the old man and the sea book review essay

The Old Man and the Sea Essay (Book Review)

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“The Old Man and the Sea” is a story of a modest old man and his struggle for the greatness. The plot is based on life of Santiago, an elderly Cuban fisherman who is unlucky in his fishing escapades. He is so unlucky that parents of a young boy Manolin, who wanted to fish with an old man and learn the skills from him, forbid him doing this and ask to sail with more successful young sailors.

The author was on the ground of the World War I, and a casualty of the war may be seen as the reason behind the choice of themes. Bravery, courage, pride and honor are virtues that many survivors of the war possessed. Santiago’s move to set out to sea all alone in order to redeem his reputation among his people is a bold move (Hemingway 22).

However, Hemmingway, the author, describes the boy as the one who admires the old man despite his parents discourage him from joining Santiago in his fishing, he still continues to care for the old man. This essay seeks to make a detailed review of the story, “The Old Man and the Sea”, its themes and relations to the real world.

The plot brings out the boy as being very caring. He is shown in the way he helps the fisherman to carry his fishing gear and discussing the latest happenings in the American baseball. Despite the old man’s unsuccessful fishing trips, the book portrays him as having a strong determination to achieve his aim.

In a highly sequential flow of events, the book explains how Santiago sails further away from familiar territory and ventures into the Gulf Stream. The author goes ahead to explain how the old man gets lucky and catches a big fish known as Marlin at midday. However, in a twist to the story, Santiago is unable to pull the gigantic animal to his boat, and the fish starts pulling.

The story shows the reader an image of an enduring man who is overcome by fear trying to save his life by all means. It is presented when Santiago struggles to bear the strain of the line hooking the massive fish with his shoulders. He does this in order to avoid tearing the boat apart and tries to hook on it. The story explains how an old man pulls the line for three days as the fish swims with the old man enduring this pain (Hemingway 40).

In this day to day sequence of events, Santiago is presented to the reader as an affectionate man who, despite the strain that the fish is putting him through, sees it as a brother in endurance, suffering, strength and resolve. Testimony to this, (the way Santiago feels it); the people who are going to eat this fish are not entitled to such greatness.

It is on the third day that we see Santiago is getting his catch into the boat finally. It is the evidence of Santiago’s endurance and determination because, according to the story, this is the biggest fish that Santiago has ever caught after number of unsuccessful trials (Bloom, 150).

In addition, the story brings out the anti-climax of Santiago’s happiness. It explains how Santiago struggles with the attacks of sharks that were attracted by the blood trails left from the fish. Hemmingway creates an image of a boat deep in the sea surrounded by sharks in the mind of the reader.

This is where the courage of the old man is brought out. He is seen trying to deter the Sharks from attacking him by all possible means. For example, he fights them with a spear made by lashing a dagger to an oar and beating them up with the boats filler (Gerry 80).

The old man’s courage and creativity are paid back as he manages to kill several sharks. However, he is left with nothing, as sharks manage to devour his catch leaving him with a skeleton, head and a tail. The man regrets his decision to go out far into the sea. He stumbles back home completely worn out and goes to sleep (Hemingway 20).

Despite loosing the fish, the old man achieves greatness without realizing it. The reader understands this when reading about tourists who watch a giant Skeleton with amusement the following morning.

Two themes can be brought out from this story. The first one is the theme of honor. Throughout the story, Santiago is shown as a person swimming against the tide trying not to be defeated. He is shown as a person who is struggling with the power of the sea without catching any fish for eighty seven days, but breaks his record by catching the largest fish ever caught in all his years of fishing.

He is seen as fighting defeat by sailing into deep waters; he is struggling with a marlin for three days, and fights off shark attacks. This theme shows that Santiago and Marlin display virtues of courage and strong will, and they are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to uphold them. Santiago’s story does not provides him with the opportunity to change man’s place in the world, rather it enables him meet his most dignified destiny (Hemingway, 40).

The other theme discussed in this story is the theme of pride as the source of greatness and determination. Santiago’s character is created similar to all heroes of the world. In addition to coming out as strong, courageous and morally certain, they all possess a fatal flaw and pride. This leads to their downfall despite all the admiration that they receive.

Santiago, on the other hand, is portrayed as being proof that it is pride that pushes great men towards greatness. For example, Santiago admits to killing Marlin out of pride. Thus, pride becomes the source of Santiago’s strength. Without this pride, he would neither have ventured deep into the sea, nor would he have struggled with the giant fish for three consecutive days. Pride drives the old man to transcend the forces of nature and come out triumphant (Gerry 50).

In conclusion, it can be argued that this book tries to explain human nature. It explains that we are beings who, in most cases, are driven by pride while trying to achieve our goals in life. In addition, it tries to bring out the fact that pride does not always lead to downfall. Hemmingway illustrates that victory is not always a qualification for honor. It is brought about when one has the pride to struggle until the very end. In the case of Santiago, the glory and pride come not as a result of battle, but from his pride and determination to fight.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Earnest Hemingway’s the Old Man and Sea . New York: InfoBase publishing, 2008. Print.

Gerry, Brenner. The Old Man and the Sea: Story of a Common Man. Michigan: University of Michigan, 1991. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea . New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002. Print.

