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'The Old Man and the Sea' Review

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" The Old Man and the Sea " was a big success for Ernest Hemingway when it was published in 1952. At first glance, the story appears to be a simple tale of an old Cuban fisherman who catches an enormous fish, only to lose it. There's much more to the story -- a tale of bravery and heroism, of one man's struggle against his own doubts, the elements, a massive fish, sharks and even his desire to give up.

The old man eventually succeeds, then fails, and then wins again. It's the story of perseverance and the machismo of the old man against the elements. This slim novella -- it's only 127 pages -- helped to revive Hemingway's reputation as a writer , winning him great acclaim, including the Nobel Prize for literature. 

Santiago is an old man and a fisherman who has gone for months without catching a fish. Many are starting to doubt his abilities as an angler. Even his apprentice, Manolin, has abandoned him and gone to work for a more prosperous boat. The old man sets out to the open sea one day -- off the Florida coast -- and goes a little farther out than he normally would in his desperation to catch a fish. Sure enough, at noon, a big marlin takes hold of one of the lines, but the fish is far too big for Santiago to handle.

To avoid letting the fish escape, Santiago lets the line go slack so that the fish won't break his pole; but he and his boat are dragged out to sea for three days. A kind of kinship and honor develop between the fish and the man. Finally, the fish -- an enormous and worthy opponent -- grows tired, and Santiago kills it. This victory does not end Santiago's journey; he is still far out to sea. Santiago has to drag the marlin behind the boat, and the blood from the dead fish attracts sharks. Santiago does his best to fend off the sharks, but his efforts are in vain. The sharks eat the flesh of the marlin, and Santiago is left with only the bones. Santiago gets back to shore -- weary and tired -- with nothing to show for his pains but the skeletal remains of a large marlin. Even with just the bare remains of the fish, the experience has changed him and altered the perception others have of him. Manolin wakes the old man the morning after his return and suggests that they once again fish together.

Life and Death

During his struggle to catch the fish, Santiago holds on to the rope -- even though he is cut and bruised by it, even though he wants to sleep and eat. He holds onto the rope as though his life depends on it. In these scenes of struggle, Hemingway brings to the fore the power and masculinity of a simple man in a simple habitat. He demonstrates how heroism is possible in even the most seemingly mundane circumstances.

Hemingway's novella shows how death can invigorate life, how killing and death can bring a man to an understanding of his own mortality -- and his own power to overcome it. Hemingway writes of a time when fishing was not merely a business or a sport. Instead, fishing was an expression of humankind in its natural state -- in tune with nature. Enormous stamina and power arose in the breast of Santiago. The simple fisherman became a classical hero in his epic struggle.

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• International edition
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Books to give you hope: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The story of an elderly Cuban fisherman, with little but hope to sustain him through a punishing life, tells a fundamental truth about life

Dreamers, they never see the riptide coming. But then who can really blame them? Better to sail an ocean of hope than a sea of despair. Never mind what lies beneath: a world without dreamers would be a nightmare.

Santiago, the old man in Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novella, is a dreamer. But with age, his dreams have changed, scuffed and sanded down by decades of fishing the Gulf Stream: no longer does his sleeping mind drift to the great events throughout his life but instead just to a place, a childhood memory: lions playing on an African beach. And he wonders: “Why are the lions the main thing that is left?”

Santiago is a simple man. Fishing is his life, while baseball, the Gran Ligas, is his religion. A New York Yankee, “the great DiMaggio”, is his earthly god. But lately the sea has been cruel, and the old man has endured 84 days without a catch. He thinks and speaks of luck but is not prone to superstition. He is reverent but not pious, wary of devotion, although he could waver. When it suits, when hope takes the bait under the deep blue sea, Santiago offers to pray should he require not only strength but fortitude to land his prize: “I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys that I should catch this fish, and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin de Cobre if I catch him. That is a promise.”

With his village status of saleo, “the worst form of unlucky”, his body racked and gnarled by years of labour but with blue eyes “cheerful and undefeated”, he sets out on the 85th day since his last catch and rows the skiff far, away from the deep wells that have offered no reward, towards “the schools of bonita and albacore” where he might fare better: “My big fish must be somewhere.”

He is not wrong. But it is then, with his quarry hooked, that the true test begins. Day becomes night becomes day, and with little or no sleep the old man loses track of time and islands of Sargasso weed drift by. Eating raw bonito and dorado to maintain strength, while slowly sapping the marlin’s will, Santiago regrets his poor planning: “I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes.” But his words are laced with hope that he will return to the sea.

He will win the battle but lose the prize, and rue the desperation that carried him beyond practical bounds. He laments the ruins of his lionheart dream, and yet he remains unbowed: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

I was revisiting this fable when news broke that an elderly priest had been slain at the Normandy altar where he was presiding over mass. After the horror had ebbed, I returned to Hemingway and found solace. Words have a power no violence can breach. Whispered in a church or shouted in a storm, words are a lifelong friend. And Hemingway’s words, in this slim volume, are consistently affecting, as steady a comfort as a lighthouse beam.

The Old Man and the Sea is a beautiful tale, awash in the seasalt and sweat, bait and beer of the Havana coast. It tells a fundamental human truth: in a volatile world, from our first breath to our last wish, through triumphs and pitfalls both trivial and profound, what sustains us, ultimately, is hope.

• Ernest Hemingway
• Books to give you hope

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The old man and the sea, common sense media reviewers.

