Eighth Discussion Question for the Old Man and the Sea

If I had to rank the eight discussion topics in order of what I would use for an essay this topic would be dead last for this book. Now don't get me wrong, The Old Man and the Sea was a good book, but in terms of representing that time period in history, it doesn't do that great of job. The only reason that I can pinpoint a date for this novel is because of Joe DiMaggio. The other characters are fish, an old man named Santiago, and a young boy named Manolin. Not exactly good historical material to work with. Santiago's quest in the Gulf wasn't based on true events nor is it a symbol for another event in history (or at least that I picked up on).

On the other hand Hemingway does show some responsibilities between groups in the novel. Manolin takes care of Santiago and does it purely because he loves the old man and wants to make sure he is getting everything he needs. That compassion and care between the young and elderly is nice to see outside of a grandparent -grandchild relationship. There is a possibility of a never ending cycle of care in our society. If a child takes care of an older adult, then when the child is elderly there should be a new generation of children to take care of him or her. But that is not always the case anymore when I see headlines of elder abuse and pension and social security funding going to run out in the papers. The responsibility of young people to take care of older people is not something that everyone acts upon. Hemingway's novel hopefully will influence a new generation of young people to go out and bond with their grandparent or an elderly person in a retirement home. At least they could ask to see if the elderly person has any stories to tell. Who knows? Maybe one of them could tell stories of lions in Africa.

Hemingway was influenced by the "great DiMaggio" (Hemingway 17), the story of a man who doesn't give up, and of the responsibility of youth to their elders (see paragraph/rant above). The old man thinks so highly of DiMaggio in the novel. I am sure that Ernest Hemingway was also a big fan of the Yankee player.

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

Seventh Discussion Question for Old Man and the Sea

The techniques used by Hemingway in The Old Man and the Sea are not the kind of things that I am used to. I particularly enjoy reading books that use suspense, action, and development through dialogue (that is why I enjoy Star Trek novels so much; most of them have all three techniques). Hemingway used symbolism and emotions to keep the audience interested. This book effectively used many of the reader's emotions. At first the reader is sad that the old man is lonely and the boy isn't allowed to fish with him, then the old man is by himself out far in his skiff in the Gulf of Mexico. The reader feels the old man's burden of capturing the marlin and is happy when he ties the marlin to the skiff. I thought the book was going to end there since the old man accomplished his goal, but, as if the old man hadn't been through enough, it continued on. The reader then feels defeat and sorrow when the sharks attack the marlin and the skiff (although I almost laughed out loud when Santiago punched a shark repeatedly [Hemingway 109] then returned to being sad when the sharks ate the fish) and ate all of the fish meat. Instead of being happy when the old man returns home, the reader is sad and feels a pang of sympathy for the boy when he cries for the old man. After the emotional roller coaster that was the fishing voyage, the reader and the old man are bonded and cannot forget what Santiago went through.

Hemingway also used symbolism to keep the reader interested. The symbol of determination and constant vigilance, Santiago is a character that the reader wants to know what happens to. The reader cares about the old man since he represents so many ideal traits that the reader wishes to possess (And there's the Jesus thing again. I can't believe I missed that when I read the novel. Santiago's traits and the reader's desire to try to be like him, Jesus's traits and the Apostles trying to be like him). That was a generalization. I know that not everyone who reads this book wants to be compassionate, brave, courageous, strong, determined, and fearless like Santiago, but I sure would like to be. Another symbol, that pulled me in at least, was the bond between the marlin and Santiago. Even though the old man's goal was to kill the marlin, their relationship changed from a predator-prey to a brother like respect. The symbolism of respect was a nice touch to the novel.

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

Young Man and the Sea?

I always read all of the books on the Rebecca Caudill list in middle school, as I read all the Abraham Lincoln books in high school. As I was reading The Old Man and the Sea it felt like I had read a story like that before. I was thinking about it and I realized that in fifth grade there was a book called The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick on the Rebecca Caudill list. The only thing that I remembered from reading it five years ago was the boy in the story was fishing by himself and almost died. Those two facts led my to do some research to see if that book was just a knock off of Hemingway's novel. Apparently it was, although the author says it was just a "homage" (Rockman par 3) to The Old Man and the Sea.

