The Old Man and the Sea - The Sharks

Many people would overlook the sharks when thinking about the symbols in The Old Man and the Sea. The sharks first come to attack the marlin that the old man caught because it was bleeding and they could smell the blood (Hemingway 107). Santiago figured that the sharks would be coming at some point, so he tried to prepare for them. When the sharks first came and started attacking the marlin, Santiago used all of his might to try to kill them. As more and more sharks came up to the boat, the old man started to get tired. He was running out of supplies and ways to kill the sharks. Some of the sharks were harder to kill because of their position near the boat. The old man knew that striking the sharks in on the very tip of the head, close to the eyes, would rupture the skull and they would die (Hemingway 111).

I believe that the sharks in the story represent struggle and obstacles of life. The old man worked very hard to catch the marlin and when the sharks attacked it, he was devastated. He was mostly devastated because he had worked so hard to catch the marlin in the first place and bring him into the dock. The sharks were just another obstacle in life that the old man had to face. Even though sharks are dangerous and they were very hungry, the old man put all of his effort and all of his strength into killing the sharks. As the great marlin had less and less meat on him, the old man lost a lot of his hope. The sharks were the cause of his great loss of hope. Santiago greatly wished he could make it back to land and the sharks would not continue to follow. Every time a shark attacked, the fish bled more, which attracted more sharks. The old man overcame the sharks though, which also shows how people can overcome obstacles in their life. The sharks were a hidden meaning in the story because even though they were represented as evil, the old man built up an inner strength and defeated them in the end, just like we can do in our lives.

As I stated in my blog about the marlin, the fight with the marlin was a symbol for Santiago's fight for pride in his village. The sharks also serve as a symbol. I believe that they could represent the villagers in Santiago's town. Santiago talked in the beginning of the book about how the villagers thought lowly of him. They believed that he was unlucky, and Santiago started to believe it too. They did not believe he could catch anything anymore. When the sharks came, they threatened to crush Santiago's dream, just like the villagers did. They also threatened the fish's dream of escape. So, the sharks could basically symbolize the people in life who try to bring you down. They are the people you need to fight to overcome, just like Santiago tried to.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - Manolin

Even though he was hardly seen in the book, I feel that Manolin plays a very important part in how the book turned out. The boy helps give the old man hope, both at the beginning of the story and at the end. If it was not for the boy, why would the old man have gone through what he did? I think that the boy motivates the old man with his confidence, and the old man thinks of that and picks himself up.

I first noticed this in the beginning of the book. Until the boy start talking with Santiago, the tone is very depressing. The man is upset about his recent failures at fishing. When the old man and the boy get to talking, the tone starts to get brighter. It even says "His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises." (Hemingway 13). The boy and his optimism make the old man more optimistic as well. This helps him greatly, because without the hopeful attitude of the boy, the old man probably would have given up on fishing, despite his love for it.

Later, when Santiago is having difficulties with the fish, he thinks that if the boy were with him he would help. He really loves the boy and thinks of him as a great help to him physically and mentally. After that, he thinks of how good it was that the fish jumped and that his hands were not really so bad (Hemingway 42). I do not think it is just a coincidence that the old man is more optimistic after thinking about the boy. The boy really seems to give the old man hope that he can achieve his goals. Just like how Manolin serves as the sunshine in Santiago's life, we can see that that the boy shows the old man how there is good in every situation.

In the end of the book, when the old man goes home, the first thing the he says is "they beat me." Despite this declaration of failure, at the end of the book, the old man is making plans to go fishing again (Hemingway 58-59). I believe that when he got home, he thought about how the boy would encourage him to continue. The boy's optimistic attitude and confidence in the old man helps give the old man more confidence in himself. Because of this, the old man is able to keep going and endure what he must even when things go badly. Manolin serves as a beacon of hope and confidence for the old man, and thats why he is so important to the story.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - The Marlin Symbolizes Inner Conflict??

The marlin has to be one of the most important characters in the book. Even though it is just a character in the story, I feel that it has a more broad meaning. The marlin serves somewhat of a symbolic purpose. Before I talk about that, though, I want to talk about what we do know about the marlin. In the end, we find that the marlin measures eighteen feet in length and Santiago is unable to pull him up into the boat. The marlin fights just as hard as the old man for the will to live and be free. He too is starving and becoming weak.  The marlin knows he is going to die, which is a pretty sad ending to a life.  The marlin was determined and never gave up until his final moments. Where have we seen this before? Right. In the old man. The old man and the marlin both gave equally good fights for their lives. The marlin wanted to live and was determined to fight for it. Santiago wanted to capture the fish for the self achievement and so that he could earn money and honor. Because both of them were so faithful to what they wanted, their efforts were equal, so for a long period of time there was no winner.