Man vs. marlin story a challenging, introspective read.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Besides being fine (if sometimes jarringly macho)

Perseverance, resourcefulness, and the ability to

Santiago is a veritable icon of tenacity and refus

There is a fair amount of graphic description of g

Mild invective, e.g. "whore."

It's the early '50s in Cuba. Santiago make

Santiago and Manolin drink beer; some of Santiago&

Parents need to know that context and the teacher's skill will influence how well their kids relate to this reading-list staple. Widely regarded as Hemingway's masterpiece, it won the Pulitzer Prize and had much to do with his winning the Nobel. It's packed with epic struggles (man vs. nature, man vs…

Educational Value

Besides being fine (if sometimes jarringly macho) writing by a Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, The Old Man and the Sea offers gorgeous descriptions of marine and animal life in the exotic regions where Hemingway spent time and where he has Santiago visit in his youthful travels. It also offers a window on village life in pre-Castro Cuba, and economic realities of fishermen's lives in developing countries that have probably not changed much in the interim.

Positive Messages

Perseverance, resourcefulness, and the ability to make the best of existing circumstances are all core values here, as well as the loyalty of the boy Manolin to Santiago despite much adversity.

Positive Role Models

Santiago is a veritable icon of tenacity and refusal to give up; his young assistant Manolin, who cannot defy his parents to accompany Santiago fishing, nonetheless remains loyal to him by helping his longtime mentor in many small ways.

Violence & Scariness

There is a fair amount of graphic description of gutting and butchery of fish, including one scene of killing a female marlin as her mate looks on from outside the boat.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

It's the early '50s in Cuba. Santiago makes much of the fact that he doesn't have a radio on which to listen to baseball.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Santiago and Manolin drink beer; some of Santiago's reminiscences involve bars.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that context and the teacher's skill will influence how well their kids relate to this reading-list staple. Widely regarded as Hemingway's masterpiece, it won the Pulitzer Prize and had much to do with his winning the Nobel. It's packed with epic struggles (man vs. nature, man vs. himself), eternal issues (love, survival, teaching the next generation, tenacity against the odds) and strong writing. It's also about three days in a boat in which most of the action takes place in the title character's head, punctuated by graphic descriptions of, say, the gutting of fish. It's also somewhat fraught with a late-in-life perspective that may be largely lost on young readers. Readers young and old are rarely ambivalent about this book -- it's either love or hate, often mixed with a hefty dose of parody (Hemingway at times writes like a macho parody of himself). To nudge kids in the love direction, you may wish to check out Alexander Petrov's 1999 Oscar-winning animated film adaptation.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (2)
• Kids say (6)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Old man and the sea

What's the story.

After 84 days of catching nothing, Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, sets out alone in his small skiff into the Gulf Stream in search of better fortune and soon hooks what proves to be the fish of a lifetime. As he spends the next three days on the high seas being towed by the colossal marlin, sleeping and waking, he ponders his strategy, struggles with the mighty fish, and reflects on his life.

Is It Any Good?

Not everyone, especially among the young, is prepared to engage with a plot that's largely waiting and introspection, punctuated by description and reminiscence, however beautifully written. Generations of critics and readers have showered this book with praise; generations of other readers, particularly those required to read it in school, have blasted it as the worst book they ever read, when they admit to getting through it at all, despite its brevity. Whether the particular class for which your kid is reading the book intends to focus on Hemingway, symbolism, heroic struggle, marine life, pre-Castro Cuba, or baseball in the Eisenhower era, it might be helpful to get a few bearings before sending him or her out on the high seas in this book.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what Santiago won and lost from his quest, and whether the reward was worth the effort.

What do you know about Joe DiMaggio, who Santiago finds so admirable? This might be a good time to talk about the era when baseball teams had spring training in the Caribbean, and the cultural ramifications.

Early on, Santiago says, "Fish, I love and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends." Santiago spends a great deal of the book talking about killing what he loves, in which he is probably speaking for the author, who made something of a career of killing big game on several continents. Is killing what you love a tenable position?

Why do you think The Old Man and the Sea is often required reading in school?

Book Details

• Author : Ernest Hemingway
• Genre : Adventure
• Topics : Adventures , Ocean Creatures
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Scribner
• Publication date : May 28, 2011
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
• Number of pages : 128
• Last updated : July 12, 2017

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THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

by Ernest Hemingway ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 1952

A long short story and worth the money in quality of the old Hemingway of Men Without Women days — though in quantity it can't bulk to more than a scant 150 pages. A unique fishing story — as old man Santiago determines to try his luck in the Gulf waters off Cuba for the eighty fifth day. Surely his luck will change, he assures his faithful young friend whose parents wouldn't let him fish any more in such an ill-fated boat. So the boy goes along in imagination with the old man, pretending that there is enough food in the shanty- and supplementing the lacks from his own table; pretending that bait could be found- and bringing him sardines; planning for getting some warmer clothes for him and lugging water from the village pump; talking gaily of the great "DiMag" and of the game the Yankees are sure to win. And then the old man goes out — beyond the other fishing boats — and drops his lines in the way he has always done, and baits the hooks so that his hoped for great fish could smell and taste. The miracle happens — and the fish, a giant marlin, is bigger than any fish dreamed of. And the old man is alone....The story of that battle, that carried him out to sea and lasted through two days and two nights, is one of the miniature modern classics of such writing. And the story of the sailing back to port, as little by little the scavengers of the sea stripped what was to have been his livelihood for months to come, down to the skeleton, is grim and heartbreaking. A miracle tale, told with such passionate belief that the reader, too, believes. There's adventure here and Hemingway's old gift for merging drama and tenderness gives it a rare charm.

