The Old Man and The Sea: by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a novel about an old man and his amazing plan to set out on a massive adventure into the sea to catch what he hopes is the tremendous fish he has seen. Santiago the old man is the protagonist in this story. Now that Santiago is old, he is have a tough time beating the young fisherman for the larger fish. Because of this, Santiago has to live a poor life with his only friend a small boy named Manolin. Santiago has not caught a single fish in fourty-eight days straight, so he decides to leave early the next day to go further than he has been before to catch his biggest fish ever. Santiago finally hooks a marlin and has it hooked for days and it is a struggle between the marlin and Santiago. Over the time that Santiago has the marlin hooked, he thinks about the past and reflects on his life. During the time that the marlin is on the line, Santiago develops a bond with the fish and cares for it. Santiago pulls the marlin aboard his ship and begins to head home but has to defend his new catch against the many sharks that appear, taking pieces of his marlin. Santiago arrives home to his small lonely shack once again without the biggest catch of his life because it was taken by the sharks.

I think the the themes of this story were friendship, and hope. Friendship for one because the boy Manolin looks after Santiago like a good friend and takes care of him. Santiago also develops a friendship with the marlin while he has the marlin hooked. Hope is another theme because throughout the novel, Santiago has hope. He has hope to catch a huge fish even at his old age. Santiago also displays hope when the he has the marlin hooked because Santiago knows that if he tries hard enough he will be able to capture the marlin. When the sharks are attacking Santiago hopes that they do not take his precious marlin away.

Ernest Hemingway uses a third person view point for this novel, but also talks about Santiago's thoughts. I think this was a very creative and unique way of writing this book and went perfectly with the themes of the novel.

One issue that was raised in the book that relates to adolescents is the young boy Manolin helping and caring for Santiago. The boy cares for Santiago like a father and would do anything just to be able to go fishing with him.

I have never read any novel that relates to this book. That was one of the reasons I thought this book was so interesting was because I have never read anything so deep and interesting like it. The novel had a basic story line but meant so many more things with large amounts of detail from what things looked like to Santiago's thoughts to himself.

I think that this book could not be any better. I think that Ernest Hemingway did an amazing job on this book and deserved the Nobel Prize for Literature. I enjoyed this book so much that I can not wait to begin another one of Hemingway's novel's.

I would recommend this book to people who think deeply about things and enjoy detail in their stories. Also, if people are interested in any of Hemingway's novels, I think that this is one that you have to read. People who enjoy fishing or fish would also enjoy this book i think.

One rhetorical device used in this novel is when Santiago falls asleep at the end of the novel for the last time and dreams about lions on a beach. I think this is interesting because it shows repetition throughout the book. You never really understand why Santiago dreams about this but Ernest Hemingway continues to bring it up.

Another rhetorical device is when Santiago is fighting against the marlin, struggling to keep him on the hook. Santiago becomes friends in his mind with the marlin and bonds with the marlin. I think this shows symbolism showing that if we all become friends even when in a fight we can bond and understand each others feelings and resolve the situation. Even though Santiago wanted to kill the marlin because it was his food, he loved it.