The book starts out with the boy, who I think remains unnamed, and the man coming in after a long day of fishing. This boy is a dear friend of the old man, who I think might also remain unnamed throughout the book. The boy explains to the man, that his father will not let him fish with the man again, not after this eighty-seven day streak without catching a fish. However, since the old man is weak, the boy walks him home, and brings him what little food he can. The man dreams of lions in Africa, where he used to sail as a little boy.
The next morning, in the early hours, the man goes out again to fish, alone this time, without the boy. He stays without a catch for almost the entire day, until a large fish takes his bait. The man stays with the fish for a night, and sees him jump in the morning. It is the biggest fish the man has seen, over a thousand pounds. The man stays with the fish for two more days, eating only raw dolphin. His hands cramp, and his back aches, but he stays. He talks to himself quite a bit, about baseball, and fishing, and lions.
He goes through some changes at this point. He grows to respect, rather than hate the fish. He tries to ally with God, despite the fact he is not religious. He keeps trying to convince himself he can defeat the fish though, even if he dies doing it. He seems ready to wait a lifetime if he has to.
Soon the fish jumps again and again, growing tired. He circles around the boat, and the old man stabs him with a harpoon on the third day, finally killing the fish after 81 pages of waiting. He ties the fish against the side of the boat, and sails home, having to fend off sharks on the way. The sharks overwhelm him, but he fights still. At night the sharks attack again, and his fight is useless. He arrives in Havana in the morning, his fish deprived of all its meat, and goes to bed. The boy finds him in the morning, and cries for a long time. People wonder about the fish, and praise the old man for his catch. The old man does not come out though. He just sits in his shack, dreaming about the lions.
I think one possible theme might be that courage is fighting even though you know you were beaten before it started, or that one should never give up no matter the consequences. I am really not sure. I do know that I enjoyed this read, and it would be fun to read for anyone looking for a few hours of entertainment.
Interesting I have heard of this book, but I didn’t know much about it. I thought that the book would be interesting, but from what you said I think that my opinion has changed. I really thought that a book of this topic would be interesting, but I’ll take your word for it. Now that I have read your post I see that this book is not worth my time. I will mostly only read a book if there is action every few pages, but it looks like there isn't much action.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I think we have to read this next year so props for getting it done early. It sound like the kind of book with the plot that wouldn't be my first choice. Ive heard from everybody and their brother about how amazing the writing is but just doesn't appeal to me. Sounds like a brilliant book though. I might try the first 50 pages but if it doesn't appeal to me, I'll drop it. Another Good Post Mark!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is a dull book constructed on a dull plot; I plowed through the first 50 or 60 pages of this and was consumed with boredom so I quit reading it. Apart from its dull plot, another peculiar thing I stumbled upon about this book is the simple language: Ernest Hemmingway employs simple language in this book. The Old Man and the Sea is acclaimed as a classic, and all the classics I have read have deployed complex language, and so this was very odd. While simple language allows any reader to be able to decipher it, simple language disheartens the reader and deters them from wanting to read more. That was what happened to me.
ReplyDeleteGetting back to your point about the dull plot, I agree, but I think I can elucidate why Ernest Hemmingway employs such a simple plot. After conversing with my parents, who extolled this book as "one of the greatest books ever" (and who were infuriated when I branded this book boring), and discussing it with them, I deduced that Ernest Hemmingway's use of a simple plot and simple language is supposed to be deeper than normal classical books that are narrated in complex language).
Anyways, great post, Mark!