The Old Man and the Sea - According to the Time Period...

After doing some research on the time period of the book, which seems to take place in the 1940’s despite the book being published in 1952, I was able to notice many of the references to that time period that there were in the book. One reference that was very often referred to was the “great DiMaggio”, who was a famous baseball player of the 1940’s. I went online on infoplease.com to find out what happened between the years of 1940 and 1952. According to that site, the Yankees won the World Series in 1952. Many times, Santiago talks about DiMaggio with praise. “Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.” (Hemingway 17). “I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing.” (Hemingway 22). It seems that the Yankees and baseball in general are one of the only things that truly interests Santiago and makes him happy. Baseball was big back in the 40’s and 50’s, so it would make sense that Santiago knew so much about it. Santiago’s adoration for DiMaggio also helped him work through the pain he felt while trying to reel in the massive marlin. “But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel.”

Another thing I noticed was that Santiago was a very poor man. Back then, especially in Cuba, fishing was a big thing. That is what most people had for food, so the fishing industry was pretty big. Santiago’s eighty-four-day-long hiatus would have really affected him, as shown in the book. This shows that Hemingway understood how such a long pause of work could affect a lowly, old fisherman. Even though in the 1940’s the Great Depression had just ended, the boost of money again had not seemed to reach Cuba yet.

As for social and behavioral issues of the time, we did not receive enough communication between people to see how things were like during that time. The only people we really heard from were Santiago and Manolin. They were very friendly to each other, but that was more because of their grandfather/grandson like relationship. The vendors in the town were also very friendly by giving Manolin free food for him and Santiago (Hemingway 20). That could just be a sign of neighborly kindness, which is not necessarily affected by the time period.

As I stated in my 3^rd blog, one of the main themes I found throughout the book was perseverance against all odds, even though you may be limited by age or strength. I feel like this was the main theme Hemingway was trying to show to his readers. The time period this book took place in was while everyone was recovering from The Great Depression. Everyone was getting back on his or her feet. The old man must have gained a lot of perseverance as he worked through the Depression, so that was how he was able to persevere in this novel.

"Information Please: 1940(-52)." Infoplease. Pearson Education. Web. 20 June 2012.

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

The Old Man and the Sea - Hero : Traits, Accomplishments, Portayal, Abstract Idea.

In this novel, there were roughly four characters to choose as the hero: Santiago, Manolin, the marlin, and the sharks. Seeing as though only Santiago and Manolin were given background and spoken personality, I would have to pick Santiago, the old man. There is no doubt that he is the hero of this story. He went against his supposed bad luck and his physical limitations to catch an eighteen-foot long fish, which, you know, was later eaten by sharks.

 His other, more desirable traits canceled out his limitations, such as: skillfulness, emotional strength, bravery, determination, and a lack of fear. Many times he seemed to doubt himself, but he refused to dwell on it. Even the pain from reeling in the massive fish was ignored by the old man in a mostly successful attempt at staying strong. He seemed to have a different outlook on the concept of pain than the average human. “After the sun went down he tied it around his neck so that it hung down over his back and he cautiously worked it down under the line that was across his shoulders now. The sack cushioned the line and he had found a way of leaning forward against the bow so that he was almost comfortable. The position actually was only somewhat less intolerable; but he thought of it as almost comfortable.” (Hemingway 47). Despite his pain, the old man maintains his glass-half-full personality, and I really respect him for that.

Santiago accomplishes many things, but unfortunately all of his hard work is put to waste. He spent over three days trying to reel in an eighteen-foot marlin and he eventually won his fight against it. He was able to tie the massive fish to the side of his boat and start heading home, but sharks came along the way and ate the fish before the old man could get to land. Santiago also accomplished the hard feat of keeping his endurance up for those three days. He did sleep, but he found ways to maintain his hold on the line, even though many of them involved being in an uncomfortable position.

I cannot help but compare Santiago to somewhat of a Jesus figure. The old man has so many great traits about him, including selflessness, which is a trait that many associate with Jesus. Even though he states numerous times that he wishes the boy, who is his friend, was there with him, he still would not allow him to come. He did not want the boy to be stuck on an unlucky boat with him. He realized that regaining his luck and capturing the big fish he wished for was his burden to carry. This leads me to believe that Santiago represents the abstract idea of selfless compassion and goodness. “ ‘Ay,’ he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.” (Hemingway 107). In this scene, we can see that Santiago has accepted his defeat. He has realized the reality of the situation that the sharks would take his prize and he might not make it home. This humble understanding and the reference to a crucifixion leads me to believe that Santiago was meant to represent a Jesus-like figure.

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

The Old Man and the Sea - Universal Themes and Understanding Human Nature

When I first picked up this book and read through its pages, I was not fully impressed. It just went on and on, and soon I noticed that it did not even have chapters. Great. I continued to read and I found myself actually liking it. Despite the story being told in a somewhat bland way, throughout the novel, it shows us many qualities that are found in humans. These qualities are found in the form of universal themes that are seen in all kinds of literature. The specific universal themes I noticed in this novel are perseverance, strength and skill, and luck.

