The Old Man and The Sea

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Tale of A Fisherman and His Prey
Review: In my opinion, The One Man And The Sea is one of the great books by Ernest Hemingway, if not in all literature. The struggle between the fish and Santiago (the fisherman) shows that humans aren't always the greater force. At the end the struggle taught him a lesson, and also thought me a lesson. It taught me that everyone struggles, but there is an end to that struggle. He had a lot of courage and determination to get the marlin. The relationship with Manolin and Santiago was a good one. Manolin was there for the old man at the end. Overall, it was a good book, and it was a pleasure to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fishing or the sea, like my uncle. I hope you read the book and enjoy it as much as I have.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: On the outside, The Old Man and the Sea appears a simple tale of an old man in an epic battle with a giant marlin. On the inside, however, there lies so much more. Through a strong set of Christian symbols, Hemingway throws the reader deep inside the complex world of his religious beleifs. With this dimension added to the story, it is hard to stop thinking about what Hemingway actually meant with these symbols. In other words, the novel provokes a great deal of thought. Along with these symobols, Hemingway creates an admirable character in Santiago, the old fisherman. It is hard for a reader not to gain an emotional attachment to him, and this attachment makes the novel hard to put down as the reader is continuously pulling for Santiago to come out victorious. With the book's short lengh and simple diction, it is easy to "fly" through the pages. The reader's thirst for the ending is satisfied quickly, and Hemingway does an excellent job of keeping the reader genuinely interested throughout the whole thing. The novel forces the reader to look inside himself as he watches Santiago battle his internal impulses to give up his battle all together. With this, the novel has an inspiring quality which helps the reader learn a good deal about not only himself, but about mankind as a whole. I strongly recommend this book to anyone. It has everything from a good story line to a deep meaning all in just over 100 pages. With its short length, I suggest reading it twice, once to get the story, and once to go back an look closely at the symbols held within. It is by no accident that this novel stands as one of the classics of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Great for people who like fishing or the sea
Review: "The Old Man and the Sea" is one of the most classic novels ever written, and one of the best. An old man who was born to fish takes to the ocean wanting to catch a huge fish. Soon he is battling the largest marlin anybody in the area has ever known. He is fishing alone, so it won't be easy to catch the huge marlin. The old man is soon talking to himself and using all his fishing instincts to try and catch this monster of a fish.

"The Old Man and the Sea" isn't just a book about fishing. It's a book about using brains over brawn, of winning over losing something, and of friendship. If you like reading classic novels and especially if you like fishing or reading about the sea or fish, I recommend getting "The Old Man and the Sea."

Rating:
Summary: A Simple Story
Review: The Old Man and The Sea is the story of an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago. Santiago has been unsuccessful at fishing lately. The book talks about his recent struggles. I enjoyed the book very much. I liked the simple story. The book was extremely powerful. I would recommend this book to others, but it is not for everyone. If you like long, complicated, suspenseful novels, this book probably isn't for you.The book contains a lot of symbolism. I think anyone can learn something fro this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Old Man and the Sea
Review: In this story the main character is Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, who tries to catch the 1500 pound marlin. While you are with Santiago you will explore his fate, courage and how he is harmony with nature. Actully I didn't like this book much because I like more exciting books. Books that could stop my heart for a second, make sweat on my hand or surround my mind with saddness and pain, books like mysteries or dectective books. This book was really not my style. However there was one part that I liked in the book. This was when the fish jumped out of the water and the author decribed it in great detail. I would not recomend this book to a person who likes adventures, or mysteries because I know that they won't like it much.

Rating:
Summary: Patience and bravery are always together
Review: I think that this story is like a lesson, because the author tells us, about many things that we have to learn in life, like patince and bravery.

The author is omniscient, but he doesn't give his opinion and I like this because I can to have my own opinion.

I recomend this book because you will have a new point of view about how to survive in this world.

Rating:
Summary: Literaly Breathtaking
Review: The quiet solitude of Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway has a speacial place within my soul. Recently, my one-hundred and-two-year-old great grandmother was in the hospital. As she had been suffering for over ten years from multiple organ failure, I begged the doctors to end her life swiftly and painlessly. To my horror the doctors refused to pull the plug on dear nanna. I then saw it as my personal duty to help her pass on to the next life. I closed the hospital room door, sat down next to the bed and began to read aloud Old Man and the Sea. After reading only the first paragraph to my dear great grandmother, her heartrate stopped and her feeble breathing ceased. Finally she passed away. I recommend this book to anyone sseking to put a loved one out of their misery.

Rating:
Summary: Hemingway at one of his many finest
Review: Not much to say about such a masterpiece. Simply one of the best books I've ever read and certainly one of my top three favourites. Hemingway was awarded the Novel Prize for Literature and upon reading this one can easily see why. A great read for a lazy Sunday afternoon (not that it isn't important to find other time to read it). A short, simply and excellent read.

Rating:
Summary: Old Man and the Sea is a book to appreciate
Review: Actually, i am one of the few people that found this book to be not so good or not so great, but its a great classic. I found it a bit dry at times, like when he was trying to catch that marlin and spent 2+ days following that stupid fish. It didnt have much action in it, and it was very short. It took me about 2 1/2 hours total to read it. Yet his person vs. nature is very interesting. I dont know why this book is so popular still today, but it is a pretty good book. I dont know, maybe i'll appreciate it more when i get older.

Rating:
Summary: A Sublime Masterpiece
Review: What a glorious work. Not a wasted word. Not a single distraction. Stripped of all artifice and affectation. He leaves only the very essence - of art, of life, of creation.

In reading the various reviews, it seems that many young people have read this work as part of their class curriculum. It pains me to see how so many of them have had their perception of it directed - no, constrained - to the wrong things. Their teachers should be ashamed of themselves. They have taken something exquisite and eloquent and unadorned, and coated it, suffocating its splendour with "symbolism" and "interpretation". The Old Man and the Sea is not about symbolism. It's not about Christ parallels, or communing with Mother Earth, or the price we pay for ambition.

It TELLS us, clearly and poignantly, what it's about. And we must have the humility to take it at its word. It's about struggle, and courage, and pity, and proving something to the only two beings that really count in the end - our Maker and our Self.

There's nothing complicated in any of this. And Hemingway strives to reflect these simple, yet powerful truths in language that is likewise simple and powerful. He succeeds beyond measure.

To properly understand this work, we must actually oppose modern teaching. We must resist the temptation to analyse. We must strip away bombastic complexity and artifice. This is a story about essences. It is set away from civilisation, in the majestic vastness of the sea, precisely so that there can be no distraction, no adornment, no artifice. Adding such elements does not further the understanding; it only pollutes.

As is true of all great works of literature, this one is not for everyone. If your depth extends no further than low-rent thrills, then don't bother. You will find this book boring. Similarly, effete intellectuals need not apply. There's nothing here that appeals to cheap cynicism, nor to cowardice masquerading under the guise of sophistication.

This story is a great man's parting gift to you and me. It speaks with pity and a deep sorrow to those lonely acts of courage, large and small, about which no one will ever know. Only our Maker and our Self. What a masterpiece.