Monday, April 4, 2011

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

"Then the fish came alive, with his death in him,
and rose high out of the water
showing all his great length and width
and all his power and beauty."

I know that this book is studied as a literary masterpiece. I know that it's used to demonstrate successful symbolism. I know that it's a "deeper" story than just a tale about an old man and the sea. But I gotta tell you...all I got was the old man and his journey catching a fish. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. It was well-written and I was able to finish it easily in a day (it's only like 125 pages). I was sad for Santiago, who had gone so long without catching a fish that the other villagers laughed at him and talked about his bad luck. He's so determined and optimistic that day 85 will be his day to catch a fish, and he hooks the largest marlin you can imagine, only to have the fish torn apart by sharks as he tries to return to shore. It was very sad, and I can see where you would be able to draw parallels between his experience and the way we sometimes allow our dreams and pursuits to consume us, but I didn't get much more out of the book than just a good story.

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