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Bibliography

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Book Review: ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway published ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ in 1952, and it was to be his last major work. It is easy to see the parallels between the old man in the novel, called Santiago, and Hemingway. Santiago suffers from bad luck in his old age despite being a great fisher in his youth. Hemingway had been trying to reclaim the literary success of his older books, such as “The Sun Also Rises” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Even though Santiago could have success in the easier, nearer patches of water, he hunts for a bigger fish further out. Hemingway too searches for a big success and writes this ambitious project.

Santiago’s run of bad luck continues for the 85th day; he hooks a marlin, but the marlin is too smart to panic and die quickly. Santiago must wait for the marlin to get hungry and jump out of the water. In this waiting game with the marlin, he verges onto the point of insanity, brought about by hunger, thirst and a lack of sleep. And yet he never lets go of the fishing line that connects him and the marlin. You, as the reader, as a bystander to this madness, at this point implore Santiago to let go and head back to shore, thinking to yourself “Why doesn’t he just let go?” in frustration. Santiago, on the one hand completely oblivious to your protestations, but also completely aware of them at the same time, does not let go.

Santiago wonders about this connection that he has made with this marlin. The marlin has seen him, and he has seen the marlin. He thinks that the marlin is far more dignified, far more beautiful and is ultimately far more deserving of life than him, with his old, decrepit body, abject poverty and the curse of bad luck that hangs over him. The marlin seems to also know this, seeing its reluctance to give up. And so Santiago must come up with a reason to justify his own survival. And he points to two things: his will and his intellect. In his moments of madness, he must rely on reason to come to a judgement of how things must be, and then bring about this outcome through his will. Because he can do this, and the marlin cannot, Santiago judges that he should live and the marlin should die; at this point, Santiago is playing at God, and promptly whispers some catechisms, asking the Lord to forgive him.

The marlin is far more dignified, far more beautiful and is ultimately far more deserving of life than him.

The stream of consciousness that Hemingway uses reflects Santiago’s way of coping with his madness. He ultimately asks 3 questions in this battle: “Who am I? Why am I here? What is it about me that deserves to live?” His response to the first question comes with his memories, which are, by definition, personal. His mind drifts to baseball, to the market stalls and to the fields of Africa, where he spent his youth. He traces who he was, and how he has got here. The second question is answered by the fact that he remembers that he has been fishing his whole life, and that fishing has essentially become the sole purpose of his life. All of his fishing experience has led him to this triumph. The third question is answered with a final moment; Santiago relates the story of when he arm-wrestled a man for 2 days in order to win. He identifies himself through his will. Even though this mission is suicide, giving up and letting go would also be a sort of suicide, because he has betrayed who he sees himself as. Time has taken away his body and his fortune, and so, his will is his last stand against time and it is the only thing that he will not relinquish. By extension, he cannot not relinquish the fishing line in his hand.

Santiago’s story is ultimately one of failure and his run of bad luck continues. The marlin’s blood has entered the ocean and the marlin’s corpse, strapped to the side of the boat, is eaten by sharks. He comes back after several days and all there is to show for it is a skeleton. Yet he has succeeded. Not only did he return alive, he also never betrayed his principles or his will. And so he lives to fish another day, whereas the marlin does not.

Even though this mission is suicide, giving up and letting go would also be a sort of suicide, because he has betrayed who he sees himself as.

Yet the ending is not depressing or demoralising. Santiago goes to bed, has some food when he wakes up and then goes fishing again, to repeat the whole process. Santiago has reaffirmed who he is in his old age; he has justified that he does not need to change. Resolute, unyielding and unchanging. This is what, Hemingway argues, it means to be a man.

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The Old Man and the Sea

By ernest hemingway.

Hemingway explores perseverance, pride, and man's struggle with nature through Santiago's gritty battle with the marlin in "The Old Man and the Sea."

Main Themes

• Perseverance: Santiago endures physical pain and hardship, refusing to give up.
• Man vs. Nature: Santiago’s struggle with the marlin highlights man’s conflict with nature.
• Pride and Dignity: Santiago’s pride drives him to prove his worth despite his hardships.
• Simple, direct prose: Hemingway uses straightforward prose to reflect Santiago’s simple, resilient life.
• Sparse dialogue: Minimal but impactful conversations emphasize isolation and personal struggle.
• Symbolic imagery: Hemingway infuses rich symbols to deepen the novel’s meaning without overloading the narrative.
• The Marlin: The giant fish represents Santiago’s ultimate challenge and worthy opponent.
• The Sea: The sea symbolizes both a life-giving force and an indifferent, uncontrollable nature.
• The Lions: They reflect Santiago’s lost youth and vitality and his yearning for strength.

The novel begins with Santiago, an old fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without catching anything. He is determined to break this streak despite his failing reputation.

Santiago hooks a giant marlin and endures a three-day struggle at sea. His resolve is tested as the fish drags him farther into the ocean.

After Santiago finally catches the marlin, sharks devour it on his return. Though defeated, Santiago maintains his pride, accepting loss with dignity.

Continue down for complete analysis to The Old Man and the Sea

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

Hemingway’s unique writing style is exemplified by his short, concise sentences and a factual approach to the events he portrays. Within the novella, a reader will come across complex themes of strength and perseverance, as well as symbols of perfection and age, all addressed directly.

