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A review by tea_with_tigers2024
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I've read this novella twice now, and the second reading was just as frustrating as the first. I've also seen the films with Anthony Quinn, and Spencer Tracy.
The frustration lies with the main character, Santiago, an old, yet strong of body fisherman. His mission to break his unlucky streak of harvesting no fish for 84 days, results in his going out as far as he can to to find that yield. He eventually catches a huge marlin, and the story focuses on his brutal battle to kill it.
Reading this story through a modern day lens (and with thoughts of The Faroe Islands 'The Grind', in mind) , there were many times I just wished he would give up, and let the fish go. But, I guess the point of the story was to deal with themes of man's dominance over nature, and man's dominion over himself. I couldn't help, but see it as a story of ego. Santiago has nostalgia for his past, when he was a 'somebody' of note, and maybe he was holding on to that; to be respected still by the townspeople, the little boy Manolin, who greatly looks up to him, and himself. I guess, The Old Man And The Sea, is a story of endurance, winning, loss, against the odds, and consequence too. Seems to me, in order for Santiago to feel a sense of respect, or pride in himself, a lot of living things had to die.
The frustration lies with the main character, Santiago, an old, yet strong of body fisherman. His mission to break his unlucky streak of harvesting no fish for 84 days, results in his going out as far as he can to to find that yield. He eventually catches a huge marlin, and the story focuses on his brutal battle to kill it.
Reading this story through a modern day lens (and with thoughts of The Faroe Islands 'The Grind', in mind) , there were many times I just wished he would give up, and let the fish go. But, I guess the point of the story was to deal with themes of man's dominance over nature, and man's dominion over himself. I couldn't help, but see it as a story of ego. Santiago has nostalgia for his past, when he was a 'somebody' of note, and maybe he was holding on to that; to be respected still by the townspeople, the little boy Manolin, who greatly looks up to him, and himself. I guess, The Old Man And The Sea, is a story of endurance, winning, loss, against the odds, and consequence too. Seems to me, in order for Santiago to feel a sense of respect, or pride in himself, a lot of living things had to die.