Pub Date: Sept. 8, 1952

ISBN: 0684801221

Page Count: 132

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1952

GENERAL FICTION

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More by Ernest Hemingway

BOOK REVIEW

by Ernest Hemingway with Patrick Hemingway ; edited by Brendan Hemingway & Stephen Adams

by Ernest Hemingway ; edited by Seán Hemingway

by Ernest Hemingway edited by Rena Sanderson ; Sandra Spanier ; Robert W. Trogdon

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah ( The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Pub Date: March 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-345-46752-3

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005

More by Kristin Hannah

by Kristin Hannah

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen ) has a compulsive impact.

"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….

Pub Date: June 15, 1951

ISBN: 0316769177

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951

More by J.D. Salinger

by J.D. Salinger

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Great Books Guy

Reading the classics.

1953 Pulitzer Prize Review: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish” (opening line).

The Old Man and the Sea is a rich and deep novella about an old fisherman named Santiago and his Herculean efforts to overcome a dry-spell of fishing. Much like the book’s protagonist, Ernest Hemingway was also going through a dry-spell of his own at the time. The Old Man and the Sea was written at a time when Hemingway was believed to be a writer in decline. His last critically praised work was published over a decade prior ( For Whom The Bell Tolls in 1940 – read my reflections on For Whom The Bell Tolls and its Pulitzer controversy here ). Hemingway had published Across The River And Into The Trees in 1950, his first post-World War II book, and it was mostly panned by critics. By the time The Old Man and the Sea was released, it too was met with skepticism from certain critics. In a word, The Old Man and the Sea was not unlike a great fish captured by an old fisherman only to be torn apart by sharks and dragged into the harbor.

Hemingway dedicated The Old Man and the Sea “To Charlie Scribner And To Max Perkins,” his old friends. Charlie Scribner was the President of the famous New York publishing house Charlie Scribner & Sons, and Max Perkins was Hemingway’s editor (Mr. Perkins was also the editor of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and other famous writers). Both Scribner and Perkins had passed away before the publication of The Old Man and the Sea . Hemingway’s new editor at Scribner was Wallace Meyer. After the lukewarm reception of Across The River and Into The Trees , Hemingway wrote to Mr. Meyer with the hope of reviving his reputation with a new book. When finished, Hemingway said it was “The best I can write ever for all of my life.” After some initial mixed reviews, The Old Man and the Sea elevated Hemingway’s literary reputation to new unparalleled heights. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and in 1954 Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his acceptance speech, which was delivered by John M. Cabot, U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Hemingway offered a terse assessment of the life of a writer – a solitary experience which compels one to stretch out beyond known horizons. He dedicated his Nobel Prize to the Cuban people, but instead of giving his medal to the Batista government (the military dictatorship in Cuba) Hemingway donated it to the Catholic Church to be placed on display at the El Cobre Basilica, a small town outside Santiago de Cuba.

Hemingway first mentioned the idea for The Old Man and the Sea as early as 1936 in an interview with Esquire Magazine . The inspiration for the story was likely based, in part, on Hemingway’s own fishing boat captain, Gregorio Fuentes, a blue-eyed Cuban fisherman who led a storied life on the ocean. A portion of The Old Man and the Sea was initially published in Life Magazine and even these small snippets became wildly popular. After it was officially published, Hemingway won a string of accolades. The Old Man and the Sea was made into a 1958 movie starring Spencer Tracy ( click here to read my review of the film ). In later years, a miniseries was aired in the 1990s and a stop-action animation version was also released. It won an Oscar in 1999. I recently watched the animated film and was struck by its beautiful, impressionistic re-telling of the story.

The short novella reads like a fable. Unlike Captain Ahab’s fiendish and maddeningly obsessive quest in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick , Hemingway’s old man, Santiago, is a sympathetic character. He is hopeful but down on his luck. He is a staunch fan of baseball, and regularly compares himself to the ‘Great Dimaggio,’ or Joe Dimaggio, the famous center fielder for the New York Yankees (1936-1951). Santiago remains undeterred and steadfast in his support of the Yankees even if they lose a game. His commitments are unwavering. He believes in the power and mythos of the ‘Great Dimaggio.’

The other fishermen of Cuba generally do not respect Santiago so he befriends a young boy named Manolin, but Manolin’s parents prevent him from fishing with Santiago because of Santiago’s bad luck. Santiago has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, branding him unlucky (or a salao , the worst form of unluckiness). Santiago is “thin” and “gaunt” with speckled brown skin and deep blue eyes:

“Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated” (10).

Santiago is a reader of newspapers (there are many references to newspapers and baseball games throughout the story). In the story, we are offered little glimpses into Santiago’s upbringing. As a young man, Santiago spent time along the “long golden beaches” of Africa. He now dreams of lions who hunted along those beaches –a memory of his early years growing up along the Canary Islands.

