The Old Man and The Sea

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Summary: All things Become Corrupt Through Man
Review: This is undoubtedly Hemmingway's most masterful piece. In this simple story takes place a man who goes out to sea, catches a wonderful fish, and who ultimately loses it because he has gone too far out to sea. As the man struggles to keep whatever is left of his magical fish, sharks attack and slowly pick away at it until nothing is left of it. In many ways, this is the jealousy that inflicts mankind, to have something pure and good and wholesome, only to have it corrupted through mankind's greed. In another way, it is mankind's eternal struggle against himself, to find something magical deep within the foaming sea of mankind's subconscience and to attempt to bring it back as one piece, failing to do so. Hemmingway learned both sides to this from his previous successes and failures, and in this book outlines the pitfalls that lay ahead as one attempts to capture that ephemeral trophy of the muses.

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Summary: This book blew my mind...
Review: I think that this is definitely one of the best books in the history of American literature. The prose is not really that eloquent and the plot is not at all complex, but it works on so many levels.

This book is often regarded as a children's book, and that's a damn shame, because the underlying theme is so universal and wonderful that people with a degree of maturity should be able to experience it. The struggle in the book is not new to many readers, but it is attacked with a measure of sensitivity that I've not found in many stories. It's a fast read but it will stick with you. Please read this and enjoy it.

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Summary: One of the Best!
Review: The Old Man & the Sea is a powerful story about an old Cuban Fisherman named Santiago. The old man hasn't caught a fish in eighty four days, which is a very long time not to catch a fish. The village people didn't think much of Santiago . They thought of him as less than a man. His only friend was a young village boy named Manolin. Their relationship was special; they respected one another . The boy learned the lessen of greatness and faith from the old man. He also learned about courage and strength. The boy didn't think that Santiago was a failure. In fact he regarded the old man as El Campeon (the champion). The opening story is tense and direct. The main characters are described well. Hemingway's novel is based on a true happening. The old fisherman sets out in the gulf of Cuba to catch a dolphin but misses his chance. He decides to go after the big fish the "great marlin." He fights endlessly for his catch, but he can't stop the struggle with it; he has a code of the hero. It was a code that men must live by always. He speaks of the New York Yankees & Joe DiMaggio with great admiration because DiMaggio's father was a poor fisherman like himself. Also, he admired Joe's fortitude because he played while in pain with heel spurs. DiMaggio was the old man's hero. Santiago had missed his chance to catch a dolphin. But he still went after the big fish in the gulf stream of Cuba off the coast of Havana. The old man and the fish are locked in the struggle of their lives. This goes on for days & old man gets weaker and weaker. He didn't have food to eat and hadn't slept in a long time. Santiago thought that he might die fighting the big fish. He admired the fish. Here Hemingway likens the old Man to St. James the lesser the patron saint of Spain. Also to St. Francis of Assisi. There also is the comparison of the suffering of Christ on the cross and the Christian martyrs. These are symbolic of Santiago's suffering and never giving up. The struggle finally comes to an end & he feels sad about the kill. The old man had felt a kinship with the giant fish. As though the two were brothers in nature. The old man apologizes to the fish. He felt a deep love and respect for this noble creature. The test of endurance continues & lack of sleep etc. The old man dreams of lions. "Aristotle pointed out that pity is a vital ingredient of tragedy". The quality of pity completes the tragic situation. The dreaming of lions symbolizes the old mans strength in his younger years. For the reader to learn the fate of the old man they must read the book. Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Noble prize and the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1954 and 1955.

Rating:
Summary: Becoming One with Fish
Review: Hemingway's Nobel Prize winning novella (1954) seems starkly simple at first glance: an old Cuban fisherman pits his mind and his body against the sea--in the form of a huge marlin first, then battling vicious predators. Returning to shore several days later, he sinks in both physical and emotional exhaustion onto the beach--with only an 18-foot carcass to show for his grueling ordeal. Man catches Fish; Man Loses fish. Such a plot analysis would prove a pathetic tale--but I suspect that the author intended more than a skeletal storyline.