As I read about the old man fighting to win his prize (the marlin), all I could think was, “Geez, that man is hardcore.” He spends over three days trying to reel in this massive fish. He struggled against physical exertion, isolation from the rest of the world, and hunger, despite his old age. There was quote from the book that I believed really showed the old man’s perseverance. “’Fish.’ He said softly, aloud, ‘I’ll stay with you until I am dead.’ He’ll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light,” (Hemingway 52-53). This quote really made me think about all the endurance and perseverance that that old man had within him. He was so devoted to reeling in that great fish that he was willing to go down fighting for it. It also shows how he also recognized the strength and endurance of the fish, and how the fish would also go down fighting to break free. Until the fish had finally died, the old man devoted himself to capturing it, and I mark that as a true example of perseverance.

Along with the old man’s perseverance were some valuable skills. Some may have thought that the old man could not handle the task of fishing because he had grown old and frail. It was clear to the old man that his skills and fishing prowess were more valuable than physical strength when it came to fishing. He knew how to fish. He knew all the tricks to capturing them from years of experience. ‘“I may not be as strong as I think,’ the old man said. ‘But I know many tricks and I have resolution.’” (Hemingway 23). In this quote the old man appears to realize that his skills are more powerful than his strength in his old age. I believe that this theme in the book is trying to show the readers that physical strength will deteriorate over time, but strength through skills and knowledge will last a lifetime.

The novel makes reference to luck, or a lack of luck, many times. The novel actually starts out talking about how the old man had gone eighty-four days without capturing a single fish (Hemingway 9). The old man even indirectly stated that he was unlucky by telling his young friend to stay with the “lucky” boat he was with instead of helping him (Hemingway 10).  Even with this acceptance of his bad luck, the man values his skills more than a superstition. “But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” (Hemingway 32). In that quote, I realized that he wants to be lucky, but he feels that his skills were more valuable to him. In the end, the theme of luck in this book was to show us that luck, where helpful, is more of an extension of skill. If you have the skills to complete a job, then you often will have more luck than someone who is not skilled.

All of these universal themes in the novel were there to show us the reality of being a human. Within the human spirit is determination and perseverance, strengths and skills, and luck. The way the author shows that through his writing shows that he understands human nature.

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

The Old Man and the Sea - Conflict : Causes, Gains, Losses

Throughout this novel, the only main conflict I could see was that the old man really wanted to capture that eighteen-foot marlin, but was struggling in doing so. The old man’s determination to capture the marlin ultimately led to his downfall. The marlin and him both died on numerous moments during their three-day-long battle, and eventually the old man won. Unfortunately, it was not all great from there. Another conflict comes in to play when sharks attack him and his fish numerous times on his way home and soon he was left with nothing. That conflict is more of a smaller one that fits in with the main conflict.

The cause of the old man wanting that marlin was that he had not captured a fish in eighty-four days (Hemingway 9) and he refused to allow his fishing hiatus to go past eighty-seven days, which was his record (Hemingway 10). Because of his want for the fish and his struggle to get it, he lost a lot of physical strength from exhaustion. In the end, he also lost his marlin, the only thing he was fighting for. Unfortunately, through his conflict, the old man gained nothing that he planned to. He did not win a big fish, he did not gain strength, and he did not gain luck. He gained a deeper understanding of life, and he developed compassion towards the marlin. He even seemed to bond with the beast of a fish in that he respected him as much as he respected himself. “You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.” (Hemingway 92). The old man gained the knowledge that even in his old age, he could handle himself. He gained the knowledge that in the end he is able to achieve his goals on his own, even if he did not win that time.

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

The Old Man and the Sea - Author's Values and Attidues ; Perspective

In my eyes, I see the old man of The Old Man and the Sea as Ernest Hemingway. I feel that all of the thoughts and perspectives on life that we hear from the old man are the thoughts and perspectives that Hemingway has on life. I also have a feeling that the Hemingway enjoyed fishing. Considering that he wrote a novel all about an old man and his fishing, I think we could all accurately assume this.

Through the events that take place in the novel, I see how Ernest Hemingway actually understands life. He seems to understand all of the struggles between life and death. Hemingway could not just have the fish give up and let himself be reeled in. The marlin wanted to live, just as much as the old man wanted to capture the marlin and continue living. The sharks that eventually ate the marlin did not eat the marlin to be mean, they ate it to survive. All of the characters in the book seemed to be driven by something –often the will to survive- and through the way it is shown, I can see Hemingway’s personal values and his understanding of life. He also seems to understand natural human failures. We are not always right. We mess up sometimes. “And what beat you, he thought. ‘Nothing,’ he said aloud. ‘I went out too far.” (Hemingway 120). Despite his realization that he messed up, went too far out, and pushed himself to hard, he decided that nothing has truly broken him. From this statement, I can see that Hemingway has a positive look at life. He realizes that it is in human nature to mess up, and he realizes that in life people will either live or die. In spite of this, his attitude towards life seems to be pretty understanding and optimistic.

The perspective of this novel was not set in stone. It appeared to be a mix of an omniscient (all knowing) narrator and a first person narrator. Occasionally, when a specific character was being focused on, their thoughts would be told in first person. I liked this style, although it was confusing sometimes, because it allowed the readers to understand what the characters were thinking as well as what was going on in the background. Also, both were told in great detail, so I believe this was a unique and intriguing perspective for the novel to be written in. 

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