Santiago awakens early in the morning on the eighty-fifth day without a fish and he takes his little skiff out to sea –he loves the sea. He follows a circling bird outward until a huge fish catches his line. Santiago wrestles with the fish (a marlin) for two days and nights as it drags him eastward out to sea. He watches it through the water and cannot believe how big it is (we later learn the fish is 18-feet long). However, unlike Ahab, Santiago has no antipathy toward his catch. In fact, he respects the marlin and refers to him as a brother. Exhausted, he finally catches the marlin by piercing it with a harpoon. As he tows the marlin back to harbor, he also battles and kills several sharks who strike at the best meat of the fish. One wounded shark takes Santiago’s, while the other sharks are struck by Santiago’s knife and oar. When he finally arrives back in the harbor, Santiago’s marlin has been mostly eaten except for his head and tail.

Santiago, sore and fatigued, trudges back to his shack and collapses. The boy, Manolin, awakens Santiago in the morning with coffee and a newspaper. The boy cries at the sight of Santiago’s injured hands. He describes how the townsfolk searched for Santiago when he did not return after two days. Once rested, Santiago decides to donate the head of the marlin to Pedrico, another fisherman, and he offers the skeleton to Manolin so that he may fashion a spear. Nearby, a group of tourists at a cafe gaze upon the great marlin still attached to Santiago’s skiff and they mistake it for a shark. At the end, Santiago falls sleep again and he dreams of the lions on the beaches of Africa.

Notable Quotations:

“The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it” (35).

“It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy” (39).

“He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation of the calm. The clouds were building up now for the trade wind and he looked ahead and saw a flight of wild ducks etching themselves against the sky over the water, then blurring, then etching again and he knew no man was ever alone on the sea” (60-61).

William Faulkner, at the time Hemingway’s greatest literary rival, praised The Old Man and the Sea in the following single paragraph review published in Shenandoah Magazine (a major literary magazine of Washington and Lee University):

“His best. Time may show it to be the best single piece of any of us, I mean his and my contemporaries. This time, he discovered God, a Creator. Until now, his men and women had made themselves, shaped themselves out of their own clay; their victories and defeats were at the hands of each other, just to prove to themselves or one another how tough they could be. But this time, he wrote about pity: about something somewhere that made them all: the old man who had to catch the fish and then lose it, the fish that had to be caught and then lost, the sharks which had to rob the old man of his fish; made them all and loved them all and pitied them all. It’s all right. Praise God that whatever made and loves and pities Hemingway and me kept him from touching it any further.”

Ernest Hemingway’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Below is a copy of the text of Hemingway’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1954 (delivered by the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden on account of Hemingway’s poor health):

“Having no facility for speech-making and no command of oratory nor any domination of rhetoric, I wish to thank the administrators of the generosity of Alfred Nobel for this Prize.

No writer who knows the great writers who did not receive the Prize can accept it other than with humility. There is no need to list these writers. Everyone here may make his own list according to his knowledge and his conscience.

It would be impossible for me to ask the Ambassador of my country to read a speech in which a writer said all of the things which are in his heart. Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes, and in this sometimes he is fortunate; but eventually they are quite clear and by these and the degree of alchemy that he possesses he will endure or be forgotten.

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing. He grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.

For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

How simple the writing of literature would be if it were only necessary to write in another way what has been well written. It is because we have had such great writers in the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.

I have spoken too long for a writer. A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it. Again I thank you.”

To read my notes on reading The Paris Review’s famous interview with Hemingway (1958) click here .

On the 1953 Pulitzer Prize Decision

The Fiction Jury in 1953 consisted of Roy W. Cowden, an English and Creative Writing Professor from the University of Michigan; and Eric P. Kelly, a Dartmouth English professor and author of children’s books –most notably The Trumpeter of Krakow (1929), winner of the Newbury Medal.

• Roy W. Cowden (1883-1961) was a professor at the University of Michigan where he serves as Director of the Avery Hopwood Prize Program from 1935 to 1952, a cash prize series of creative writing awards in fiction and poetry. Today, there is an award in his name at the University of Michigan.
• Eric P. Kelly (1884-1960) was a professor of English at Dartmouth College and briefly a lecturer at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He won the 1929 Newbery Medal for his children’s book, The Trumpeter of Krakow .

Again in 1953, Kelly and Cowden were split in their report to the Pulitzer Advisory Board. Kelly supported Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea , while Cowden was for Carl Jones’s Jefferson Sellek . They both listed numerous other options in the jury report. With a Pulitzer Prize being long overdue for Hemingway, especially after the snub of For Whom The Bell Tolls , the Board’s choice was easily made. Apparently, Professor Cowden was greatly displeased with this award, and so he departed the Fiction jury for the following year.

While Hemingway never had a word of reproach for his prior Pulitzer Prize denial, upon winning for The Old Man and the Sea , he wrote to Charles Poore of The New York Times stating “…I had never understood the Pulitzer Prize very well but that I had beaten Tony Pulitzer shooting and maybe it was for that.”

