Opinion on The Old Man and the Sea

As a whole I liked this book. There was enough suspenseful action and emotional investment that I actually enjoyed a book that was not sci-fi or fantasy. Hemingway put a lot of hard work into this book. The attention to detail and tying all of Santiago's actions to stories in the Bible was amazing. Santiago carrying the mast to his shack, the number tie ins, and the character parallels of biblical figures was a nice in depth understory for The Old Man and the Sea. Hiding the Christianity aspect (not mentioning anything Christian except for praying to God when the old man needed some extra help even though he isn't religous [Hemingway 64] ) unless the reader was looking for it is one of the reasons the book is a classic. That much detail and back story fitting into one hundred and twenty seven pages is crazy.

The lions on the beach in Africa was a nice touch in my opinion. Having a story to tell the boy about the past and a story that gives the old man reassurance and a 'happy place' to go to was very sweet. The lions remind Santiago of a time when he was a young man having adventures in other parts of the world. That 'happy place' allowed Santiago to have an anchor in the world and not be lost in the pain and suffering that he was enduring.

I did not like how I didn't know the boy's name was Manolin until I was trying to find a quote for my first blog post and saw the Santiago addressing the boy as Manolin (Hemingway 27). For being the second main human character, Manolin's name is mentioned twice (Hemingway 27, 124). I thought he was just called "the boy". At least Santiago was addressed as Santiago more than twice in the novel (The Old Man and the Sea does sound better than Santiago and the Sea though). Knowing the characters names, physical attributes, and personality helps me connect with the story and immerse myself into the setting and plot. Manolin wasn't in the book a lot, but still, I wished I would have know more about him.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.