In this small book Hemingway has captured the essence of a man who is truly born to catch game fish--a man who recognizes his place in the chain of Life. Hours--even days--alone at sea provide ample time to consider luck, sin and the mysterious maritime fraternity. Santiago's iron will and prodigious strength are tested to the limits of human endurance. Perhaps the ending is neither pathetic nor even tragic, as one theme may be to respect Nature's right to be itself and man's obligation to fit in with the great plan. Can man evolve morally enough to recogize his non-human Brothers--wherever they live? A short, intense read with seeminlgy little action, but plenty of mental dialogue and psychological growth, as a fisherman comes of age in his old age.

Rating:
Summary: Bad
Review: Out of the mind of an author so famed and prestigious comes the story of a fisherman who goes out to catch fish. That's all this story contains within its pages, in the literal sense. A man who hasn't caught fish in a long time goes out to catch fish and then comes home.
But what's even worse than the long stretches of endless detail and description and the old man talking to himself and to his left hand and to the sea and to a fish and to the dolphin and te tuna is the overpowering sense of symbolism. We are taught that the man is a symbol for Jesus Christ and that the Sea is God and that "The Old Man and The Sea" is a parallel story to that of Jesus. In the end, Santiago (the main character) hauls his mast up the hill in likeness to Christ bearing the Cross. It almost seems as if Hemingway wrote this book specifically to call to mind the story of Jesus. But I don't remember the story of Jesus ever being this boring, this drawn-out, and this underhandedly self-righteous.

This book is definitely not an adventure book, and that's fine, people often look for a book that is not action packed and filled with good/bad warring against each other. But this book barely even qualifies for a thought provoking novella. It is one of the worst books I have ever read.

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Summary: Still rings true
Review: As true today, as the day it was written. Are we not all just fishermen in little boats in a great big sea? Do we all not head out day after day, only to return home empty handed? And if we're lucky we may briefly catch our dreams, but not without a struggle... and is the catch worth the effort, or is it better not to try?

The questions, as well as the answers, are as elusive today as they ever were...

Rating:
Summary: Moving, but also a bit dull.
Review: There is nothing inherently wrong with this book. It actually moves along quite well. At times Hemmingway's sparse and arid prose is maybe a little too one dimensional to sink your teeth into, but he gets his point across. We understand quite well the degree of Santiago's persistence, and bad fortune, yet he still persists. There is zero pretension in this novel and that makes the simplicity of the fisherman's life that much more authentic. If you're a Hemmingway fan you'll like it. If not, you won't... 'cause it treads the same stylistic grounds.

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Summary: I can't think of a better book I've read....
Review: I am 17 and have read too many books. This remains after all the best piece I've ever read.

It's true when people say the read is not entertaining or surprising. It's not meant to be either. It was written to mean something deep about life and the struggle that it is.

Hemingway more than any other author understands passion and love, that life was what Helen Keller said, "A great adventure or nothing at all." and that great experiences lead inevitably to great pain and glory. That we almost never succeed the way we want but can still be glad with our efforts is a harder lesson to learn but is also demonstrated brilliantly in this work.

If you look for a fun read, or enjoy easily digested fiction, this is NOT a book you should buy.

For those of you who want something greater and deeper in thought than what our spiritually tranquilizing entertainment can provide, read this.

Rating:
Summary: Old Man and the Sea
Review: This book is excellent. Its about a very skilledold fisherman that lives in a fishing village in Cuba, and he doesn't have any luck for eighty-four days. On the eighty-fifth day, he goes out and fishes and catches a huge marlin. Since the fish is so big, the fish takes him out to the middle of the ocean for a ride. This is one of Ernest Hemmingways best books. He won a Putlizer Prize in fiction for Old Man and the Sea in 1953. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: disappointed
Review: this book was really, incredibly horrible. it was horrid, even. it was by far the worst book i've ever had the disgust in reading. i hated this book with a passion. i recommend it to no one. you will be disappointed. after all the awards it has recieved, you'd think it would have been better.