In 1953, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, after serving a leave of absence in order to head NATO forces in 1951 and running for President of the United States, officially vacated his position as President of Columbia University. He was succeeded by Grayson Kirk, a portly, pipe-smoking man who previously served as an advisor to the State Department and as a key leader in the formation of the United Nations. During his tenure, he oversaw a period of extraordinary growth for Columbia University as well as considerable cultural tumult that arose in the 1960s. Kirk drew the ire of students for deciding to construct a gymnasium in Morningside Park (which was seen as a symbol of the university’s distance from the Harlem community and its interests); he was attacked for his membership in the Institute for Defense Analyses (a consortium of universities conducting research for the government); and also for taking a controlling interest in a cigarette corporation whose sale would bring revenues to Columbia; and finally, he mishandled the explosive student demonstrations in 1968 which brought widespread criticism and negative press coverage. Kirk served as President of Columbia University from 1953-1968 (he resigned abruptly following his fateful decision to call up the police to quell student protests in 1968). He then assumed the role of President Emeritus in order to continue raising funds for the university, and he also continued to serve on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Association of American Universities before passing away in 1997. At any rate, 1953 was Grayson Kirk’s first official year as President of Columbia University, which included oversight of the Pulitzer Prize Board, though he had technically served as Acting President since 1951.

Also, in 1953-1954 journalist John Hohenberg began his long tenure as Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes (technically, he replaced Frank Fackenthal who resigned from Columbia University in 1948, though since that time Dean Ackerman served in the role in an unofficial capacity). Mr. Hohenberg served as Administrator until he resigned in 1974, though he remained onboard for an additional two years as “emeritus administrator” thereafter. By 1976, he had helped to transform the Pulitzer Advisory Board into an autonomous award-granting body (henceforth known as the Pulitzer Prize Board), among a flurry of changes and transformations to the Pulitzer Prizes.

In his fourth year as a Columbia University journalism professor, John Hohenberg was invited to attend a meeting of the Pulitzer Advisory Board by his Dean, the ailing Carl W. Ackerman who was nearing retirement. According to Hohenberg’s The Pulitzer Diaries , Dean Ackerman invited him along to the board meeting by suggesting, “maybe you can help me by taking a few notes.” At the time, Ackerman had been serving as secretary of the Advisory Board, and he carried with him an armful of manila folders filled with various Pulitzer jury reports, and a large book entitled “Minutes of the Advisory Board on the Pulitzer Prizes.” The Board met in the World Room at Columbia University’s School of Journalism (in the earlier days of the Pulitzer Prizes, from what I can tell, the Board met in the Trustees Room in the Low Memorial Library).

Typically, I include a brief biography of the author in my Pulitzer Prize reviews, however I have written extensively on Ernest Hemingway’s biography elsewhere. Click here to read my notes on the epic life of Ernest Hemingway.

Film Adaptation:

• Director: John Sturges
• Starring: Spencer Tracy

Literary Context in 1952-1953:

• Nobel Prize for Literature (1953): awarded to Winston Churchill “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.”
• National Book Award (1953): Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
• Per Publishers Weekly, the top bestseller in 1952 was The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain. The second The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk (the prior year’s Pulitzer Prize-winner), followed by East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Other books on the list that year was My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, Giant by Edna Ferber, and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
• The works of André Gide were placed on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books by Pope Pius XII.
• Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting For Godot was published.
• Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap debuted in London. She also published three novels in 1952.
• John Steinbeck’s East of Eden was published.
• Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano was published.
• Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man was published.
• Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was first published (it was to win the Pulitzer Prize the following year).

My Assessment:

1952 was a fairly extraordinary year for American letters. The Old Man and the Sea was a top-tier selection for the Pulitzer Prize, perhaps a mea culpa after the infamous snub of Ernest Hemingway for For Whom The Bell Tolls . However, novels like Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and John Steinbeck’s East of Eden would have been equally worthy of consideration for the prize.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea . New York, Scribner’s and Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Click here to return to my survey of the Pulitzer Prize Winners.

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[The Old Man and the Sea]: A Review

Hi everyone! Hope your summer is full of ice cream and pool time. I’m definitely enjoying both since they help with this Texas heat a little 😉

Today I am excited to review a recent read of mine, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I decided to include one Hemingway piece on my list for The Classics Club because I felt like I should read more by him. My mom recommended  The Old Man and the Sea  as her favorite Hemingway. I have read a little bit of Hemingway before ( The Sun Also Rises as a high school sophomore and a few short stories in college literature courses). And honestly, I wasn’t super impressed. I thought maybe I just didn’t ‘get’ Hemingway or I just don’t like American literature from this time period.

But then I read this novel. I loved it.

Initial Thoughts:

• This story is so simple. It’s about a man trying to catch a large fish out in the ocean. But the way Hemingway creates a tapestry of emotional complexities is really gorgeous.
• I like how short this novel (story?) is because it’s easy to finish. I felt accomplished as I read it in only a few sittings. But it also made me think deeper than I expected.
• I loved the simple, loving relationship between the old man and the boy. I’m glad the old man had someone who cared about him.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is considered one of Hemingway’s masterpieces. Goodreads summarizes, “It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss and transforms them into a magnificent twentieth-century classic.”

The highlight of the book for me was the language–beautiful, raw, and compelling. I never really appreciated his genius until reading this. And I think the bulk of his genius is in his beautiful language. This story isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s rather simple. But the way it is told is fascinating and compelling.  I felt that I was in the boat with the old man. His fascinating journey to defeat the fish and the sea is told so brilliantly that it read quickly for me. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to know what would happen.  My copy of the novel calls it a fable, a parable, and an epic.  All three seem true to me. And it’s the language that gives us multiple layers of meaning that make it read that way for me. 

