Ernest Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea Essay -- Essays Papers

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway and published in 1952. This is a captivating fiction story about a man named Santiago and his adventure when one day, he goes on a fishing journey to catch the big one. However, this adventure quickly becomes one of pain and suffering when things take a turn for the worse. The Old Man and the Sea takes in place in Havana, Cuba and the fishing waters off the coast of Havana. The Spanish names, Santiago and Manolin, are typical in Cuba. Cuba is mostly Catholic so this accounted for Santiago's devotion to Jesus Christ. The year seems to be around the 1930's and 1940's because Santiago is a big fan of Joe DiMaggio who played during these years. In the 1930's and '40's, the city of Havana was booming with population and business. Seafood is one of the most popular foods in Havana so to meet the rising demand of fish, many young boys learned how to be fishermen as Manolin did. Santiago is a complex character who learns a lot through the course of this story. He is a very good, humble man and loves Manolin, his apprentice. Santiago is a poor man and is regarded as bad luck by others because he was not caught a single fish in 84 days. One cannot help feel sorry for him because he is very alone. His wife died and the book suggested that he never had any children. Yet he was humble and did not complain at all about his hard life. Santiago is a very persistant and determined character. He fought the huge marlin that he had caught for three agonizing days desopite feeling intense pain. He often had contradictory feelings and thoughts. One that I found strange was when he felt sorry for the marlin while he joyfully pondered how much money he would get for selling the fish. Mololin is Santiago's apprentice. Since he was a young child, Manolin has accompanied Santiago to learn how to fish. Santiago loves him very much because he sees him as the son he never had. However Manolin's parents stops him from going to Santiago because they think he is cursed and has bad luck. Santiago is an old fisherman and has been for most of his life. He used to have an apprentice named Manolin but his parents made stop because of the belief that he is bad luck for he hasn't caught a fish in eighty four days. One day he decided that he wasn't going home without catching a fish. So ... ...is telling its readers to look at the positive aspects of things, even if at first it seems like a tragedy. A personal example of this is when my family got our first cat. My mom was in subway on her way to work, she was already late. She was running to catch a train only to see the doors close right in her face. She got on the train worried on what her boss will say. She sat next to a very sad woman with a kitten in a cage. When asked what was wrong she said that she found a lost kitten and since her super doesn't allow cats in the apartment, she was going to the shelter to leave the kitten. My mother said she would keep the kitten and the woman gladly gave it to my mom. Hemmingway's novel goes to show that things aren't as bad as they first seem. The Old Man and the Sea also expresses humility. Santiago is a fairly poor man and often goes hungry, yet he never complains or protests. Santiago shows his humility many other times in the novel like when he was batting the marlin and he gashed his hand and received other severe wounds. Finally he never said a word of anger when he battled the sharks to save his fish but failed. Humility is a good attribute that many of us don't have.