Conflicts-Old Man and the Sea

The conflict in this book is portrayed as man versus nature. The old man is set out to sea by himself without anybody to keep him company but with just the sea. Nature is everything that is around men and women. Just like this book, people have struggles with nature all the time. Farmers are a great example because if it rains a lot on their crops their crops could be ruined. The old man struggles with nature with all of the wildlife that was in the ocean while he was catching his fish. When he was heading home with the fish tied to the side of the boat, all of the sharks came up and ate his fish. Even though he was trying to keep them away, they would just keep coming back and start eating his fish because of the blood trail the fish was leaving behind. Another example in today's life is fishermen just like in this book, they set out to sea and they hope for good weather because if it is bad weather they are unable to go out and catch all of the fish. When Hemingway says, "He started to work his way back to the stern on his hands and knees, being careful not to jerk against the fish. He may be half asleep himself, he thought. But I do not want him to rest. He must pull until he dies" (Hemingway 78). This shows how much of a struggle it was for the old man because he was holding on to this fish with all of his might and on the other hand he was very tired from being awake for more than twenty four hours. Especially for an old man, staying up for seven hours is a struggle. The old man portrays a great deal of courage and bravery going on through the book. Throughout the book Hemingway shows us a great deal of strength and courage from the old man, which his struggles are all dealing with nature and the things around him.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Characters-Old Man and the Sea

There were two very important characters throughout the book The Old Man and the Sea and their names were Santiago (the old man) and Manolin (the young boy). Santiago was a very superstitious kind of man, even though he had gone eighty four days without catching a fish, he still managed to have his hopes high. He lived in an old shack that had a dirt floor and he slept on newspapers. Although he was as poor as you could get back then he still went on with living life. Eighty four days without catching a fish and he had a feeling that the eighty fifth day was going to be the day that he was going to catch his fish. His attitude was promising, high hopes, and he had a lot of courage. Now the young boy that was around him most of the time was Manolin. He too was a poor boy, but had better luck with catching fish. The young boys parents decided that they did not want Manolin to go out with Santiago anymore. Of course the one time that he does not go out with Santiago, Santiago needs help. Manoling shows much care for the old man. When the old man was away catching his big fish, Manolin went to Santiago's shack everyday to see if he made it back ok. A great showing of this was when Hemingway said, "He was asleep when the boy looked in the door in the morning. It was blowing so hard that the drifting boats would not be going out and the boy had slept late and then come to the old man's shack as he had come each morning" (Hemingway 122). This shows how much Manolin cared for Santiago while he was away. Manolin had shown much courage throughout the book as well as bravery while Santiago was gone on catching his big fish. The two main characters had shown much appreciation for each other throughout the book.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Symbolism-Old Man and the Sea

There are a ton of symbols in the book The Old Man and the Sea. One of the many symbols are the marlin. Once the old man catches the marlin he realizes that it will take a long time in order to pull it in. He has to wait for days in order to catch this fish. Then he runs into the sharks witch is a completely different kind of symbol. Anyway, the marlin symbolizes the strength that the old man had in order to bring it in. The old man had to wait out in the hot sun and hold the fishing pole waiting for it to come close. I do not think that the old man had that kind of strength or at least he did not realize it. He realized he had the strength when he pulled in the huge fish. Also, the marlin shows a symbol of an ideal opponent to the old man. Throughout the book Santiago (the old man), is continuously saying "everything kills everything else someday." He feels lucky that he was able to be up against this fish and to fight it. There is another symbol in the book witch are the bottle-nosed sharks. They symbolize the destruction of your closest things. Santiago had all the glory in the world after catching this huge fish. After the sharks came he lost all of his glory and just wanted to get back home. When Hemingway says, "I hope I do not have to fight again, he thought. I hope so much I do not have to fight again" (Hemingway 117). Santiago is praying that he does not have to fight these sharks again because they have already destroyed his fish and he is so close to getting home with at least a little bit of evidence that he caught the big marlin. As you can see there were a lot of symbols in The Old Man and the Sea, but those were only a couple of them.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

History-Old Man and the Sea

The Old man and the Sea shows a great deal of history behind it. Throughout the book the old man keeps repeating while on the skiff, I wonder how Joe DiMaggio did today? In this instance the old man was by himself with the fish thinking about Joe DiMaggio, "Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one" (Hemingway 68). The old man was comparing the great baseball legend to himself with catching this huge fish. Joe DiMaggio is a huge inspiration for this old man because Joe DiMaggio was this big, strong man, and I think every time the old man would talk about him, he would gain strength and confidence with catching this fish. The author shows the differences between human nature and man. When Hemingway says, "Fish, he said softly, aloud, I'll stay with you until I am dead. He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light. It was cold now in the time before daylight and he pushed against the wood to be warm" (Hemingway 53), he is showing that he will stay with the fish until he is dead and he will not stop. This shows the battle between human nature and man. The old man has to survive in the weather he has while waiting for the fish to be killed. I think that Joe DiMaggio influenced the author with the making of the old man. The old man sort of portrays of what Joe DiMaggio was like, strong and has a lot of courage. Also, maybe the depression at this time may of influenced him with not catching a fish for a long period of time. These are all possible ideas that the author was influenced by in order to write this story. The Old Man and the Sea portrayed a lot of history in this book and a lot of events were going on at this time that could of jump started the authors thoughts on this book.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Techniques-Old Man and the Sea

