The Old Man and the Sea

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest stories ever written
Review: Ernest Hemingway was one of the greatest writers of all time, and Old Man and the Sea is one of his greatest works. The story is simple and compelling, as all of his greatest works are, but this one stands out because anybody can see themselves in either the old man, the boy, or even the fish. Once you pick this book up and start reading, the story will envelope you and make it hard to put down. This story is great for students of any age because it is simple enough for young readers and complex and multi-faceted enough for advanced readers. It can be read for a great story about a man in an effort to catch a fish, almost as a child's book, but can be read as a battle of man vs. nature, or even as far as a struggle within a man's own soul. Whatever is read into this story, it is a great work of literature at all of these levels. It will not disappoint any student, teacher, or recreational reader. The stories about what this book means to the world are far longer than the book itself.

Rating:
Summary: a wonderful book with lots of ideas to come back to
Review: i think a lot of the people reviewing this book have missed the point. It is true that there is not much of a plot but the book is not about plot. If you want a page turner go to an airport and look at the bestseller list. Through this book Hemingway displays his views and feelings on masculinity. It has been said, and been well reported, that Hemingway is deeply macho and believes in this whole rum-drinking world. But in the old man... I feel that Hemingway shows a masculinity with a human face. In the book the old man and the boy talk of the baseball greats. When they come to John J. McGraw, they say that "he was rough and harsh-spoken and difficult when he was drinking." Here Hemingway is showing that machismo which is coarse or totally insensitive is not a worthy charectaristic. Although Dimaggio is strong and plays through a bone spur and the old man is resolute in over coming every difficulty to kil the Marlin, both these charectors are give a sensitive edge. The old man talks about humility and wonders about the consequences of having this emotion. He decides that this feeling loses no pride. Ultimately I feel that feelings and the fight that man has to go through are the over whelming messages of the book.

The old man... also has beautiful images and throws up lots of questions aboutrole models and determination. I read in one of the reviews that the reviewer wanted snatiago to let the fish go and go back to land! That is totally missing the point. We have to look at santiago and his qualities. Take the arm wrestle he didn't just 'give-up'. All of us can do with some of his determination to be resloute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory.

All in all i feel this is a fantasti book that uses some wonderful images. the language, which has caused such a chasm between the reviewers, I feel is beautiful. It is so beautifully simple that hemingway himself considered it the best he had ever and would ever write.

I would like to recommend One hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez, graham greene, a confedaracy of dunces by john kennedy toole

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfull Book!!
Review: The Old Man and the Sea was an outstanding book in my opinion. Although short, it had some deeper meaning. One theme I found was: have courage in the face of defeat. Even though the Old man hadn't caught a fish in 72 days he kept trying. The next day geuss what, he caught a huge marlin. He fought with the fish for three days before he killed it. On the way back he had more than just worrying about keeping the fish tied to the boat. I don't want to spoil the ending but I do recommend reading it.

Rating:
Summary: The Old Man and The Sea
Review: This book contains a lot of symbollism that advanced readers can comprehend. The ending is what ties the book together and has a lot of meaning to it. Heidi and Jessica