If you look at the marlin as if it was a symbol, you can see how he represents the conflict of the story. If you also notice how alike the marlin and the old man are, you can see that the fight with the marlin could represent an internal conflict for Santiago as well as an external one. As we read about in the beginning of the story, we learned that Santiago has been looked upon as an outdated old man who cannot catch a fish anymore. He has not been able to catch a fish for a long time, and the people around him (besides Manolin) believe that he is inadequate. This makes the man feel horrible about himself. When Santiago finally catches the marlin on his hook, he realizes that catching the fish is the only way he could prove the villagers wrong. As he fights to reel in the fish, he finds that he is fighting for his dignity and pride. He desperately wants to show everyone that he is not just an inadequate old coot that cannot fish anymore. Sadly, when he fails to bring back the fish in one piece, he feels that he has failed. He knew that he caught the fish, though, so he felt that he had beaten his inner conflict.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - Santiago (The Old Man)

Where there are not many characters in The Old Man and the Sea, the ones that are there have well developed characters that I would like to talk about, startinng with the old man. The old man, Santiago, is of Cuban descent and is fairly old. He fishes for a living, though he has not had much luck lately, and lives in a small shack on the coast. He relies on his friend Manolin and they talk about each others day and if they caught any good fish (Hemingway, 11). When he goes out to sea one morning, he spots a rather large marlin. Santiago is very determined when trying to catch the marlin. We see how courageous and patient he is despite how strongly the marlin is fighting back. In the end, Santiago does not end up getting the fish, but that does not quench his love for fishing.

One thing I noticed about the old man was his odd collection of memories. None of them seem to go with each other, and yet they fit together to make Santiago the man that he is. He is unorganized in his thoughts, but it makes his character very unique. He seems to get lost in his thoughts a lot as he remembers his past. As you read through his random thoughts, we see that he once sailed off the coast of Africa, he used to have arm wrestling contests, he loves turtles, and his eyes often hurt in the morning (Hemingway 16-36). He had a wife once that he misses very dearly (Hemingway 14). Everything about him is very detailed, from the wrinkles on his skin to the broadness of his past and his imagination. These details gave him a remarkable character that I grew to enjoy listening to as the story went on.

Lastly, the thing that I admire most about Santiago is his determination. He is courageous, determined, and willing to go against all odds to show people that he can catch the biggest fish. He held through little food, long days, hardly and rest and painstaking work for hours on end. He made the decision to catch that fish, and he was not going to turn back, even though it would have been easier to give up. Because he made that decision, the readers of the story will cheer him on. Reading through it, I found myself on edge because occasionally he would almost lose the fish. The entire character of Santiago is very in depth and I really enjoyed reading about him.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - Time Period

In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, many reflections of the time period are made throughout the story. I felt that Hemingway really understood the troubles and conflicts of the time because he was able to acturately portay the time in which the book took place. Resemblances of the nineteen twenties through the forties are fluent through Hemingway’s themes.  In the story, the old man wanted to catch the big fish very much. He showed a side of human nature that allows one to never give up on what they are fighting for, and to persevere through anything they must and that would allow for one to survive.

 In the decade before this story is told to take place, the Great Depression settles itself into American lives across the nation until about the early forties. Even then, the Depression continued to plague Cuba and other nations around it. The people during these times, the hardworking and little paid ones, knew the true meaning of perseverance. They knew that if they gave up, they would die. During that time, they learned how to never give up, even when it was hard. The children during that time are the ones who fought especially hard for their survival.  Just like the old man, they knew that eventually their time would pass. Despite this, they realized that if they tried hard enough, they would get that meal that could keep them going for another day. In these hard times, it was difficult for people who could not work much to get money. The old man knew that the marlin would bring him a lot of money, as well as a lot of self achievement.  If any citizen during that time had a chance to acquire that sum of money, I’m sure they would dive in headfirst and do anything they needed to secure that they would receive it. The Great Depression probably is the main event in known American history that would have inspired Ernest Hemingway in writing his novella The Old Man and the Sea. His themes are derived from the inspirational lives of the men, woman, and children who lived through it all. Because of this, he did a remarkable way of staying true to the time period of the story.

