The Old Man and the Sea: Question 1

First off, on the subject of Hemingway's writing style, I found it very refreshing to be able to read a book and not have to over-analyze just to understand the a simple point the author was trying to get across. His sentences were often short, simple, and to the point. It made it a whole lot easier to get what he was trying to say.

Throughout the novella, Hemingway reveals, through his writing, that he values relationships and nature. After reading even a couple dozen pages into the book, it is obvious that the old man and the boy have, and have had, a very close relationship for a long time. The old man taught the boy how to fish when he was young, and took him on his boat for help. They have had many big catches, but since the old man has been on an 84 day streak of not catching a single fish, the old man, and even the boy’s parents, does not want him to fish with the old man, because they believe he is salao, which means very, very unlucky (Hemingway 13). Even though the old man is “bad luck”, the boy still wants to fish with the old man, but he (the old man) will not let him. Another very easy way to tell that the two had a strong bond is when you read about 6 or 7 pages into the fight with the marlin, and the old man keeps wishing he had the boy with him. I think that this shows the strong sense of relationship that Hemingway himself values.

I also think that Hemingway values nature because for one, the whole book takes place on the ocean and one of the three main characters is a fish, which is not normal for a book that does not have very much personification in it, save for the few times the old man refers to the fish as his brother and his friend. He talks extensively how graceful the birds and the turtles are, and how he hates the Portuguese Man-o-War jellyfish because they sometimes sting him. Whenever he kills the marlin, and when he described the times that he went turtling, he would say how bad he felt for killing them (Hemingway 33) . It even seems that throughout the book, that the old man prefers and trusts in nature, more than he does in religion because the only time he talks about it is when he wonders if killing the fish is a sin, and when he prays to just get home safe. The funny thing was though, was that he added “Blessed Virgin, pray for the death of this fish. Wonderful though he is,” which shows that even when he is praying for his very safety, he can not forget about the fish (Hemingway 52)

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1980. Kindle. Web. 21 June2011.