The author uses the technique of mystery and suspense in the book The Old Man and the Sea. Mystery throughout the book really kept me into reading the book. He would use mystery while waiting for the huge fish he caught to come up and get caught. The old man says, "Fish, he said, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends... Let us hope so, he thought" (Hemingway 54). Hemingway really led readers into the thought of, is he going to catch the fish and have enough energy to make it back, or will he ever get the fish and if not will he live. Basically that is how I was feeling the whole time I was reading this book. Hemingway does a really nice job with leading us with mystery. Another technique he used was suspense. Whenever the sharks would be close he would use adjectives on how the shark looked and how big it was and how it kept coming closer and closer. He also used suspense when he was out catching the fish. In this part of the book, "He woke up with the jerk of his right hand fist coming up against his face and the line burning out through his right hand. He had no feeling of his left hand but he braked all he could with his right and the line rushed out", (Hemingway 82), this shows how Hemingway kept people with reading this book. He made it exciting. The old man was asleep and then all of a sudden the mood swings and the fish starts to jerk at the line and the old man has to hurry in order to keep the fish. I find that suspense and mystery are really the kind of books that keep me interested in a book. These are some of the techniques that Hemingway added in order to keep the book interesting to readers and keep the story effective.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Message-Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea has a great visionary on what life was like back in the 1950's. People still read this book because they want to see what life was really like back then, after the depression and the war. It's message is never look at defeat, always look at the positive side. The old man had not caught a fish in eighty four days and he never quit or stopped trying he went out almost every morning and went to go and catch the biggest fish he could find even though he knew that he probably was not going to find one. The characters in this book show a lot of hope. That is what is so timeless about this book. The old man has so much hope even though he knows he will not be able to catch the big fish he wants. The young boy really looks up to the old man as a role model. The young boy has feelings for the old man, so if the old man does not get a fish, the young boy is sad. They both have a lot of hope and hope was definately not one of the thoughts that went through people's minds at this time. Things that we can learn from this novel is never give up. Hemingway says, "The month when the great fish come, the old man said. Anyone can be a fisherman in May" (Hemingway 18). The old man shows hope in this part of the book. He says that any person can be a fisherman in May, but in September thats where the real fishermen come out. We can also learn what the time was like back in the nineteen fifties. Even though it was hard to do people still tried on making money and supporting their families. The Old Man and the Sea shows a great deal of timeless messages and characters in the book. That's why people these still are interested in reading this interesting book.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Setting- Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea was set in a time period where making money was a very tough thing to do. The history of the book was set after the war and the depression. People are starting to go to work again and starting to make a living. The behavior of the setting and time period is working hard and starting to make a living after the war and the depression. Social issues at this time period were very hard to work out because people were so focused on working and making sure they have enough money for themselves. The old man who was basically lost at sea with a mighty fish is just going out there for the challenge. Which brings out his traits which are he is putting everything behind him like the depression, war, how poor he is and just goes out to catch this mighty fish for a challenge. This book symbolizes how hard people had to work during these tough times just to make sure that they had enough food for themselves and their families. Hemingway adds, "The shack was made of the tough budshields of the royal palm which are called guano and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal" (Hemingway 15). This shows how hard life was back then as a fisherman. The thematic significance is just the challenges that people had to carry out daily just to meet their standard needs. The old man portrays a big part of that challenge. He is a fisherman and especially in those days fisherman barely made any money comparing to other people. The money they made would be the fish that they caught. The old man had gone eighty four days without catching a fish so he was very poor at the time. That challenge for him was very tough so that's why he stayed with that fish for so long which was because the fish was so big that it would be a lot of money and the old man liked the challenge he had. In times like these making money was very difficult and the old man shows us a great deal of what life was like.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Hero-Old man and the Sea