Hemingway also did a remarkable job at capturing the social behaviors of the time. The relationship between the old man and the boy is a good example of Hemingway's ideal relationship between old people and younger people. The old man shares his experience with the boy in teaching him how to fish and lets him learn by trusting him with jobs (Hemingway 18). The boy helps the old man fish by bring him freash bait and other things (Hemingway 13). Because they help each other, there is a strong bond between them and love each other (Hemingway 13). In their relationship, both of them are happy to help. The boy's new boss, however, does not let the boy help him (Hemingway 18), so when he helps the boy by waking him up, the boy sees it as a bit insulting rather than as help (Hemingway 17). Because the old man and they boy help each other, there is love rather than disliking between them. I believe that back then, bonds were easier formed between young and old people than they are today. Their entire relationship seemed very realistic for their time period. Hemingway obviously understood how society and life worked during the forties.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - Character Development?!

Many people would say that The Old Man and the Sea was pretty bland and boring to read. Where it has its moments, I believe that the book has ways of compensating for it.  Hemingway uses character development to draw readers in to the story along with some suspense. They keep the character interested, in my opinion. The more you know about a character in a story, the more you come attached to them. This makes you want to continue to read so that you can find out what happens to them. Suspense and character devolopment may be two common techniques used in books, The Old Man and the Sea uses them specifically to keep its readers interested.

While there is little to no action going on, the old man thinks about his life. The memories that come up help develop his character and create an interesting past for the old man. While I was reading the book, I found myself getting bored with the fishing parts and looking forward to the next thoughts and memories the old man would have at the beginning of the story. I really wanted to know more about the old man and his life. Because I was so drawn in to the character, I started paying more attention to the fishing parts because I saw how his past effected his thoughts about fishing. For example, in the beginning it mentions that the old man had a wife who was religious (Hemingway 14). While he is fishing he says Hail Marys and promises to make a pilgrimage in order to catch his fish (Hemingway 34). Although the old man says he is not religious, he still prays partially because of his wife. Because of how his memories from his past shape his character and how his character's actions stay true to these memories, I was able to become interested in the fishing parts as well as the thoughtful parts. This made the book a lot easier to read for me and probably a lot of other people.

As he is devoloping the old man's beautiful character, Hemingway uses a nice amount of suspense too. When the fish starts nibbling at the old man's hook, the old man starts talking to the fish and to himself (Hemingway 25). As the old man tries to convince the fish to take it and tries to convince himself the fish will take it both build a lot of tension in the story. The reader can tell how much the fish matters to the old man, so as he struggles, the readers find themselves rooting on the old man. When the fish is circling, the old man keeps thinking that the fish will kill him with each pass (Hemingway 45). This builds a lot of suspence because at this point one of the two will die, and it is hard to tell which one it will be. The constant worry that something bad will happen to this poor old man keeps the story interesting. The suspense and character development in this book really can draw readers in.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea - Why do we STILL read it?

I have found that this book is somewhat inspiring. It also seems to contain a few hidden important messages that the readers have to analyse for themselves. While reading the book, I believe that the readers develop a lot of respect for the old man by the end of book, and that has helped it become so timeless.

When reading a story about an old man, all alone, struggling to catch an amazing fish, a person can not help feeling like they could make more out of what they are doing as well. Having gone through a few rough times in life myself, it makes me happy when think about the old man refused to let his pain get the better of him. These blogs are proving to be a rough time as well. If that poor old man could get through catching his fish, and even get past loosing it to the sharks, then I believe I can finish these blogs.

One of the important messages I found was that a love for nature can sometimes make things easier than they would otherwise be. For instance, if the old man saw the fish as an enemy and hated it, he probably would have had a miserable couple days trying to catch the fish. Instead, he loves the fish and forms a deep respect for it (Hemingway 30). Instead of becoming a fight between the two, the experience becomes a contest. Anger and hatred are not very pleasant emotions, so I would say hs love for the sea made fishing far more enjoyable for him, even though he was having a very rough and painful time trying to catch the fish.

When I read a book, I do not often form any respect for the characters -not that I do not like them, but because I just realize that in most cases it is just a book, not the truth-. Most of the time, I have trouble seeing anything realistic about them. In Old Man and the Sea, this is not the case. Hemingway creates a character that is strong and determined despite his old age. I love finding a book in which the characters can actually speak to you and seem so real. Even though this book had its boring moments, I really found it interesting and appealing. Considering that the book has become so classic, I doubt that I am the only one who thinks this way.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.