A few favorite particularly beautiful passages:

“H e was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.” “B ut man is not made for defeat, he said. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” “L uck is a thing that comes in many forms and who can recognize her?” The Old Man and the Sea , pages 13, 103, & 117

One of the most fascinating parts of this book is the relationship between the old man and the fish. The old man continually calls the fish his brother and narrates the way he interacts with the fish–respecting the fish on a deeper level as an equal and a friend. I was impressed by the man’s great understanding of his role and the fish’s role in the world and the way they had to work together to survive. I admired the man’s strength and patience as he let the fish pull his little skiff along. And I admired the way he waited to make sure he could kill the fish without pain and suffering to the fish. I was impressed by his respect for the fish even after he is bringing the fish back to shore. They seemed to understand each other on a deeper level. It wasn’t just about a man catching a fish to feed himself or make money. This story is about the brotherhood between the man and the fish and the sea, about the respect and strength needed to build and cultivate that relationship.

Particularly compelling quotes about this relationship:

“H e is a great fish and I must convince him . . . I must never let him learn his strength not what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.” “‘T he fish is my friend, too,’ he said aloud. ‘I have never seen or heard of such a fish.'” “You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.” The Old Man and the Sea , pages 63, 75, & 92

The emotions of this novel were deep and poignant. I was truly moved by the man’s struggle to win the battle with his prize marlin. I felt fear, hope, sadness, despair, and acceptance with the old man. Most especially, the events that happen after that climactic moment are heart wrenching and raw. The man’s quest to save the fish from the sea is perhaps the most intense part of the entire novel for me. I was rooting for him and for his strength and will. While I won’t give away the ending here I will say this.  The ending fits the story, and it’s complexities have me thinking about it still. 

There are so many themes that can be discussed within the context of this novel: strength and weakness, power and failure, brotherhood and respect, victory and defeat. I want to read more analysis of this novel because the potential for discussion and interpretation seems nearly endless. Some questions and insights I want to remember about it:

• The man and the fish form a brotherhood. How does that relationship change and develop through the story? How does the man change?
• What could each element in this novel represent–the man, the fish, the sea, the hook, the skiff?
• How can victory and defeat coexist in one experience? How do they do so here?
• What is sin? What role does it play in this novel?
• What is the moral, if any, of this story?

And I have to share my favorite quote from the novel. It’s rather long but I think it captures the beautiful language, complex themes, and epic quality of the novel.

“There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it. I have no understanding of it and I am not sure that I believe in it. Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose it was even though I did it to keep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin. Do not think about sin. It is much too late for that and there are people who are paid to do it. Let them think about it. You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish. . . . You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food . . . . You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?” The Old Man and the Sea , page 105

Overall, one of my favorite classics read this year. I highly recommend this one.

This novel is my 16th novel finished for my list with The Classics Club! Check out my full list  here . For more info on the club, click  here .

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15 thoughts on “ [the old man and the sea]: a review ”.

I love this book too, and I completely agree about the power of the simple language Hemingway uses

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Thanks so much for your comment! Fun to remember what I enjoyed about this classic.

I don’t always care for Hemingway, but this…I LOVE! Nice review.

Amen! I’m not much of a Hemingway fan myself but yes, The Old Man and the Sea was fantastic!

A great review 🙂 I should read this one too, I have it in my physical shelf even, so I’ve had it for a while. One of the classics I should totally know.

Thanks so much! It is totally worth reading. Makes me feel accomplished to have read it since it’s a classic, but I appreciate how short it is as well 🙂

Let me know your thoughts if you read it soon!

I took an entire grad class on modernism, which the literary period during which this novel was written. I just couldn’t understand anything I read. We covered all these novels by old white men, and I just didn’t care about what they did. All the themes seemed to be cheating their girlfriends back home during WWI, getting STDs and nearly dying from them, depression and disease, and the stock market crash. We read the entire John Dos Passos USA trilogy. What a waste of time. Each book seemed exactly the same. We didn’t read any women or people of color. Perhaps that’s why I have such an aversion to writers like Hemingway.

I usually have a hard time with modernism for those reasons you mentioned. I just don’t connect with the stories and such. And I agree that the “literary canon” is often very one sided with a lot of authors who are white men. And I haven’t loved the other Hemingway I have read. But this one was so different for me. I was really impressed. But I don’t think I am going to start reading all of Hemingway’s novels or anything. Haha. Thanks for your comment!

Wow ! Great review 🙂 I read this book very recently, the first of Hemmingway’s work that I ever read and I liked it. You have expressed all the nuances of the book so beautifully 🙂

Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment! That’s neat you read it recently too. Always glad to find fellow readers that have similar interests 🙂

I picked this up again at the Hemingway home in Key West this April. My nine year old was RIVETED. I think I appreciated it more through his eyes than my own when I tried to read it in high school.

That’s really neat! I think I enjoyed it more because I didn’t read it for assignment in high school. That does make a difference, doesn’t it? 🙂

This book sounds absolutely amazing. I’ve been interested in this book for a while, but I haven’t picked it up yet. I’m definitely going to now. I really like the way you did this review; you built a lot of interest in the novel and talked about some of the themes and questions it raises, without giving anything away. Definitely sold me on this book. Wonderful review.

Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I hope you find time to read it soon. And I’d love to hear you thoughts when you finish 🙂

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• The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

• Literature Notes
• Book Summary
• About The Old Man and the Sea
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Character Analysis
• Character Map
• Ernest Hemingway Biography
• Critical Essays
• Hemingway's Style
• Themes in The Old Man and the Sea
• Foundations of Behavior in The Old Man and the Sea
• Full Glossary for The Old Man and the Sea
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

For 84 days, the old fisherman Santiago has caught nothing. Alone, impoverished, and facing his own mortality, Santiago is now considered unlucky. So Manolin (Santiago's fishing partner until recently and the young man Santiago has taught since the age of five) has been constrained by his parents to fish in another, more productive boat. Every evening, though, when Santiago again returns empty-handed, Manolin helps carry home the old man's equipment, keeps him company, and brings him food.

On the morning of the 85th day, Santiago sets out before dawn on a three-day odyssey that takes him far out to sea. In search of an epic catch, he eventually does snag a marlin of epic proportions, enduring tremendous hardship to land the great fish. He straps the marlin along the length of his skiff and heads for home, hardly believing his own victory. Within an hour, a mako shark attacks the marlin, tearing away a great hunk of its flesh and mutilating Santiago's prize. Santiago fights the mako, enduring great suffering, and eventually kills it with his harpoon, which he loses in the struggle.

The great tear in the marlin's flesh releases the fish's blood and scent into the water, attracting packs of shovel-nosed sharks. With whatever equipment remains on board, Santiago repeatedly fights off the packs of these scavengers, enduring exhaustion and great physical pain, even tearing something in his chest. Eventually, the sharks pick the marlin clean. Defeated, Santiago reaches shore and beaches the skiff. Alone in the dark, he looks back at the marlin's skeleton in the reflection from a street light and then stumbles home to his shack, falling face down onto his cot in exhaustion.

The next morning, Manolin finds Santiago in his hut and cries over the old man's injuries. Manolin fetches coffee and hears from the other fisherman what he had already seen — that the marlin's skeleton lashed to the skiff is eighteen feet long, the greatest fish the village has known. Manolin sits with Santiago until he awakes and then gives the old man some coffee. The old man tells Manolin that he was beaten. But Manolin reassures him that the great fish didn't beat him and that they will fish together again, that luck doesn't matter, and that the old man still has much to teach him.

That afternoon, some tourists see the marlin's skeleton waiting to go out with the tide and ask a waiter what it is. Trying to explain what happened to the marlin, the waiter replies, "Eshark." But the tourists misunderstand and assume that's what the skeleton is.

Back in his shack, with Manolin sitting beside him, Santiago sleeps again and dreams of the young lions he had seen along the coast of Africa when he was a young man.

Next About The Old Man and the Sea

Tiger Riding for Beginners

Bernie gourley: traveling poet-philosopher & aspiring puddle dancer.

BOOK REVIEW: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

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3 thoughts on “ BOOK REVIEW: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway ”

👌👌👌I love this book and Ernst Hemingway…. and daiquiri 🙂

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I really liked this book, too … such a tight focus on a scenario — just an old man on a boat — and the story still manages to bring interest to the reader.

I agree wholeheartedly.

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Historical Context

The old man and the sea, by ernest hemingway.

Completed in 1951, and published in 1952, 'The Old Man and the Sea' is considered Hemingway’s greatest work of fiction. It was also his last major publication during his lifetime.

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The novella was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953. A year later, the Nobel committee awarded Hemingway the Noble Prize for Literature and cited The Old Man and the Sea as a major influence in their decision-making process.  

The novella was dedicated to Charlie Scribner, the president of the publishing company, and to Max Perkins Hemingway’s literary editor. The book was a huge success. The first edition ran 50,000 copies and made Hemingway an international celebrity. Since its initial publication, the novella has become a staple in English classes around the world.  

The Old Man and the Sea is part of the Modernist period of literature that originated in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The movement is characterized by a break with traditional ways of writing . It touched both poetry, prose fiction, and drama.  

Hemingway’s Personal History  

It is believed that the “old man” in the novella, Santiago, is based around Gregoria Fuentes, Hemingway’s first mate. But Hemingway most certainly saw himself in the figure of Santiago. He lived a distinctly adventurous life, serving as an ambulance driver in Italy and eventually winning the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery. Hemingway spent a great deal of time after World War I hunting and camping. Most importantly in the context of the novel, Hemingway adored fishing, specifically on his boat The Pilar. He also went on safari and hunted in the Serengeti , exemplifying the characteristics of many of his protagonists. These included soldiers, hunters, and other people he portrayed as courageous, often fighting back against society or nature.  

During the 30s Hemingway spent time in Paris. It was there he became part of the “Lost Generation” of American writers who had moved to Europe post-WWI. He spent time in the company of Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. Themes of alienation, separation, and disillusionment can be found throughout Hemingway’s novels and short stories.  

It was in the late 1930s that Ernest Hemingway first sailed to Cuba. He lived there briefly before returning in the 40s. In total, he spent 20 years of his life there. Part of this period was one in which he went without literary success and many critics considered his career finished. For some, after a prolonged period of poor reviews, the imagery of sharks tearing apart the marlin seemed to symbolize an attack on those who had degraded Hemingway’s repetition and future prospects as a writer. In the end, Hemingway triumphed over his critics.  

After receiving the Nobel Prize in 1954 Hemingway dedicated the award to the Cuban people who had been so influential in his creation of The Old Man and the Sea. The novella was a worldwide success and incredibly important in bolstering Hemingway’s career. It prompted a general reassessment of Hemingway’s entire oeuvre. His words were reexamined, and his position in the annals of literary history elevated.  

