The Old Man and the Sea

[mono]

In another thread, I mentioned reading this short novel, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway in a very brief time. In a few words, I found this story absolutely amazing, and I wondered of others' thoughts.
The main character, in a way, feels so comforted by his life at sea, despite his unlucky eighty-four days of catching no fish, yet so rejected by life at land by his peers, not including the young boy who follows and fishes with him, periodically.
The marlin, I believe, somehow attributed to Santiago, the main character, with striking similarities: they both traveled the sea (or la mer) alone, both searching for means of survival, and both carrying themselves with much pride, the large fish, obviously, through a less verbal manner. True, Santiago did express his excitement in his reward for boasting his catch (during his "lucky" eight-fifth day) to his fellow fishermen, and contemplated of how much he could sell the meat resources, but, I believe, he more prized his dignity in treasuring his life at sea, and finally succeeding the big catch he had anticipated for months.
For those who have never read the novel, but intend to, I recommend not to continue reading this message.
For those who have, we know the result: after Santiago's big fight, miles from his home in Havana, he ties the marlin to the side of his second-rate boat (reflecting his poverty) with utmost pride. During his long journey back home, he uses all of his defending weapons on sharks attacking the large, dead fish, who, in turn, consume all of it, excepting the tail, the head, and the cartilage skeleton. The old man, then, returns to his abode, sadly, exhausted, and wounded, retaining only his dignity with no proof.
Hemingway speaks loud, I think, in communicating the great difference between rewards, dividing human dignity from the very common need to prove one's accomplishment to others. The old man certainly could have used the money, in selling the marlin's resources, but he returns from sea with less than he left, having wasted every item on his boat when fighting with the hungry sharks.
With this moral, digging deeper into human instinct, Hemingway, similar to William Golding in Lord of the Flies, emphasizes the instinctive greed involved in all human endeavors. The parents of the young boy forbade him to spend time with Santiago, considering him bad luck for his eighty-four day streak of catching no fish, despite his diligence; while fighting with the marlin for days, the old man prayed to succeed, so as to sell and consume the fish, essential for survival; also during his struggle, a small bird perched on the boat, in the middle of the sea, and Santiago could but pity the bird for his escape from other larger, hunting birds on his return to land; lastly, the fight to the death of the sharks attacking the marlin, also for need of survival.
Hemingway, a devoted hunter and fisherman, would recognize this greed-driven struggle, necessary for life, if anyone knew, I think.
. . .
Well, I just realized how much I have typed. I apologize. :p
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this wonderful piece of art?

[baddad]

IMHO.....Hemingway is the Master. His insistence on using simple language while portraying a multi-layered and complex human existence is unparalled. 'The Old Man and the Sea' is just another example of ol' Ernie's masterful manipulation of the english language. His approach to a tale is straight forward, and he has the gift of the ability to bring his genius to bear on concepts that any man with the simplest vocabulary can read, and just as easily read into. His demand (as well as Orwell's, Swift's, etc.) is that the 'Legalese' be abhorently removed from literature and replaced with the 'average person's' vocabulary, simple words telling simply complex tales. Bravo!!

"The Old Man And The Sea"......the art work on the cover of my copy is faded in spots, and the pages are yellowing a little.................it has been well read by many....

I consider Hemingway the 'competition', although I have no delusions of surpassing his genius.............he IS one of my examples. Ernie (we're on a first name basis now)
is someone who's writing techniques many try to emulate, and for good reason......

[mono]

Well said, baddad. I cannot agree more that Hemingway graces his readers through simplicity, the same way many modern poets do in their poetry (William Stafford, Raymond Carver, Theodore Roethke, Billy Collins, etc.); with that, The Old Man and the Sea almost flows as smoothly as such.
That I have recently become such a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, this novel being the first of his works I have read, besides his short stories, which novel would recommend moving to next, baddad? Most people have suggested For Whom The Bell Tolls, others The Sun Also Rises.

[papayahed]

doh!! you guys are gonna make me read The Old Man and the Sea!!! again.

I would go with The Sun Also Rises.

[baddad]

MONO: Both of the previous suggestions are as valid as this one: "A Farewell To Arms." Its a love story........

As with any story, Hemingway's perspective must entail the time period, the major events in the societies concerned, the morals, ethics, spiritual beliefs of those times......etc.

