Old Man And The Sea Essays (378 words) - American Literature

Old Man And The Sea The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway who was born July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. He later died of suicide in 1961 in Idaho. This book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, and Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954. He was an ambulance driver in World War I and wrote many major works. CHARACTERS Santiago, the main character, was a wise old Cuban fisherman who was very experienced in the ways of the sea. Despite his age he had young eyes and great determination to catch the Marlin. Santiago had to survive much pain and loneliness to capture the Marlin The Marlin was eighteen feet long and purple with stripes on his side. This fish eventually became Santiago's brother. It demonstrated its great skill and mobility by fighting for three days before being caught. Manolin, a young boy, admired and learned how to fish from Santiago. The boy was caring towards the old man and refused to allow Santiago to fish alone again. PLOT Santiago had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and Manolin's family refused to allow the boy to fish with the old man because they believed that he had bad luck. The night before the old man was going to fish, the boy and the man talked baseball, which they both loved. The next day Santiago caught a big marlin which started to drag the boat. The fish continued to swim and did not seem to lose much energy. While it took three days for the old man to catch the marlin, he had to catch other fish for nourishment. Santiago's hands were cut and bruised from the line; his back was extremely sore, and he was acting strangely, talking and arguing with himself. Then on the way back to the village, sharks ate the marlin despite the old man's trying everything to stop them. After the long trip home, Santiago was exhausted but was considered a hero by the village people after they measured the length of the fish's skeleton. The boy was worried and promised to always go with Santiago from then on. SETTING This book takes place in Cuba in the 1940's. The story continues over the course of three days. Distinguishing Characteristics Hemingway's style of writing is direct and terse. He challenges the reader to think about human emotions and courage.