Ernest Hemingway’s “ The Old Man and the Sea ” is a timeless tale of endurance, pride, and the delicate balance between man and nature. Through Santiago’s solitary struggle against the marlin, Hemingway explores several profound themes.

Pride and Nobility

One of the most significant themes is pride and nobility. Santiago’s pride is not the kind that leads to arrogance but rather a deep, personal dignity. He is proud of his abilities as a fisherman, though he doesn’t flaunt them. When he sets out alone to catch the marlin, it is not out of vanity but out of a desire to prove that he still possesses the strength and skill of his youth. His struggle with the marlin becomes an act of nobility, not just in fighting a worthy opponent but in how he carries himself throughout the battle. Even when the sharks devour the fish, Santiago remains noble, accepting defeat with grace. His loss does not diminish his pride; it is affirmed by his endurance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Perseverance and Determination

The theme of perseverance and determination is central to the novel. Santiago’s unwavering resolve to catch the marlin after eighty-four days without success reflects his relentless spirit. Even when his hands bleed, his back ached, and his body weakens, Santiago does not give up. This perseverance is a physical act and a testament to his mental and emotional resilience. He knows the risks and the pain that await him, but he pushes forward because it’s who he is—a man who endures. His struggle symbolizes human perseverance and the drive to keep going even when faced with impossible challenges.

Man vs. Nature

Hemingway also delves deeply into the theme of man vs. nature. Santiago’s battle with the marlin is a microcosm of this larger conflict. Nature is at once Santiago’s provider and his adversary. The sea, which he loves and respects, can be cruel, as seen when the sharks ravage his prized catch. Yet Santiago never curses the sea or the fish. Instead, he views them as equals in the grand scheme of life. His struggle with the marlin becomes a kind of communion with nature—a test of wills, where neither side is evil, but the natural order binds both. Ultimately, nature proves indifferent to Santiago’s desires, but his respect for it remains unwavering.

Youth and Old Age

In his old age, Santiago reflects on the strength and vitality he possessed in his youth. His dreams of lions on the beaches of Africa symbolize this lost youth and the vigor that came with it. While he can no longer match the physical prowess of his younger days, his wisdom and experience guide him through the battle with the marlin. The contrast between Santiago and his young apprentice, Manolin, highlights this tension between youth and age. Manolin represents hope and the future, while Santiago embodies the knowledge and endurance of old age. Their relationship shows that while youth brings strength, old age offers a deeper understanding of life’s struggles.

Finally, suffering is a theme that runs through the entire novel. Santiago suffers in silence, both in his poverty and his isolation. His hands are scarred, his body is frail, and the younger fishermen often dismiss him. Yet, it is his ability to endure suffering that defines him. The physical pain he experiences while fighting the marlin—his cramped hand, his aching back, his exhaustion—mirrors the mental and emotional pain of his long life. Like DiMaggio, who played through the pain of his bone spur, Santiago pushes through his suffering, driven by a sense of duty and pride. His suffering is not in vain, for it is through this pain that he achieves a sense of accomplishment, even in defeat.

Memory and its power over the present and future are important in “ The Old Man and the Sea. “ While Santiago navigates the Gulf of Mexico, he often becomes distracted by thoughts of the past. He can recall the strong young man he was and believes that some of that strength should still exist inside him. There are moving moments in the novella when Santiago thinks back to one specific memory that doesn’t seem to fade. He recalls the time he spent on a turtle fishing boat along the coast of Africa. While there, he saw lions playing on the beach. He isn’t sure why, but this image continues to come to mind. It ends the novel.

Key Moments in The Old Man and the Sea

• Santiago’s Struggle with Bad Luck : The novella begins with Santiago having gone 84 days without catching a fish, which introduces his struggle against misfortune and establishes the theme of perseverance.
• Santiago Sets Out Alone : On the 85th day, Santiago decides to fish far out in the Gulf Stream, marking the start of his journey and symbolizing his determination to break his streak of bad luck.
• Hooking the Marlin : Santiago hooks a massive marlin, which begins an intense, multi-day battle between the old man and the fish, symbolizing the struggle between man and nature.
• Santiago’s Endurance : For three days, Santiago battles exhaustion, pain, and hunger, showcasing his incredible endurance and the theme of personal triumph over hardship.
• The Marlin’s Surrender : Santiago finally harpoons the marlin, achieving victory, which represents the culmination of his hard-fought struggle and the pride it brings.
• Sharks Attack the Marlin : On the way back to shore, Santiago fends off sharks that attack the marlin. Despite his efforts, they devour the fish, leaving only its skeleton, symbolizing the futility of his struggle and loss.
• Santiago Returns Home : Exhausted and defeated, Santiago returns to shore with the marlin’s skeleton tied to his boat. Though he lost the fish, his perseverance and dignity remain intact.
• Recognition of Santiago’s Struggle : In the end, the villagers, including the boy Manolin, recognize Santiago’s heroic efforts, cementing the themes of honor, resilience, and the bittersweet nature of victory.

