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.