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Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was a great book. I liked this book because it had a lot of drama. I also liked it because I was amazed that Ernest could make a good book out of catching a fish. This book was about an old man's desire to catch the biggest fish in the sea. He goes through many obstacles through the story to delay him from possibly catching the fish. His line almost breaks, and he needs to somehow get food for his long journey. I would encourage everybody to read this book. If you like drama and excitement, you will like this book. I would recommend the book for all reader's except for beginners.
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Summary: overview
Review: In this story, the old mans characters background isnt written so much. Hemingway treated their character like anonymous by not using their proper names. It has effects such as appearing to be a fairy tale, abstracting or symbolizing characters, and focusing on his current thinking and acts. The author especially seemed to want to focus on his character present being.
The old man is written as the figure, which barely balance the erosion of the sea with inner aging. The old mans features are aged, patient, being wounded. In his experience endurance had similar meaning of victory. It is showed by the arm wrestling scene (p.69-71).
The fish might be a symbol of the sea, nature, luck, absurdity, life, death, shadow of the old man. I feel the last one is rather good, because I dont remember the scene of the old mans shadow reflected on the surface of the sea. Ordinary it is natural there is that kind of scene.
Also, the environment is a big component of this story. The environment suggests and allures characters into a new feeling. For example, His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises(13). In this case, the environment is the breeze. It made the old man relax and refresh, so the old man brought himself into new feelings. In addition, the environment in the old mans memory is wholly crystallized. For example, in the arm wrestling scene, There was much betting and people went in and out of the room under the kerosene lights and he had looked at the arm and at the negros face. They changed the referees every four hours after the first eight so that the referees every four sleep. Blood came out from under the fingernails of both his and the negros hands and they looked each other in the eye and at their hands an forearms and the bettors went in and out of the room and sat on high chairs against the wall and watched(69). It has a symmetrical structure. I feel as if it expressed the bars shape itself: from the wall bettors lean through the wrestlers, referees, to the other wall. It is circular and closed structure. It is highly crystallized, and I feel also that is because this scene has already been taken in the old mans memory and cherished for long time by him. The environment in this story has very important role. I think it is as if it was one of the main characters.
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Summary: Man vs. Fish
Review: The Old Man and the Sea is actually the first Hemingway book that I have ever read. I enjoyed reading about the killer sharks, and the main character, who seemed to be more unlucky than I am. Though the book does not give names, until the end, it does not bother me because during this book there is no need for names. It is a simple old fisherman verses a 1 and 1/2 ton marlin who drags him out to sea. The story begins with the Old man and the "boy", whom helps hiim fish. The old man has been very unlucky, in fishing, lately and decides that since he has gone for 84 days without catching a simgle fish he will go out and try one last time, which ends up to be the best time of his life. After he cannot see the lights of his city anymore he gets this huge grab, but what he doesn't realize is that the grab is almost 2 tons. I admit that this story is boring at times mainly because he is alone and he talks to himself, maybe that is why it is so short. It really does pick up after he finally kills that marlin. That is where sharks come and feed of the fish. Though I would like to say more, it would ruin the end of the book. I think that if you read a lot of books where the main character goes nuts by being alone with himsel, and not being prepared, this is the book for you. Though if you get woozy from reading about half eaten fish or eating fish raw, you should probably stay away. I know I enjoyed this book, and I didn't even know what the tools he used to kill the fish were called. But don't take my word for it read it yourself and see how a classic, noble peice winning book effecs you.
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Summary: It was nothing to complain about
Review: From what people have told me, this book has given them chills when reading it. Hey, it was an alright book, but it didn't have me dying to turn the next page. I have always believed that if you are a good person good things will come to you. That old man was a good person, look what happened to him! If I didn't want to be excited, i would go read William Shatner's new autobiography. But as for this book i expected a bit more.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very impressive
Review: Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea has been given A LOT of praise since it was written. Given the task of reading a book by an American author for a high school english class, I decided to give it a whirl, with such publicity it must be worth the read, right? After about 50 pages I came to the conclusion that it was one of the most boring books I had ever read. I guess I'm just a sucker for rich detail, which Hemingway completely overlooks. addcaptivating...it was just plain dull. Why the world calls this novella an essential work of American Literature I'll never know.
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Summary: Who's the victim ?
Review: When Santiago, the old fisherman, finally decides to try his luck far away from the shore, he probably did'nt realise he would meet his destiny both as a fisherman and a human being. As a human being because after all his troubles he comes home empty handed, a fate most of us humans will find at the end of our live; we will ask if this is all we have done. But it seems to me that the story has a second meaning. When a huge sword-fish takes the bait an epic battle starts between the two. The fish swims away, forcing the old man to taut the cord for almost two days. During this moments one could ask who's the hunter and who's the hunted.
In my point of view it's this duality that makes the story a masterpiece.