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language

Ernest Hemingway’s style is distinct for its simplicity and directness. Hemingway is best known for his “Iceberg Theory,” or the theory of omission, where much of the meaning is hidden beneath the surface of the text. In this novella, the language is sparse and unadorned. Hemingway writes with short, declarative sentences that reflect Santiago’s straightforward worldview. He strips away unnecessary complexity, focusing on the core of Santiago’s struggle, leaving much for the reader to infer. For instance, when Santiago catches the marlin, Hemingway describes the event with precise, economical prose: “Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?” The simplicity of the language mirrors Santiago’s elemental battle with the forces of nature. The novella’s style is also highly rhythmic, with a repetitive quality that mimics the ebb and flow of the sea, the monotony of Santiago’s days on the water, and his enduring perseverance. With this minimalist approach, the reader is not bogged down by ornate language or complex structure.

The tone in “ The Old Man and the Sea ” is meditative, respectful, and often melancholic. Hemingway treats Santiago’s struggle with dignity and reverence, highlighting the nobility of his battle against the marlin and the natural world. The tone frequently shifts to a somber mood, particularly as Santiago realizes the futility of his efforts once the sharks attack his prized marlin. While Santiago’s journey is ultimately a tragedy, the tone remains respectful, portraying him as a hero of immense strength and endurance. This respectful tone elevates Santiago’s struggle, making it not just about a fish but a larger reflection of human existence, purpose, and pride.

In “ The Old Man and the Sea ,” Hemingway’s use of figurative language is sparse but impactful, often enhancing the novella’s symbolic depth. Similes and metaphors are frequently employed to compare Santiago and the natural world. For example, the marlin is described as “beautiful and noble and full of skill,” reflecting Santiago’s qualities. This parallelism between man and fish underscores their shared nobility and the mutual respect that forms during their battle. Personification is also prominent, especially in Santiago’s relationship with the sea, which he calls “la mar” and views as a woman capable of nurturing and cruelty. This personification deepens Santiago’s spiritual connection to nature, emphasizing his dependence on the sea for sustenance and purpose.

In “ The Old Man and the Sea ,” Ernest Hemingway employs several potent symbols that deepen the narrative’s exploration of human struggle, perseverance, and resilience.

The sharks represent the inevitable forces of destruction that follow success. After Santiago catches the marlin, his victory is tainted as the sharks devour his prize. Despite Santiago’s courage and skill, the sharks’ attack emphasizes that nature is generous and ruthless. The old man fights them with everything he has, but their destructive power prevails, symbolizing the inescapable losses accompanying life’s most significant victories.

The sea is more than just a setting; it is a living entity that reflects Santiago’s relationship with the world. At times, the sea is nurturing, providing him with fish to sustain himself, while at other times, it is punishing, putting him through brutal trials. The sea symbolizes life’s unpredictable and uncontrollable nature, where moments of calm are interrupted by periods of hardship. Santiago’s respect for the sea, often referred to as “la mar” in the feminine, underscores his deep connection to the natural world, a relationship marked by reverence and confrontation.

The marlin serves as the most prominent symbol in the novel. It represents the ultimate challenge, a test of Santiago’s endurance and skill. The fish is not just an opponent but also a reflection of Santiago himself. The old man sees the marlin as a noble creature worthy of respect, and their struggle becomes one of mutual recognition. Santiago and the marlin endure suffering, and the fish’s defeat feels bittersweet, symbolizing the fine line between triumph and loss.

Hemingway’s use of DiMaggio as a symbol is telling. DiMaggio represents perseverance through physical pain, as Santiago often recalls how the baseball player continued to excel despite a bone spur in his heel. This is paralleled by Santiago’s suffering, particularly when his left hand cramps during his battle with the marlin. As DiMaggio plays through his handicap, Santiago fights, even when his body fails him. Both figures show that greatness is achieved not through the absence of pain but in the ability to endure and transcend it.

The mast of Santiago’s skiff is another significant symbol, particularly in how it mirrors Christ’s crucifixion. When Santiago returns to shore after his long and exhausting battle, he carries the mast on his shoulder, much like Christ carrying the cross. This imagery underscores Santiago’s suffering and sacrifice, framing his struggle as not just physical but spiritual. The burdensome mast symbolizes the weight of Santiago’s hardships and the dignity with which he bears them.

Finally, the lions are a recurring symbol in Santiago’s dreams, representing his lost youth, strength, and idealism. As a young man, Santiago saw lions on the beaches of Africa, and their image has stayed with him ever since. The lions symbolize vitality and freedom, qualities that Santiago longs for as he grows older. In his dreams, the lions offer him comfort, a reminder of a time when he was strong and fearless. By the novel’s end, as Santiago dreams of the lions again, they symbolize a peaceful return to his former glory and a final reconciliation with his life’s struggles.

