Source :Google

“A man can be destroyed, but not defeated” ~~Ernest Hemingway

Author :Ernest Hemingway

Country :United States

Language :English

Published :1952

Pages:127

Awards:Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1953),Nobel Prize in Literature (1954)

ISBN- 0-684-80122-1

Dewaj Decimal – 813.52

LC class- PS3515. E37

‘The Old Man And The Sea’ is one of the most popular novel written by Ernest Hemingway. While, he is known as the master of brevity, his concise works also are much more complex than they would first appear, and ‘The Old Man And The Sea’ is no exception. The book was published on 1952.The story goes through the life of an old man named Santiago.

Santiago is a old fisherman who has gone for 84 days without catching a fish. His dream is to catch a big fish, so that he can prove his life is not a failure. On the 85th day old man sets out to the open sea. He goes a little farther out than he normally would in his desperation to catch a big fish. After sometimes he saw a big fish, but it is very difficult for him to handle. He expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead the fish begins to pull the boat. For two days they battle and Santiago wins that battle, but on the way back to his home scavenger sharks came and ate the flesh of the big fish. The skeleton was only there when he reach the shore. As soon as he reached, he fell asleep.

The story is told with incredible economy of words and description, yet nothing is sacrificed which drives home the power and inner strength of this man, who just takes it as what he does, what it is to be a serious fisherman.

There is a side tale as well. This great individual the old man who stands alone, is not alone completely by choice. He has developed a friendship, a working relationship, a love with a young boy who began fishing with him, when the boy was only five. Now the boy has moved on to another boat, a more successful one,at his parents behest, but he pines to work with Santiago, and when the battle with the great fish has been engaged Santiago pleads over and over :”I wish the boy were here”.

The novel seems to be a simple story. It however has lots of hidden meanings which reflect on society and human’s personality. I got three lessons from this novel, which are patience, courage and friendship. Santiago’s patience is suggestive of satisfaction and happiness after the patience. We are faced with lots of hardships and suffering. We often give up and feel desperate from it. It is not easy to struggle with those. Santiago’s life and challenge encourage us not to be frustrated.

At last, I suggest that this novel is valuable to read. It is not only because this novel is famous or interesting but also there are morals and messages and even courage.