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Summary: The Old Man And the Sea
Review: The Old man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway Sometimes people take for granted how closely we're connected to nature; In "The Old Man and the Sea," by ernest Hemingway, a titanic struggle reveals the humanity in nature and the nature in man. "The Old man and the Sea" is the story of an old fisherman who is down on his luck. He goes out on what is interpreted as his last quest for a fish and the end of his bad luck. Far out at sea and all alone, he lands a great fish larger than his skiff. The rest of the story is the hopeless struggle between the old man, sharks , the great fish, and the sea.
Hemingway uses the motif that the old fisherman and the great fish are the same or parallel each other. Hemingway gives examples by comparing the two during the struggle back to land. Neither the old man nor the fish give up. The two characters parallel each other through the book one above in the skiff, and one below in the deep sea. By examining beginning and the ending situations of the old man and the fish, readers see the similarities in the two characters and their lives.
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Summary: The Old Man And The Sea
Review: A True Classic. I have read this book many times and each time I get the same feeling of being there. Great descriptions and most of all great story.
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Summary: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Review: The Old Man and The Sea is a book about Santiago, an old fisherman living in a coastal fishing town. He is a poor man, but with a richness of character that is recognised and admired by his friend, a young boy named Manolin. Manolin has much faith in Santiago, which is mentioned on page 12. "He hasn't much faith." "No." the old man said. "But we have. Haven't we?" "Yes," the boy said. Santiagois down on his luck, he hasn't had a catch in 84 days, and on the 85th day Santiago decides that he will not return home without a catch, to break his losing streak. On the 85th day, alone in the boat, he manages to hook an enormous marlin, the biggest fish he's ever seen in all his life. The fish is larger and stronger than Santiago. Santiago's experienced fishing skills and his will to catch and survive push him to pursue the fish for many days, and many miles out to sea. Santiago loves this fish, he respects it for its beauty, its size, and its power. Pg. 49, "Then he began to pity the great fish he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought." Still Santiago must demonstrate his own power over the fish, for the sake of his pride. After an incredible and exhausting fight, the fish is his. He must now get it back to shore. After killing the fish, he ties the fish to the skiff. The marlin fish he catches is as big as the struggle he has yet to face after his catch. And so his next battle begins. Sharks appear and start to feed on the defenseless carcass of the marin fish. Santiago tries to defend the great fish, he tries to defend its beauty, its dignity, as well as his own triumph over the fish. He tries to defend his prize, his joy, and make it back to shore. Read to find out the conclusion to The Old Man and The Sea. Hemingway's language is simple and profound and he touches us, enabling us to feel Santiago's emotionts, experiences and struggles. His sentences are full of detail but at the same time are very clear. The author delves into the mind of the old man, and we experience the pain and suffering that Santiago endures through trying to catch his fish. There are four reocurring themes that the author presents in The Old Man and The Sea. The first theme that Hemingway presents is the idea that you shouldn't keep wishing you would have this thing or that, do what you can with what you have. " I wish I had a stone for the knife," the old man said after he had checked the lashing on the oar butt. "I should have brought a stone." You should have brought many things, he thought. But you did not bring them, old man. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is." The next theme Hemingway presents is the idea that something is too good to be true, or that something is so good that you must be dreaming. Pg 97, "He could see the fish and he had only to look at his hands and feel his back against the stern to know that this had truly happened and was not a dream. At one time when he was feeling so badly toward the end, he had thought perhaps it was a dream." Then he mentions, " Now he knew there was the fish and his hands and back were no dream. Another of Hemingways many themes is the idea that man is not to be defeated. In this story, full awareness of defeat is contrasted with an unwillingness to be destroyed. Pg. 101, " But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." One of the most important and most reocurring themes in this story is the power struggle between man and nature or what we call man vs. nature. On page 66, the old man is talking about how he will show the fish what man can endure, he says, "Although it is injust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures." The old man also shows respect for nature,and calls the fish his brother. The old man says, "It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers." I highly recommend this book. It is a sad but extremely beautiful book. I enjoyed reading about Santiago and his struggle with catching the big fish. It reminds me of the struggles we face in our daily life. This book is about the human spirit and the struggles we face in our lives with ourselves and nature.
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Summary: Forget Lullabys... read hemmingway!
Review: When I found out I had to read this book for school I was actually pretty happy! It only has about 150 pages! but then before I sarted reading it my friend say the book in my poseesion and siad,"That book is the esence of the devil!" I was like- yea, sure it can't be THAT bad! Boy, was i wrong!! I (usually) am a super- fast reader! a 400 page novel MAY take me 2 days if its good but Old Man and the Sea took me over a month! I put it on my chair in my bedroom and left it there! I would read it at 12 ot night just to make me tired! At least it was good for something! So- unless you can't get yourself to sleep at night- DONT READ THIS BORING BOOK!...
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