A review by cowgirlmads
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Initially, I was disappointed that the plot was exactly as you expect; an old man who is sailing... the sea. But, I realized towards the end that it was a metaphor for human sacrifice and ambition, the deep desire of wanting to be successful and the way it makes humans question their own sanity sometimes. I liked that the old man went back and forth with himself, staying versus leaving, thinking he wasted time vs realizing he accomplished something. At the end you're questioning whether or not it was worth his labor, and I feel like that's something I go through a lot especially being in my 20's. Like, was it worth the long nights? Was it worth the exhaustion, the rejection, the sacrifice? At the end you don't really know, and most of the time I don't know if it was worth the sacrifice. Also Ernest Hemingway is (obviously) SUCH an incredible writer, the imagery he used made me feel like I was watching a movie. It really felt like it was the inner brain monologue of the old man, and that helped understand what was happing esp because I don't fish and don't know how to!