Old Man and the Sea #1

In the short novel, The Old Man and the Sea, I think that Ernest Hemingway described his life, values, and attitudes through the characters.  He did this mostly through the main character in the book, Santiago.  Santiago is an old fisherman who lives in 1940’s Cuba.  He has bad luck, but that does not stop him. I gathered that determination was the theme of the book, The Old Man and the Sea. 

Throughout the different thoughts and actions of the book, I can see clearly how Hemingway views how life is lived and how it should be lived. I have gathered that Hemingway liked the West Indies area because the book takes place in Cuba. He lived in the West Indies for a portion of his life. (Hemingway 128).  I also gathered that he liked to fish and boat on in the ocean.  I noticed this because he uses a lot of boat and fishing terminology throughout the book.

Hemingway’s personal values were shown within the book as well. He definitely did not like being alone and always wanted his best friend Manolin. Manolin was a young boy who was learning how to fish with the help of Santiago.  Santiago was lonely for most of the book though, but it wasn’t the boys fault, his parents didn’t want him with the old man because they felt the old man was “salao,” which means he has the worst kind of unluckiness. (Hemingway 9).  He did not like that his companion was gone, because he would always think among his many thoughts, “I miss the boy.” (Hemingway 86). From this, we can assume that Hemingway had a best friend, and never wanted them to leave, so he wrote about that feeling.  I have also gathered that Hemingway wrote this book so people would not give up on what they are trying to accomplish; perseverance. He described that Santiago never gave up, because when he did not catch the marlin, he said he would go back out to sea and try to catch another marlin.

    Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print