The themes of Hemingway's book are reusable (epic hero-ish characteristics, bond between old man and young boy and the bond between man, Santiago, and creature, marlin, and the circle of life/ death is not always a bad thing) as Philbrick's book shows. That also shows how timeless and classic The Old Man and the Sea is when it is rewritten into a new book with different characters, but the same basic plot and similar title. If a book can spawn knockoffs then the book has to have been successful. A knockoff book means that someone took the time to get really into a novel and change it enough to make it their own (like all of the knockoffs of Harry Potter [sidenote: most of the knockoffs kind of suck except for the Charlie Bone octet series]).

In short this post was a slight ramble about knockoffs and the fact that people run out of original material and have to redo older novels. Very few knockoffs are better than the original, but then again the original is the first and always the best. If I read The Old Man and the Sea in fifth grade instead of The Young Man and the Sea I wouldn't have remembered it five years later. The Young Man and the Sea was a nice preview and introduction that was engaging to kids, but it was no substitute for the real thing.

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

Rockman, Connie. "The Young Man and the Sea Discussion Guide." Scholastic Teaching Resources. Scholastic. Web. 04 July 2011.

Sixth Discussion Topic about the Old Man and the Sea

Oh boy. Here it is. The question that all high school students have been asking since the beginning of time. Why do we still read this 'timeless' book. Well The Old Man and the Sea actually wasn't that bad compared to other books that I have had to read for school. (looks glaringly at the copies of Wuthering Heights and Life of Pi on book shelf). It was short, there wasn't meaningless stuff that didn't contribute to the plot or filler information that just was confusing (yeah still looking at you Wuthering Heights). The ultimate struggle of a man versus himself, nature, and the world is one of the requirements for being a classic work of literature. The Odyssey, Hatchet, Moby Dick, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are some other examples. (Whoa. I apologize. Those are four very random books. That is what heat indexes over 100 do to my brain.) In a way, Santiago is an epic hero. He goes on a quest to catch a big fish, he succeeds beating the odds, and he does it by himself. Those are some of the major characteristics of being an epic hero (minus the whole god involvement thing [Well there is that Jesus thing from prior posts if that counts] that the rest of the heroes have). That is why the old man is so likeable and the book is so popular. Who doesn't like a hero? (Oh wait, villains don't. Never mind. Answering my own rhetorical questions. [Crap. Proving my rhetorical questions moot. I have to stop this parentheses and bracket stuff]) Anyways... Santiago has qualities that are likeable and his journey is a rememberable one. That is why adults keep coming back to it, and select adults who are teachers have their students read it.

A couple of things can be learned from this book. The first is to never give up. Santiago didn't and he captured an eighteen foot fish, punched sharks, and did everything by himself even though he is an old man. Another thing is the circle of life process. Death is not always a bad thing and Hemingway showed that the marlin's death wasn't such a bad thing since the fish lived on through his skeleton and will become a legend. The last thing is something I learned was something that might not apply to everyone. I learned a lot about deep sea fishing. I have fished in a lake with my grandpa before, but that is the limit of my knowledge of fishing. Having a good amount of technical detail about fishing for different things (marlins, dolphins, bonitos) was very interesting. Especially since it wasn't overwhelming.

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

Fifth Discussion Topic for The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea was written in 1952. According to the website infoplease.com, in that year King George VI of England died leaving his daughter Elizabeth to become Queen, a stamp costs 3 cents, the Yankees (the year after Joe DiMaggio retired) win the World Series, Salk discovers the first dead-virus polio vaccine, and the Today Show debuts. Hemingway talks a lot about Joe DiMaggio, he is even Santiago's hero. I assume this book takes place in '51 since DiMaggio retired in 1952. He was regarded then, and now, as the greatest baseball player of all time. Having him play the role of someone the old man looks up to for inspiration and regards as a hero is a nice acknowledgement of how much big and famous the "great DiMaggio" (Hemingway 17, 21, 22, 68, 97, 104, 105) was at that time. Even for a old fisherman living in Cuba, DiMaggio was a big influence to him. The old man mentions how great DiMaggio is and how if DiMaggio can play baseball with a bone spur, then the old man can deal with a little pain and reel in the marlin several times throughout the book.