The Legacy of The Old Man and the Sea

Since its publication, three separate films have been made in attempts to profit off of, and do justice to Hemingway’s narrative. The first, directed by John Sturges, was finished in 1958 and starred Spencer Tracy. The second was a miniseries/television movie in 1990. It was directed by Jud Taylor and starred Anthony Quinn. This adaption was nominated for three Emmy Awards. The third was an animated short film released in 1999 and directed by Aleksandr Petrov, a Russian animator. This version is arguably the most successful. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in addition to several other awards.  

About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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Book Review

The old man and the sea.

• Ernest Hemingway
• Drama , Historical

Readability Age Range

• Scribner Book Company, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
• Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954; Award of Merit Medal for the Novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1954; Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1953

Year Published

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .

Plot Summary

Santiago, an old fisherman, hasn’t caught anything in 84 days. He’s discouraged. His friend and former sailing mate, Manolin, longs to help him, but Manolin’s parents refuse because of Santiago’s poor fishing record. On day 85, Santiago feels a tug he knows to be the fish he’s been looking for. But the fish is so enormous and strong that for several days it pulls him farther out to sea. Hemingway details the valiant struggle between man and fish, lauding the old man for his perseverance despite the fact that sharks ultimately eat his prize fish.

Christian Beliefs

Santiago has religious pictures on his wall. He questions the purpose of sea swallows, birds that are really too weak and delicate to survive against harsher sea birds. Santiago tells God he isn’t religious, but that he would say “Hail Mary” and “Our Father” prayers and make a pilgrimage if he catches the fish. He follows this with additional prayers that are more repetitive than heartfelt. Santiago contemplates whether it is a sin to kill the fish. Hemingway employs a fair amount of crucifixion imagery throughout the book to portray Santiago as a Christ figure who transcends death and defeat.

Other Belief Systems

The old man talks quite a bit about luck concerning fishing. Manolin’s parents are happier now that he is working with a “lucky” boat.

Authority Roles

Santiago is Manolin’s hero. Santiago teaches Manolin a great deal about fishing. However, Manolin keeps a close eye on Santiago to make sure Santiago gets the nourishment and care needed. At times, Santiago is under the authority of both the sea and his great fish. At other moments, he masters them with his skill and perseverance.

Profanity & Violence

Phrases like “God knows,” “Christ knows” or “God help me” appear; few, if any, are an intentional misuse of the Lord’s name. In demonstrating his passionate faithfulness to the old man, Manolin uses the words d–n and h—.

Sexual Content

Santiago calls the dangerous Portuguese man-of-war invertebrate a whore. He later talks about the same animal heaving and swinging as though “the ocean were making love with something.”

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Other issues: The boy buys the old man a beer. (There is no clear indication as to whether the boy has one himself.) When the old man asks if he’d steal some sardines, the boy says he will, but he doesn’t.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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Impressions In Ink

Book reviews by annette, [review] the old man and the sea by ernest hemingway.

Publisher and Publication Date: Scribner. 2003. First published 1952. Genre: Fiction. Classic American literature. Pages: 128. Format: Paperback. Source: Library. Audience: Ernest Hemingway readers. American literature readers. Rating: Very good.

Link @ Amazon.

Ernest Hemingway’s author page at Goodreads.

I don’t know the time period of the book.

The setting is Havana, Cuba. But for most of the story the setting is the Gulf, the sea near Cuba.

The characters are the old man and the boy.

The old man is down in his luck for catching fish. He leaves early one morning hoping his luck will return. He catches in his line a large marlin fish; and this is the start of a battle and a journey of strength and endurance for them.

My Thoughts:

The first time I read The Old Man and the Sea was in high school. I remember the plot and the characters. But at that time in life, I was an immature reader. I did not have a clue nor a teachable spirit about reading. I read purely for entertainment. I did not think about characters, themes, the form of a story, the overall storyline, or the meaning behind events and people.

I am currently reading A Farewell to Arms . This is another Ernest Hemingway story. Three years ago, I read For Whom the Bell Tolls which is my favorite so far of his stories. I plan to read more books written by Hemingway. One of the reasons I love his stories is I love the way he writes. Some examples: I love the structure or form of the stories, the construction of sentences, the development of characters. I love how I have no idea what I am to take away from the story until after I have read the last line.

Reasons why I love The Old Man and the Sea.

• The characters are simply titled the old man and the boy. Names can overtake a character in strength or weakness. Character names can become outdated with time. The simplicity of the names in this story makes room for who they are and what they are capable of.
• The older generation and the younger generation are often ignored because they are not associated with strength or endurance or capability. For one, their time is nearly over. For the other, their time has barely begun. In The Old Man and the Sea, the old man and the boy are huge with the things in life that matter most.
• There is tenderness, consideration, encouragement, hope, kindness, thoughtfulness, selflessness, endurance, and love in the story.
• I love it that this is not a romantic story but a story of love, nonetheless.
• I love the dreams the old man has. His dreams of when he was a boy in Africa.
• I love seeing the sea through the eyes of the old man. His view of the ocean, sea life, the fish that swim near him. I love his belief that he and the sea and the life in them are of one essence. This is beautiful to me. He talks to the sea creatures as if they are another person. By his behavior and words, the sea creatures are of value and dignity.

The Old Man and the Sea is a magnificent story. The more I think about it, the more I love it.

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The Old Man and the Sea

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Uploaded by sreekanthj on August 22, 2021

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