediately...
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...Consequence in‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and ‘The Pearl’. Summary of stories: Steinbeck’s touchingly simple novella ‘The Pearl’ was written in 1945, and explores the destructive effect of capitalism on a traditional Mexican village, around the turn of the century. It tells the story of Kino, an Indian pearl diver who discovers a massive, beautiful, and extremely valuable pearl. The pearl fills Kino with a new desire to abandon his simple, idyllic life in favor of dreams of material and social advancement, dreams to give his son and wife everything they desire, but dreams that are oppressed by the social hierarchy of Kino’s village. Although Kino has discovered this beautiful pearl worth more than anything he has found before, it only leads to death and destruction and eventually leaves Kino and his wife with nothing, and their beloved son dead. ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is another novella, the story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. Written in 1952 by Ernest Hemingway, it was the last major work of the author before his suicide, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. It is the tale of a fruitless and ancient fisherman named Santiago. Santiago had spent eighty-four days without a catch, and, confident that his unproductive streak will come to an end, sets sail farther out than usual. He places his bait deep into the water and a few hours later an enormous marlin takes the bait, however the old man cannot reel...
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...In The Old Man and the Sea, it states that, “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (Hemingway 93) This statement can be seen woven throughout the novel in many different forms. It is expressed mostly in the old man whose name is, Santiago. Many look upon him and merely see an old man who is not worth much. However, despite his age and appearance, Santiago refuses to accept destruction in his life. He believes that a man may be defeated by outside influences, but is only destroyed when he truly gives up on himself. The definition of defeat is to have a victory over an event whereas the definition of destruction is to put an end to something entirely. For eighty-four days the hopeful fisherman continuously returns to port empty handed. Even though he is going through trials and hardships, his mind is as sharp as iron and refuses to be destroyed. When it seems like all hope is lost, Santiago holds his head high and refuses to be brought down by outside influences. He clings to the knowledge that he is an honest man and a good fisherman who is simply trying to survive. He has a humble pride about him that is only displayed in the strongest of men. He does not boast of his great deeds, but his pride refuses to allow his soul be...
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...Autobiographical Self-representation in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea Twentieth Century American Fiction ¬¬¬¬ Art and Literature has its origin in man’s desire for immortality. This desire for eternal remembrance prompted primitive men to carve figures of himself and his surroundings in his dwelling places. As art developed and languages formed, the same desire enflamed and that became an impetus for literature. Early literature must have been a recording of real life events with strong and highly fictional additions. Thus, every literature is a product of this human desire to make oneself immortal through the recording of one’s own philosophy, imaginations and real life events. Even in the modern age this subconscious desire results in the inclusion of autobiographical elements of the author into his writings. Ernest Hemingway, America’s most celebrated novelist-cum -short story writer of the twentieth century is said to derive the impetus for his fiction from his own real life experiences or very rarely from the experiences of others who have went through agonies in life just like him. The Old Man and the Sea, one of his greatest and most widely read work is certainly filled with many allusions to his own life, and ideals. The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago who fishes in the gulf stream. The man is having some bad time with fishing and has gone without fish for eighty five days. He is very poor and...
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...Literary Analysis In “The Old Man and the Sea” Ernest Hemingway writes about an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago. The story begins with Santiago fishing alone after having gone eight-four days without catching a fish. A boy, Manolin, fishes with Santiago for the first forty days, but Manolin’s father subsequently forbids him to continue fishing with the old man because the village perceives Santiago to be unlucky and too old to fish. On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago, alone, departs for the sea before sunrise. This begins Santiago’s exhausting three-day struggle to capture and bring home an enormous marlin; thereby redeeming himself to the villagers. The first day Santiago hooks the marlin, only to have it drag his skiff far out to sea. He knows he is not prepared to be out to sea so far and keeps hoping the marlin will come up for air so he can kill it with a spear. The second day the reader rejoices. Santiago kills the marlin only to find the fish too large to fit in the skiff. The old fisherman lashes the fish to the side of the skiff and hopes the sharks won’t attack. The third day sharks attack the dead marlin again and again. Santiago tries to protect his prize catch but is ill prepared. The sharks are unrelenting and leave only the marlin’s skeleton for Santiago to bring to the village. In this novella, Hemingway unites the reader with setting, character, and conflict to tell a tale of “grace under pressure.” Cuba and the Gulf Stream is the setting for...
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...The book follows the old man on his journey out to sea in search for a fish. But why did Hemingway wright him to be an old man? A young one would have had much more strength to bring the fish in, but he would have gone at it in a different perspective. Is the old man supposed to go through similar every day challenges as a normal person would? When the old man catches the fish, he holds on and doesn’t let go, so from that perspective it could be taken as a metaphorical grudge, or see it for what it is, determination. But the fact is, is that if Hemingway was to write it as a young man against the sea, he could have given up the fish, to try to catch a smaller one for less labor. But what does age have to do with their choices? First off,...
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