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Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

by Ernest Hemingway ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 1952

A long short story and worth the money in quality of the old Hemingway of Men Without Women days — though in quantity it can't bulk to more than a scant 150 pages. A unique fishing story — as old man Santiago determines to try his luck in the Gulf waters off Cuba for the eighty fifth day. Surely his luck will change, he assures his faithful young friend whose parents wouldn't let him fish any more in such an ill-fated boat. So the boy goes along in imagination with the old man, pretending that there is enough food in the shanty- and supplementing the lacks from his own table; pretending that bait could be found- and bringing him sardines; planning for getting some warmer clothes for him and lugging water from the village pump; talking gaily of the great "DiMag" and of the game the Yankees are sure to win. And then the old man goes out — beyond the other fishing boats — and drops his lines in the way he has always done, and baits the hooks so that his hoped for great fish could smell and taste. The miracle happens — and the fish, a giant marlin, is bigger than any fish dreamed of. And the old man is alone....The story of that battle, that carried him out to sea and lasted through two days and two nights, is one of the miniature modern classics of such writing. And the story of the sailing back to port, as little by little the scavengers of the sea stripped what was to have been his livelihood for months to come, down to the skeleton, is grim and heartbreaking. A miracle tale, told with such passionate belief that the reader, too, believes. There's adventure here and Hemingway's old gift for merging drama and tenderness gives it a rare charm.

Pub Date: Sept. 8, 1952

ISBN: 0684801221

Page Count: 132

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1952

GENERAL FICTION

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A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015

The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.

Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Yanagihara ( The People in the Trees , 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.  

Pub Date: March 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen ) has a compulsive impact.

"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….

Pub Date: June 15, 1951

ISBN: 0316769177

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951

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The Old Man and the Sea

By ernest hemingway, the old man and the sea study guide.

The Old Man and the Sea was published 1952 after the bleakest ten years in Hemingway's literary career. His last major work, Across the River and into the Trees , was condemned as unintentional self-parody, and people began to think that Hemingway had exhausted his store of ideas.

Santiago 's story was originally conceived as part of a larger work, including material that later appeared in Islands in the Stream . This larger work, which Hemingway referred to as " The Sea Book," was proving difficult, and when Hemingway received positive reviews of the Santiago story, known then as "The Sea in Being," he decided to allow it to be published independently. He wrote to publisher Charles Scribner in October 1951, "This is the prose that I have been working for all my life that should read easily and simply and seem short and yet have all the dimensions of the visible world and the world of man's spirit. It is as good prose as I can write as of now."

The Old Man and the Sea , published in its entirety in one edition of Life magazine, was an instant success. In two days the September 1st edition of Life sold 5,300,000 copies and the book version sold 153,000. The novella soared to the top of the best-seller list and remained there for six months. At first, critical reception was warm. Many hailed it as Hemingway's best work, and no less than William Faulkner said, "Time may show it to be the best single piece of any of us, I mean his and my contemporaries." Others, however, complained of artificiality in the characterization and excess sentimentality. Despite these detractors, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the 1953 Pulitizer Prize and American Academy of Arts and Letters' Award of Merit Medal for the Novel and played a significant role in Hemingway's selection for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

For the first fifteen or so years after its publication, critical response remained largely positive. Since the mid-60's, however, the work has received sustained attacks from realist critics who decry the novella's unrealistic or simply incorrect elements, e.g. the alleged eight rows of teeth in the mako's mouth or the position of the star Riegel. Through the 1970's the book became less and less the subject of serious literary criticism, and the view of the book as embarrassingly narcissistic, psychologically simplistic, and overly sentimental became more and more entrenched. While The Old Man and the Sea is popularly beloved and assigned reading for students in the US and around the world, critical opinion places it among Hemingway's less significant works.

The Old Man and the Sea Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Old Man and the Sea is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

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The Old Man and the Sea, Part 2

Worthiness is an important themes in the second part of the story, Being heroic and manly are not merely qualities of character which one possesses or does not. One must constantly demonstrate one's heroism and manliness through actions conducted...

Describe santiago

Santiago is the protagonist of the novella. He is an old fisherman in Cuba who, at the beginning of the book, has not caught anything for eighty-four days. The novella follows Santiago's quest for the great catch that will save his career....

Study Guide for The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea study guide contains a biography of Ernest Hemingway, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Old Man and the Sea
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Essays for The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

• Hemingway’s Fight with Old Age
• A Different Outlook on Christian Symbolism in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
• Santiago: Transcending Heroism
• Chasing Fish: Comparing The Ultimate Goals Found in "The Old Man and The Sea" And "Dances with Wolves"
• Hemingway the Absurdist

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The Old Man and the Sea

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The Old Man and the Sea , short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway , published in 1952 and awarded the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was his last major work of fiction. The story centres on an aging fisherman who engages in an epic battle to catch a giant marlin .

The central character is an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago, who has not caught a fish for 84 days. The family of his apprentice, Manolin, has forced the boy to leave the old fisherman, though Manolin continues to support him with food and bait. Santiago is a mentor to the boy, who cherishes the old man and the life lessons he imparts. Convinced that his luck must change, Santiago takes his skiff far out into the deep waters of the Gulf Stream , where he soon hooks a giant marlin . With all his great experience and strength, he struggles with the fish for three days, admiring its strength, dignity, and faithfulness to its identity; its destiny is as true as Santiago’s as a fisherman. He finally reels the marlin in and lashes it to his boat.

However, Santiago’s exhausting effort goes for naught. Sharks are drawn to the tethered marlin, and, although Santiago manages to kill a few, the sharks eat the fish, leaving behind only its skeleton. After returning to the harbour, the discouraged Santiago goes to his home to sleep. In the meantime, others see the skeleton tied to his boat and are amazed. A concerned Manolin is relieved to find Santiago alive, and the two agree to go fishing together.

