The+Old+Man+and+the+Sea+EC

=The Old Man and the Sea=

Jake 6/9/10 IRP E.C.


 * Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)**

Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois as the son of a physician. Hemingway enjoyed hunting through much of his childhood and in 1918 joined the United States Army and served as an ambulance driver in WWI until injured by Machine-gun fire. He was discharged and returned home in 1920. He began working for The Toronto Star newspaper in Ontario Canada. In 1921 he married Hadley Richardson and moved to Paris. He continued to work as a foreign correspondent for The Toronto Star. In 1924 he quit The Toronto Star and raised his family. Hemingway had a divorce in 1940 and served in WWII in 1941. Hemingway received numerous awards for his work and eventually shot himself on July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho. Read more of Hemingway's biography at [|Hemingway]


 * Plot**

//The Old Man and the Sea// is a book about an old Cuban fisherman. The fisherman whose name is Santiago is a very poor very old man. He receives help fishing from a young boy name Manolin until Manolin's parents instruct him not to fish with the old man any more. The old man is not having in luck fishing and has not caught anything worthwhile in more than eighty days. The Manolin helps the old man at the docks and keeps him company with conversations of American baseball. One day, the old man goes out to sea alone. About a day passes without any excitement until the old man hooks a great marlin! The old man spends days fighting with the marlin trying to weaken the wish while at the same time catching smaller fish to stay strong. The old man struggles with the fish and often wishes out loud for help from the boy. The old man eventually catches and kills the fish with a great toll on his strength. He ties the marlin to the side of the boat and begins his way back home. On the way back home, Santiago fights with many sharks who bite chunks out of the marlin. The old man is very weak at this point and is running out of weapons to fight the sharks with. It is unknown whether he will survive the journey back home let alone with any meat left on the marlin. media type="youtube" key="7PPjXUGASBU" height="344" width="425"


 * Criticsm**

//The Old Man and the Sea// is a very good book. It keeps a very good pace throughout and never has a dull moment. It really pulls at the readers heart strings and makes them really root for the old man. The book has the readers cheering the old man on all the way through. The readers feel suspense, fear, sadness, success, hopelessness, and hopefullness right along with the old man. The biggest problem with this book however is the fact that is not divided into chapters and has no natural pausing points. There are no spots in the book that allow for setting it down as something is constantly happening. Overall however, there are not many negative comments to make about this book.


 * Literary Elements[[image:cuba_map.gif align="right" caption="Cuba"]]**

Hemingway's use of literary elements add interesting details to the story. The fact that the setting of the book is Cuba is significant because Cuba is a relatively poor country. That being said, the fact that the old man is poor by Cuban standards really says something about his way of life. Hemingway uses the element of characters most promenintly in the book by making us feel attached to Manolin and especially Santiago. When Santiago speaks his thoughts out loud it makes the connection between reader and character even deeper. "Be strong and calm, old man" (Hemingway 91) This quote causes the reader to feel pity and affection for the old man and is one of Santiago's many quotes said to himself. This connection to these characters really increases the overall quality of the book.


 * Outstanding Book**

This book is defiantly outstanding for many reasons. The book is a little less than 130 pages yet still manages to tell a terrific story. The fact that Hemingway is able to fit so much emotionally provoking and exciting material into 130 pages is truly amazing in itself. The book jumps very quickly into the main plot as it is able to operate on a very short yet informing introduction. The book centralizes around one main character and has only one secondary character not counting the fishes. The fact that the book is able to function with limited human to human interaction is also quite amazing. The animals themselves and particularly the marlin act as characters as well. They provide something for the old man to talk to and therefore give the readers the dialogue they need. All things considered, this book is a phenomenol piece of literature that can be read again and again, and its that enjoy ability that makes it just so outstanding.


 * Recommendation**

I would Honestly recommend this book to anybody. The book is a very fast read, and therefore takes up little time. It is very touching and heart warming and you will leave the book feeling content. This book is acceptable for all ages however I believe that the older you get, the more you can appreciate the book and relate to the old man. This book stays interesting throughout and keeps the reader engaged. I would recommend this book both for pleasure reading as it is very enjoyable and for projects and assignments as it is a well made work of literature.

Works Cited

Ernest Hemingway Biography. Biography Base. 9 Jun. 2010. [|Hemingway]

Hemingway, Ernest. __The Old Man and the Sea__. New York: Charlie Scribner's sons. 1952

The Hemingway Bartender's companion. 17 Dec. 2009. Cocktail Culture. 9 Jun. 2010 [|Hemingway]

Striped Marlin. Underwater Photos. National Geographic. 9 Jun. 2010. [|Marlin]

Cuba. Map of Cuba. 2007-2009. About Cuba.ca. 9 Jun. 2010 [|Cuba]

the old man and the sea anthony quinn Trailer Google Videos. Youtube. 17 Sep. 2009. Youtube. 9 Jun. 2010 [|The Old Man and the Sea Movie]