The Old Man And The Sea Book

Review Essay, Research Paper

“The Fish”

“The Old Man and the Sea”, by Ernest Hemmingway, is a tale of an unlucky fisherman who strives to succeed in the face of adversity. The fisherman, Santiago, lives in a tired, old fishing community on the coast of Cuba. He has fished all of his life. To him it is a passion. Santiago lives in a small shack next to the harbor. To everyone in the village he is looked down upon. He is a dried up old fisherman who can’t catch fish. Santiago has gone 84 days without catching a fish.

There are two things in Santiago’s life: fishing and Manolin. Manolin is a young boy who enjoys every minute he spends with the old man. Manolin fished with Santiago the first half of his unlucky streak. He was then forced by his parents to find another fisherman with more luck.

In the story Manolin represents youth and inexperience. He is young and is still learning many things from Santiago. The old man represents Hemmingway’s vision of himself. Hemmingway pictures himself as adventurous and very experienced. Santiago fits this description perfectly.

The story describes Santiago’s life and everything that he lives for. He tells us this all on the 84th day. But the story truly begins on the 85th day of fishing. This is when he finally finds “the fish”.

Hemmingway writes this story in a very simplistic style. Despite all of the detail, it is very easy to understand. Hemmingway describes everything so well that you can picture exactly what the old man sees.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read. It is not very challenging but there is a lot of detail to sort through. The story is very intriguing because it tells of the old man trying to catch only one fish. To many this may seem boring. But the detail and style in which Hemmingway writes will have you hooked on this book until you are finished.