The Old Man and the Sea contains many of the themes that preoccupied Hemingway as a writer and as a man. The routines of life in a Cuban fishing village are evoked in the opening pages with a characteristic economy of language. The stripped-down existence of the fisherman Santiago is crafted in a spare, elemental style that is as eloquently dismissive as a shrug of the old man’s powerful shoulders. With age and luck now against him, Santiago knows he must row out “beyond all people,” away from land and into the Gulf Stream , where one last drama would be played out, in an empty arena of sea and sky.

Hemingway was famously fascinated with ideas of men proving their worth by facing and overcoming the challenges of nature. When the old man hooks a marlin longer than his boat, he is tested to the limits as he works the line with bleeding hands in an effort to bring it close enough to harpoon . Through his struggle, Santiago demonstrates the ability of the human spirit to endure hardship and suffering in order to win. It is also his deep love and knowledge of the sea, in its impassive cruelty and beneficence, that allows him to prevail. The essential physicality of the story—the smells of tar and salt and fish blood, the cramp and nausea and blind exhaustion of the old man, the terrifying death spasms of the great fish—is set against the ethereal qualities of dazzling light and water, isolation, and the swelling motion of the sea. And through it all, the narrative is constantly tugging, unreeling a little more, and then pulling again, all in tandem with the old man’s struggle. It is a story that demands to be read in a single sitting.

The Old Man and the Sea was an immediate success and came to be regarded as one of Hemingway’s finest works. It was cited when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. A hugely popular film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy was released in 1958.

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The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest hemingway.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Old Man and the Sea: Introduction

The old man and the sea: plot summary, the old man and the sea: detailed summary & analysis, the old man and the sea: themes, the old man and the sea: quotes, the old man and the sea: characters, the old man and the sea: symbols, the old man and the sea: theme wheel, brief biography of ernest hemingway.

Historical Context of The Old Man and the Sea

Other books related to the old man and the sea.

• Full Title: The Old Man and the Sea
• When Written: 1951
• Where Written: Cuba
• When Published: 1952
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Fiction (novella); Parable
• Setting: Late 1940s; a fishing village near Havana, Cuba, and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
• Climax: When Santiago finally harpoons and kills the marlin; when Santiago fights off the final pack of sharks
• Antagonist: The marlin; the sharks
• Point of View: Third-person omniscient, although largely limited to Santiago's point of view

Extra Credit for The Old Man and the Sea

Awards: The Old Man and the Sea was the last major work of fiction Hemingway wrote. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributed to Hemingway's selection for the Nobel Prize in 1954.

Criticism of the Critics: Hemingway's novel Across the River and Into the Trees , published in 1950, met with severe negative criticism, although Hemingway said he considered it his best work yet. When The Old Man and the Sea was published to great acclaim, some viewed the story as Hemingway's symbolic attack on literary critics—the elderly master fighting and triumphing over his long-time adversaries.

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The Old Man and the Sea (1952)">William Faulkner’s Review of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

in Literature | July 8th, 2014 5 Comments

Images via Wiki­me­dia Com­mo ns

In the mid-20th cen­tu­ry, the two big dogs in the Amer­i­can lit­er­ary scene were William Faulkn­er and Ernest Hem­ing­way . Both were inter­na­tion­al­ly revered, both were mas­ters of the nov­el and the short sto­ry, and both won Nobel Prizes.

Born in Mis­sis­sip­pi, Faulkn­er wrote alle­gor­i­cal his­to­ries of the South in a style that is both ellip­ti­cal and chal­leng­ing. His works were marked by uses of stream-of-con­scious­ness and shift­ing points of view. He also favored titan­i­cal­ly long sen­tences, hold­ing the record for hav­ing, accord­ing to the Guin­ness Book of Records, the longest sen­tence in lit­er­a­ture. Open your copy of Absa­lom! Absa­lom!   to chap­ter 6 and you’ll find it. Hem­ing­way, on the oth­er hand, famous­ly sand­blast­ed the florid prose of Vic­to­ri­an-era books into short, terse, decep­tive­ly sim­ple sen­tences. His sto­ries were about root­less, dam­aged, cos­mopoli­tan peo­ple in exot­ic loca­tions like Paris or the Serengeti.

If you type in “Faulkn­er and Hem­ing­way” in your favorite search engine, you’ll like­ly stum­ble upon this famous exchange — Faulkn­er on Hem­ing­way: “He has nev­er been known to use a word that might send a read­er to the dic­tio­nary.” Hem­ing­way: “Poor Faulkn­er. Does he real­ly think big emo­tions come from big words?” Zing! Faulkn­er report­ed­ly didn’t mean for the line to come off as an insult but Hem­ing­way took it as one. The inci­dent end­ed up being the most acri­mo­nious in the two authors’ com­pli­cat­ed rela­tion­ship.