This novel doesn't really talk about the social and behavioral issues of the time period, unless you count how nice the vendor people were who gave the boy free coffee and food for the old man. That showed how neighbors helped other neighbors and had each others back. Not everyone does that in current times. Maybe the relationship between the old man and the boy counts as a behavioral issue. Manolin looks after the old man even though he isn't related to him. The boy provides Santiago with food, news about the Yankees and the "Gran Ligas" (Hemingway 68) religiously and would fish with the old man, but his parents do not allow it. Their relationship has a grandfather to grandson kind of feel because the old man teaches the boy about fishing and tells him about his past in Africa. That relationship shows the bond of family and friendship regardless of age that is as easily found now a days. People are very independent now and don't take the time to form bonds like the one showed in the book.

The theme of this book is discussed in my third blog post about The Old Man and the Sea and I just worked for 6 hours at the "4th of July party that is on the 3rd of July" at the pool and I am tired so I don't feel like reiterating everything for the other blog. Sorry.

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

"Information Please: 1952." Infoplease. Pearson Education. Web. 03 July 2011.

Fourth Discussion Question for The Old Man and the Sea

In this novel I can count the number of characters who are mentioned more than once on one hand: Santiago, Manolin, the marlin, and the sharks. Considering there was four actual characters (Santiago and the marlin being the only ones whose relationship and characteristics were developed) picking the 'hero' of the novel was not that hard. Santiago was the hero of this book. He overcame many things to become not only a better person, but he better himself along the way. Santiago has many desirable traits: determination, bravery, physical and emotional strength, compassion, perseverance, a strong will, and he showed no fear (I don't know very many people who punches sharks repeatedly before beating it with an oar [the old man would have made a good Green Lantern:)]). He showcases all of these traits during his time out in the Gulf when he fishes for the marlin, has a three day long struggle with the marlin to get it captured and tied on his skiff, tries to keep sharks away, then finally to make it back home to the ports of Havana. Hemingway portrays Santiago as a man who knows that he is getting older and can't do everything that he could once do in his youth. Even though Santiago has this knowledge, he still tries to do things that he would have had a hard time doing when he was the boy's age. The old man knows that he can either accomplish what he has set out to do or die trying. During this process he bonds with the marlin, which shows the reader that Santiago is portrayed as someone who is not a ruthless hunter all about the money and who can catch the biggest fish, but as an old man who can still do things and when he fails is very sorry for what harm he believes to have done.

As for an abstract idea that Santiago represents, I have to go back to the Jesus thing from the previous post. Santiago represents the pure kindness and goodness in people even when faced with great challenges. Similar to Jesus he carries a burden that the boy tries to help lighten, but the old man knows that it is his to carry. I guess my fellow lifeguard at the pool was right. Santiago does seem to be similar to Jesus as I write more of these analytical blog posts.

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

Third discussion question for The Old Man and the Sea

This post is going to be about the universal theme of The Old Man and the Sea. When I finished the book and before I started on these blog posts, I thought this book was basically a short story about a man who can beat the odds and can overcome the many obstacles that nature and the gods above throw at him. Then one of the people that I work with saw me writing some things down with the book in front of me. He then told me read this book in high school and it was about the old man representing Jesus. After looking at him funny I reread some of the passages and I guess he was right. There was a lot of actions and physical problems that could have been similar to what happened to Jesus. I guess when I read that I didn't read in dept enough and missed it. So with that theme aside, I am going to talk about what I thought it was, the triumph of the old man against everyone (even if the correct theme is the Jesus one).

Everyone roots for the underdog, and the old man is definitely an underdog. He hasn't caught a fish in almost three months, therefore hasn't made money, and lost his one companion because of his "bad luck" (Hemingway 1). After all of the rising actions and the conflict (see previous blog post) he manages to make it back home and is safe in his bed. Everyone is in awe of him because of the enormous skeleton on his small skiff and the boy shows his love of the old man and cries when he sees him hurt so bad. The old man had to talk himself into continuing a few times, had many different physical injuries that occurred at different times, and beat sharks up. Those events show he has heroic characteristics and is a really good example of how everyone should act. (side note: I kinda see the Jesus thing now after writing about how Santiago overcomes everything. I still think its a little abstract, but everyone reads stuff differently and forms their own opinions.)

Obviously Ernest Hemingway understands the part of human nature that makes someone push on through the pain and never giving up. He only shows the good side of human nature though. Which is fine, but if this book was the only book left in the future, and future radioactivepeoplerobotalienterminatordolphinapemetahumans read it, they won't get the full range of good/bad/love/hate that humans are capable of, although they would understand how the humans of the past could persevere through hardship and beat the odds.

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