Jack Shaffer

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The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2016

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Jack Shaffer said: " The Old Man and the Sea is a great original classic written by Ernest Hemingway. It tells the fictional story of a lonely man who tries to catch a big fish and his battle with it. The old man struggles with injury and loneliness, but gets through all The Old Man and the Sea is a great original classic written by Ernest Hemingway. It tells the fictional story of a lonely man who tries to catch a big fish and his battle with it. The old man struggles with injury and loneliness, but gets through all the challenges that he faces.
In this book Hemingway’s purpose was about perseverance. It is not directly stated, but most readers should recognize this books purpose. The old man is very persistent in his battle with the marlin. He peruses the marlin and when he hooks him he never lets go. He does not want to risk losing him so he lets the marlin pull him out to sea until he stops swimming. This is a great example of how persistent the old man is even before his battle with the marlin has just begun. This is how persistence is Hemingway’s purpose in this novel.
The theme of this novel is isolation. The old man is isolated all his life. While fishing all day or not having friends he is isolated. He does not share much about his past except with a select few. Another them in this novel is suffering. The old man suffers while perusing the marlin. He is either going hungry of is injured and in much pain. The old man holds a lot of his suffering and pain in which is a sign of true will power.
This book style was narrative. It is written in chronological order and is telling the story of what happened. The way Hemingway writes is very short and descriptive and is sometimes choppy in places. An example of the author’s style can be revealed though this quote: “The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles on the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from the reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks” (Hemingway, 9). This is a very descriptive passage from the beginning of the book that the author uses to describe the old man and give readers a first impression.
Overall The Old Man and the Sea was a good read. I enjoyed how descriptive the author was so it could help me understand some parts. What I did not like was how some times are was a little boring so it was hard to read. I wish it was longer and had some more depth to the book, but overall I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who loves a good classic. ...more "

Sep 22, 2016 07:24PM · see review