The Old man and the Sea

If you are beginner who is about to start your reading journey, then “The old man and the Sea” written by Ernest Hemingway is the best book to kick-start. It is a short novel about the old man named Santiago, a fisher man who hasn’t got any fish for the past 84 days. He was considered as unlucky by his villagers as he couldn’t catch a fish. His helper boy, who was very close to him and accompanied him in all his journey, left him because of his parents’ push. Now he was left all alone. Still his energy is not down. He decided to give an another try. This time, he decided not to return without catching a fish. Whether he succeeded in his journey is the rest of the story.

When he started his journey to catch a fish in his skiff, he encountered a marlin, which was 18 feet long. Initially, he did not aim for it. But he saw the fish following him, and thought that this would be his prey. He made several attempts, where he got cramps, he lost his food, still he was pursuing his prey. Finally, after several hardships, he was able to kill the giant marlin with his harpoon. He pulled the dead marlin towards him and tied it towards his skiff. But the job was not yet done. It was more difficult for him to bring the marlin to the shore than to catch it.

A group of sharks began to attack his boat to hunt marlin for its food. The old man was able to kill few sharks. But, in that process, he lost his weapons and his energy. Each time, when the sharks came, even though he was able to defeat them, they swallowed a portion of dead marlin.  At the final stage, when he reached the shore, he was barely left with the bones and the head of the marlin. The old man did not wish to see the left over, so he leaves his boat at the shore, without looking at his hard-earned marlin, he walks towards his hut. 

The author ends the story here. There are many hidden philosophical concepts Ernest Hemingway has put throughout the story. He clearly portrayed the deep connection between the boy and the old man. The loneliness, the old man suffers was captured in the entire story. Every time, when the old man struggles to catch the fish in his lone journey, he remembers the boy. The persistence of the old man was really inspiring, and he never step back, whatever the struggles he encouraged. The courage of the old man was evident in his fight with the sharks.

Although, the climax was not a happy ending, I would consider it as a positive end. Because the old man proved his skills to himself that he is more capable. He doesn’t expect the acknowledgement from his villagers, although they praised him for his outstanding effort. His 18 feet long marlin was a testament to his courage and persistence.

A man can be destroyed but not defeated!