While Faulkn­er and Hem­ing­way nev­er for­mal­ly met, they were reg­u­lar cor­re­spon­dents, and each was keen­ly aware of the other’s tal­ents. And they were com­pet­i­tive with each oth­er, espe­cial­ly Hem­ing­way who was much more inse­cure than you might sur­mise from his macho per­sona. While Hem­ing­way reg­u­lar­ly called Faulkn­er “the best of us all,” mar­veling at his nat­ur­al abil­i­ties, he also ham­mered Faulkn­er for resort­ing to tricks. As he wrote to Har­vey Bre­it , the famed crit­ic for The   New York Times , “If you have to write the longest sen­tence in the world to give a book dis­tinc­tion, the next thing you should hire Bill Veek [sic] and use midgets.”

Faulkn­er, on his end, was no less com­pet­i­tive. He once told the New York Her­ald Tri­bune , “I think he’s the best we’ve got.” On the oth­er hand, he bris­tled when an edi­tor men­tioned get­ting Hem­ing­way to write the pref­ace for The Portable Faulkn­er in 1946. “It seems to me in bad taste to ask him to write a pref­ace to my stuff. It’s like ask­ing one race horse in the mid­dle of a race to broad­cast a blurb on anoth­er horse in the same run­ning field.”

When Bre­it asked Faulkn­er to write a review of Hemingway’s 1952 novel­la  The Old Man and the Sea , he refused. Yet when a cou­ple months lat­er he got the same request from Wash­ing­ton and Lee University’s lit­er­ary jour­nal, Shenan­doah , Faulkn­er relent­ed, giv­ing guard­ed praise to the nov­el in a one para­graph-long review. You can read it below.

His best. Time may show it to be the best sin­gle piece of any of us, I mean his and my con­tem­po­raries. This time, he dis­cov­ered God, a Cre­ator. Until now, his men and women had made them­selves, shaped them­selves out of their own clay; their vic­to­ries and defeats were at the hands of each oth­er, just to prove to them­selves or one anoth­er how tough they could be. But this time, he wrote about pity: about some­thing some­where that made them all: the old man who had to catch the fish and then lose it, the fish that had to be caught and then lost, the sharks which had to rob the old man of his fish; made them all and loved them all and pitied them all. It’s all right. Praise God that what­ev­er made and loves and pities Hem­ing­way and me kept him from touch­ing it any fur­ther.

And you can also watch below a fas­ci­nat­ing talk by schol­ar Joseph Frus­cione about how Faulkn­er and Hem­ing­way com­pet­ed and influ­enced each oth­er. He wrote the recent book,  Faulkn­er and Hem­ing­way: Biog­ra­phy of a Lit­er­ary Rival­ry  .

via Bib­liok­lept

Relat­ed Con­tent: 

Ernest Hem­ing­way Cre­ates a Read­ing List for a Young Writer, 1934

See a Beau­ti­ful­ly Hand-Paint­ed Ani­ma­tion of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1999)

The Art of William Faulkn­er: Draw­ings from 1916–1925

Jonathan Crow  is a Los Ange­les-based writer and film­mak­er whose work has appeared in Yahoo!, The Hol­ly­wood Reporter, and oth­er pub­li­ca­tions. You can fol­low him at  @jonccrow .

by Jonathan Crow | Permalink | Comments (5) |

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Comments (5), 5 comments so far.

This com­pelling sto­ry is just amaz­ing. I real­ly want to shed some tears for this sto­ry. I can’t… This sto­ry deserves all the praise it gets. As a sopho­more high-school stu­dent I hope mod­ern authors can learn from past writ­ers. Great beau­ty can come in small pack­ages!

My old­er sis­ter gave me this book as a spe­cial gift, and for me it was an enlight­en­ment to a world of truths. The orig­i­nal dust jack­et was bat­tle worn and pages turned eas­i­ly so its worth was told in the lives that it had touched. It was such a pow­er­ful and even dan­ger­ous insight to the true nature of a man (young and old) that I was com­pelled to pass it on for anoth­er spin. That book club ‘first edi­tion’ may now be at some­one’s bed­side or even at some book stall wait­ing for you. Per­haps, like a man, on look­ing into the very soul of truth finds he has nowhere else to go. You may dis­cov­er the boy’s world or per­haps the old man’s and see through the eyes of Hem­ing­way the relent­less tran­sience of life.Perhaps it has val­ue also for study of dif­fer­ence in the con­text of gen­der. The sea I sug­gest may be female. Dis­cuss !

My friend gave me this book to give a book review in the class.At first i felt bored but after con­tin­ued to read it fur­ther it was interesting.the sto­ry is just amazing.It fills the read­er with hope.Hemingway’s writ­ing is not easy to under­stand for an ordi­nary read­er.

YEAHHHHHHHHHH BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!

SKRRT SKRRT

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The Old Man and the Sea: Book Review

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea is a brief yet unforgettable novel depicting an elderly man’s arduous quest to capture the ultimate fish. Published in 1952, this book draws inspiration from Hemingway’s friendship with Gregorio Fuentes, established in 1928. Interestingly enough, Hemingway received a Nobel Prize for this very novel in its publication year. Numerous individuals view it as a condensed adaptation of the timeless masterpiece Moby Dick , penned a century prior.

This essay will examine the different ways in which the old man and the boy sustain their friendship. An example of their bond is when the boy suggests fishing with the old man once more, and the old man replies, ‘No, You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them.’ This shows that the old man values the boy’s welfare above his own.