For Whom The Bell Tolls concerns itself with the partisans during the Spanish civil war immediatley prior to WWll.....Hemingway spent a lot of time in Spain. Hemingway's chartacter's names are themselves veils for concepts....and....Its a love story......with lots of foreshadowing concerning the Nazis, the Russians, etc, and nobody comes out looking clean....and its a love story. Actually this tale is one of my favorites of Ernie's. There are so many levels to almost each and every paragraph, yet it is simply written.....

But honestly, my admiration for his writing style and skill leave me judging ANY of Hemingway's works as equally worth reading. Hell, I hardly even notice the story line when I read him as I am so transfixed with his techiniques. You'll be glad you've chosen to explore his works if only for the simple joy of watching a master craftsman present his case..........

Post Script: I'm a BIG fan of Raymond Carver, but I've only ever been exposed to his collection of short stories. He is (was) another master of technique, techniques of his own invention. I love the way he doesn't use quotation marks but instead blurs the line between speech and 1st person presentation.......cool stuff.......

[Helga]

I have read most of his work and I love it so much. I found it important to know what he was doing in life when he wrote each novel because he laways wrote about something that had happened to him or he knew in any way. 'The old man and the sea' is my fave, like baddad said it's simple words lead into so much truth about life in general and feelings, mainly about loneliness but so much more too!

I would have to say that 'Farewell to arms' is one of his best novels, simple true, sweet, beautiful and sad. He can bring out these emotions at the same time and you can picture everything he describes....

[literaturerocks]

This novel was only a brief reading period for me but it was a very powerful one.Hemingway is truly a master of the English language.As was said before, his beautiful simplicity in telling the multifarious. I was saddened by Santiago's loss of the marlin to the sharks because he had worked so hard to effectuate catching that fish and then the sharks ate it. I felt so badly for Santiago but I suppose it is all part of life. This is one of my favorite stories to read. I will definately be taking this off my bookshelf a second time.

[cuppajoe_9]

The marlin can be said to represent A Fariwell To Arms and the sharks the literary critics. Thanks to Kurt Vonnegut for that reading...

[Zippy]

I'm a relative late-comer to Hemingway, having only started reading his work just over a year ago. However, in that time I've become a convert and have ploughed through almost everything he wrote, with the exception of Death in the Afternoon, In Our Time, and Across the River and Into the Trees (isn't it a fantastic feeling when you discover a new author which you like!).:thumbs_up

I have to say that The Old Man and the Sea is one of my least favourite Hemingway works. It’s still a great book, but I feel that the character of Santiago becomes almost an archetype, and this detracts from the story. It’s as though the book has been hijacked by the extended metaphor which cuppajoe mentions above.

For me (although many contemporary critics disagree), one of Hemingway’s best books is To Have and Have Not. The characters are interesting and fully realised, the narrative exciting, and the technique first rate. You only have to look at the stream-of-consciousness writing towards the end of the book to see that this is Hemingway at the peak of his literary power. Powerful stuff.

But where Hemingway really excels is in his short stories. Reading works like ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’, ‘Soldier’s Home’, ‘A Very Short Story’ and, above all ‘Big Two Hearted River’ we come to realise just why Hemingway is so highly regarded and why he cast such a long shadow. Often so little happens, but we know that these characters are real, that somewhere, out of ‘camera shot’, they have lived their lives and are still living them now.

It’s good to see a thread about Hemingway. He’s somewhat out of fashion at the moment, perhaps because he was so popular for so long. Thanks Mono.

Zippy.

[Shannanigan]

:D You made me smile.

The Old Man and The Sea was quite possibly the first novel I read that was not intended for a child. My father had kept it in his (massive) bookcase for years, and gave it to me one summer day when I couldn't find a way to entertain myself (I was one of the few children that didn't really enjoy TV...)

I loved that book so much, as much for its story and characters as for the faded greenish cover on the book and the ancient smell it gave off as I opened it. I knew when I read it that it had to be an important "grown-up" book, and was so proud that I understood it. I think of Hemingway whenever I think of great writers, and because many of my family and friends are fishermen, I often tell them that story, since many of them will probably never find the time or the will to read it...

That's not much of a literary critique, but I felt like sharing the profound effect that that particular book has on me :)