Book review
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
An epic story of an old Cuban fisherman’s duel with a huge swordfish in the Atlantic, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ by ‘Ernest Hemingway’ is a work which has won the Nobel Prize and undoubtedly wins the heart of the reader. With only a handful number of characters and an easy to follow story line Hemingway teaches us an important lesson, a lesson of courage and optimism. The book is independent of pessimism and negativity.
‘The old man’, ‘Santiago’, a fisherman despite being poor, seemingly frail and having the worst luck possible at work is symbolic of such courage which is seldom seen. This is a story of Santiago’s trip to ‘The Sea’ which turns out to be more eventful than usual. Most of the fishermen mock him for his fruitless voyages at sea, he is alienated and for him life is just baseball and his work. The only person who loves him is a boy named ‘Manolin’, who used to work in his boat but was forced by his parents to work in some other boat. Initially the reader tends to form a view of the protagonist ‘The Old Man’ as a helpless person facing the downfall of his career.
Santiago ventures farther into sea than any of his fellow companions in pursuit of his catch which is a swordfish larger than his boat. Dedication and perseverance on the part of Santiago is seen in the face of solitude and hardships. After a classic struggle he successfully hooks the fish, but on the return journey the fish is completely mutilated by the repeated attacks by sharks. Eventually only the skeleton of the once immense fish remains. Instead of mourning for his loss and cursing his bad luck ‘The Old Man’ begins preparing for the next day as if nothing has happened. The reader is taken to a realm of courage which has never been seen before. An experience which can breakdown a normal person fails to even shake Santiago.
‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is tragic in many ways but Santiago is not defeated by the ordeals which tend to generate pity in the mind of the reader for Santiago. The book shows a manly love for adventure and danger. Admiration is generated for individuals who fight a good fight even in the face of violence and death. A zeal to go all out to reach the goal and not succumbing to bodily ailments and pain which have to be endured on the way, all this is seen in the book.
The story is a classic example of the fighting spirit which does not give in even if there is no material gain. Giving the best possible fight to reach the set target and not losing heart even if the result is not in your favour. It is a tribute to moral victory in the midst of defeat.
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated”
- Anders Österling (Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy)
Shahzad Gani
2009ce10338
Group-04
Inputs from- www.nobelprize.org
On the face of it, it's a nice story and everything. But if you look a little deeper into this book, I think there's not as much positivity about the book as initially assumed. While it does celebrate human courage, I have an alternate interpretation of the story.
ReplyDeleteAccording to me, the old man's journey can be taken to represent the journey of life. As he goes out to sea, he hasn't success in a long time and is a struggler, just as every man is a struggler at some point or the other in life. However, every dog has his day and when the old man's day does come, he is rewarded with a beautiful marlin. It takes him plenty of hours and an almost superhuman effort to hook the marlin, but just as you think he can relax, along come the sharks. Every man has a golden opportunity which either makes or breaks his life. The sharks ravage the fish and when he reaches back, all that's left is the skeleton. This seems to be symbolic of the futility of life. Whatever a man does in his life, eventually only he knows its true value. Just as the fish was gobbled down by the sharks, everything you do shall be gobbled down as well. People shall forget and move on, not stand and applaud.
My interpretation is very pessimistic and I'm not sure whether I was able to convey it to you in its entirety, but I hope it does make some sense :)
-Nishit Jain
Needless to say, 'The old man and the Sea' is a must read book. My interpretation of the book are similar to Shahzad , but i partially agree with Nishit also.
ReplyDelete'The Old Man and the Sea' besides the literal meaning also symbolizes the journey of life. The challenges faced by 'Santiago' depict the ordeals faced by people in life. The interpretation by Nishit was well conveyed but i dont think that 'Hemingway' by his novel meant to imply that whatever we do in life is futile, that "everything you do shall be gobbled down".
The crux of the novel lies in the part where even after being defeated by the sharks, 'Santiago' instead of being sad or angry prepares for the next day. The attitude of the 'Old man' towards the ending of the book gives goosebumps and Optimism is taken to a completely new level.
Far from being "symbolic of the futility of life" i think the book shows the ideal attitude we should have towards life. That one loss should not define us, that the zeal for achieving our goal should not lessen no matter what hurdles we face.
'The Old Man and the Sea' is one of the most inspirational book i have ever read. I would suggest that those who easily succumb to the ordeals of life must read this book.
-Kshitij Mittal
2009CE10307
I agree with Nishit to an extent, The Old Man and the Sea is deceivingly simple but if we look a little deeper there is a lot more to the book than just a man being dragged by a fish all over the Gulf Stream. But that is about the extent to which I agree with Nishit on this book.
ReplyDeleteThis book, I believe, is a tribute to man's indomitable courage in the face of imminent failure and eventual defeat. The book celebrates the spirit of Santiago, the old fisherman who fought on against the giant marlin for two days and two nights at a stretch, enduring injury and fatigue. It is definitely not intended to be pessimistic, it is in fact a book about struggle,pride and honour in defeat.
The book talks about an Old man Santiago who was an experienced and once successful fisherman, who is passing through a rough patch.
Santiago is treated by disdain by his fellow fishermen who think that he has lost his old skill in fishing.
Santiago travels deep into the sea and catches a huge marlin, the biggest fish he has yet caught. Unfortunately he is unable to kill the fish. His hook is stuck in the marlin's throat and the huge fish is pulling the boat along. In the course of his struggle with the fish, Santiago realises that the marlin and he are very alike. "Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us". He begins to develop a new found respect for the fish and treats him as a worthy opponent, someone to respect. He fights on because of his pride, despite the fact that he is in great pain. When he finally kills the marlin he treats it like an honoured friend and with a great deal of respect. He fights the shark till the very end so as to give the marlin an hounourable death. Even at the end when all that Santiago has left is the skeleton of the marlin, he gets the appreciation of all the other fishermen and tourists. Thus in this way Santiago has won despite his loss.Santiago fights with dignity - first to kill the marlin and then to protect it from the sharks - and in doing so asserts his humanity. Santiago endures and successfully survives his supreme ordeal, fighting the timeless battle of man against fate, with honour by remaining resilient in the face of triumph and tragedy.
This book is an awe inspiring read and much worthy of all the acclaim it has received.
Just by the way, I think I forgot to mention my name.
ReplyDeleteArnab Dutta
2009EE10379