Every hero in every book does not necessarily have to be a superhero. Old Man and the Sea shows that saying very well. I would say the old man is the hero in this book because even though he has not caught a fish in eighty four days he still goes out almost every day and tries to get the biggest fish he can find. His traits in the book are truthful, caring, loving, honest, and kind. The boy is basically the old mans only friend. The boy used to go out with the old man, but since the old man was not catching anything the parents of the young boy decided to not let him go out with the old man anymore. The old man always showed his love, support and kindness towards the boy. His other trait, honesty, showed when he decided to tell the boy that he had not caught a fish in eighty four days. The old man accomplishes friendship and trustworthiness. He was trusting that the boy would look out for him while he was on his trip no matter how long it was. The old man is portrayed as a kind, loving old man. You tend to think that old men are very impatient, but throughout this book the old man shows much patience while trying to catch his huge fish. The hero or the old man represented an abstract idea of courage. While on his trip he never thought that he was going to die even though he really didn't know where he was. He didn't care where it took him he was positive that he was going to catch the fish. The old man says, "I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this" (Hemingway 87). The old man is showing us his courage that he is not going to die until he gets this fish. The old man shows a great deal of traits, accomplishments, ideas which makes him the hero of this book.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Universal Themes-Old Man and the Sea

Themes in books have always been an important part in stories. Old Man and the Sea has a great universal theme that goes with it. The theme is people think they know what to do with something until they actually have it and then they don't know what to do with it. The old man that is almost lost at sea with this huge fish has a huge heart. He feels bad after catching it, but will not quit on trying to pull it in. Over the course of the three days he was at sea by himself, he would basically talk to himself while trying to catch the fish. He was thinking the whole time once I catch this fish everybody will be happy for me. He was so confident that he was going to catch this fish. Once he caught the fish after three long days, he realized that it was to big and he did not know what to do because he could not fit the fish in his small boat. He decided to keep it on the side of his boat and take the risks of sharks eating it. This just shows that always come prepared and prepare for the worst scenario. The author understands that people will do anything to find something that is bigger, and better. Just like the old man throughout the book he was looking for that big fish to catch instead of just looking for a smaller fish. He risked his life with going out so far into the ocean and almost being stranded with sharks and the fish. He was an old man and should of been prepared for the three day trip. Hemingway wrote, "If I had brains I would have splashed water on the bow all day and drying, it would have made salt, he thought. But then I did not hook the dolphin until almost sunset. Still it was a lack of preparation. But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated" (Hemingway 80). He is showing us how people are so focused on tyring to catch something bigger and better but forget about their safety.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Causes Gains Losses-Old Man and Sea

The conflict in every book is very important. It basically tells the whole story or of what is happening. The confict in this book is that the old man can not find a way to catch any fish. His luck is very bad, but it does not stop him from being cheerful. There is always a cause, a gain, and a loss in every conflict, and it just so happens in this conflict there is not a lot of gains to it. The cause of this conflict is the old mans luck. The old man is a very cheerful and happy guy, but his luck affects his way of catching fish. The only gain to this conflict is looking forward to go and fish the next day and hope for the best there is nothing else you can do. It gets your adrenaline running when you want to go out and catch your biggest fish that you ever caught after being in a drought. The young boy asks, "But are you strong enough now for truly a big fish?", the old man answers, "I think so" (Hemingway 14). This is just one way of showing that the old man never gives up of trying to catch a fish. The losses that come with this conflict is you can be easily torn down from the situation. Not being able to catch any fish especially when it is your only food is a very stressful situation. If you do not have any food, you could starve to death. Luckily, the old man has the young boy to help him with food. The other loss is no food. Like I said before you could get no fish and starve because that is all the old man can offer is fish because he is poor and has almost no money. He has a fishing pole, some bait, and a boat to go fishing with. The conflict in every story has a huge impact of what the story is all about.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Values and Attitudes-Old Man and the Sea

In the book The Old Man and the Sea, the author shows a lot of values and attitudes towards the characters. He portrays the old man as a very patient, caring, and loving old man, but is very unlucky with catching fish. The attitude of the old man is very calm and laid-back. He hasn't really shown any frustration that he hasn't caught a fish in eighty four days (Hemingway 9). He just looks forward to go fishing the next day and catch the biggest fish he can find. The author really does a great job with portraying the old man as a caring man. The author portrays the young boy as looking up to the old man as a role model. The young boy still has a lot to learn and it is not helping that the old man is not catching any fish. The author shows his values and attitudes through the characters which is a very positive outlook. The old man is very optimistic in this book. Even though he can't catch a fish, he is able to think that the next day is a new day and he will get a huge fish even though with his luck he won't be able to. In this book the author is writing in third person so it is a pretty good perspective. Throughout this book the author has shown that he has a very positive perspective towards the old man and the boy. He doesn't just say the old man just gave up with fishing forever. He says that the old man always looked forward to find the big fish the next day (Hemingway 10). Even though the old man hasn't caught a fish in eighty four days! Third Person is a great perspective to look at because you get to see what multiple characters are like. In First Person, you really pretty much see only one person because he is talking the whole time. In this book Hemingway shows his values and attitudes as a positive and outgoing look.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Honors English

I am taking Honors English because I want to be a better writer. I feel that Honors English will help me be a better writer and get me ready for the college level course.