The previous passage emphasizes the strong friendship between the old man and the boy, both eagerly wanting to go fishing together. This shows that the old man is concerned about the well-being of the boy. Additionally, it is clear that the boy deeply cares for the old man as he thinks about getting necessary items such as a new shirt, winter jacket, shoes, and an extra blanket for him. This indicates that the boy truly understands what the old man needs. Another example of the boy’s care for the old man is his willingness to help him in any way if they cannot fish together.

The boy expresses his gratitude towards the old man for teaching him fishing skills by bringing food in a metal container from the restaurant. He offers it to the old man, who politely declines due to lack of hunger. However, the boy insists on him eating something, emphasizing the significance of eating for successful fishing.

The old man’s response is ‘I have’, indicating his desire to spare the boy from worry. The story further highlights their enduring bond, mentioning the eighty-seven fishless days they endured followed by three weeks of daily big catches. Furthermore, the old man reminisces about a time when the boy was just five years old and shares how they narrowly escaped death.

To summarize, the camaraderie between the old man and the boy flourishes due to their mutual care and selfless decision-making. Furthermore, the novel effectively tackles various themes such as luck and belief.

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Ernest Hemingway:” The Old Man and the Sea “

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Road to Victory in The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway, a fisherman and Nobel Prize winner, authored the book "The Old Man and the Sea". The narrative unfolds in a small fishing village along the Cuban coast. Hemingway's somber tone reflects his sympathy for the protagonist, as he highlights the numerous struggles the old man faces and elicits an understanding of his suffering.

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Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea

Tags: Critical Readings Critical Contexts Critical Insights

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea , a late work in this important writer's long career, has often been examined not only in relation to his previous works but also as a new departure. An unusually brief novel, this book has been discussed not only in relation to the novella genre but also in connection to Hemingway's own life, with the author himself often being compared to the "old man" of the title. This volume offers a wide range of approaches to the text, exploring it in terms of history, psychology, sociology, and—last but not least—artistic achievement.

This volume, like all others in the Critical Insights series, is divided into several sections. It begins with an introductory “About This Volume” essay, followed by another work titled “ The Old Man and the Sea as Life Hack: Recommended Reading for Those of Us Still Setting Sail,” by Susan Norton. This is followed by a Biography of Ernest Hemingway written by volume editor Robert C. Evans.

A collection of four critical contexts essays are intended to treat the novel

• From a historical vantage point
• In terms of its critical reception
• Using a specific critical lens
• And by comparing and contrasting it with another important work.

This section opens with an essay by editor Robert C. Evans titled, “Old Age in the 1940s AND 1950S and in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , ” followed by another piece by Robert C. Evans, “Early Newspaper Reviews of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea ,” This essay discusses and adds to Linda Welshimer Wagner’s 1977 book Ernest Hemingway: A Reference Guide by adding to Wagner’s listing and descriptions of early reviews of the novella and focusing on newspaper reviews not covered in the bibliography. The following two articles are written by Edwin Wong and Robert C. Evans. The first, “The Gambling Fisherman and the Shapes of Chance in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea ,” by Wong explores the main character Santiago’s quest to catch fish to bring home after eighty-four days of no luck and the way that chance presents itself in the novella. In the final essay, “Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: Two Treatments of Youth and Age in the Early 1950s,” by Evans compares the two works while drawing comparisons to the shared prevalent theme of relationships between old people and young people in two distinct cultures throughout the two stories .

Following these four Critical Context essays is the Critical Readings section of this book, which contains the following essays:

• Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Pluralistic Approach Rooted in the Work of Linda Wagner-Martin and Kelli A. Larson, by Robert C. Evans
• Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Survey of Modern Criticism, by Joyce Ahn
• Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea : A Roman Catholic Reading, by Laura Kathleen McClain
• Hemingway’s Religion: How Hemingway’s Views on Fishing Relate to The Old Man and the Sea , by Will Arndt
• Ernest Hemingway and the Art of the Fishing Story, by Jericho Williams
• “Everything is a sin”: Anthropocentrism and the Environment in The Old Man and the Sea , by Matthew M. Thiele
• A Most Worthy Opponent: Man Against Nature in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , by Courtney Petrucci
• Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea on the Screen: Three Versions, by Philip Booth
• Santiago Goes Hollywood: The Old Man and the Sea and the 1958 Screen Adaptation, by James Plath
• Closing Episodes in Three Film Versions of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , by Jordan Bailey
• Appendix: Ernest Hemingway’s Life in Photographs

Each essay in Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea includes a list of Works Cited and detailed endnotes. In the final section, Resources , easy-to-follow lists are provided to help guide the reader through important dates and moments in the author’s life, beginning with a Chronology of Ernest Hemingway’s Life . This is followed by a list of Works by Ernest Hemingway and a Bibliography . Finally, this section closes with an About the Editor section, Contributors , and a detailed Index .

The Critical Insights Series distills the best of both classic and current literary criticism of the world’s most studies literature. Edited and written by some of academia’s most distinguished literary scholars, Critical Insights: The Old Man and the Sea provides authoritative, in-depth scholarship that students and researchers will rely on for years. This volume is destined to become a valuable purchase for all.

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