Old+Man+and+the+Sea

= The Old Man and the Sea = = By: Ernest Hemingway = = Book Review by: Doyeop Kim =



__Rating:__ 3 Stars

__Summary:__ This classic takes place in Havana, Cuba, during the times in which Major League Baseball was incredibly popular. A veteran fisherman experiences the natural decline in abilities of old age, and receives the insults of younger fishermen who criticize his lately failures in fishing abilities. The old man trained a loyal apprentice, who accompanies his life. Nonetheless, to doubt the younger fishermen who doubted his abilities, the old man casually sailed out to sea under the starry skies looking for a huge catch. His dreams came through, the 30 fathom coil that he had dragged out to sea was bitten by a gigantic marlin. For two and a half days, unable to pull up the supernatural marlin, the old man floats on the sea straining his shoulder, starving from a lack of salinity, eating strips of dolphin, and holding the tense line with his old and new scars. Through torment and perseverance, the old man fishes up the prize of his life, to boast to the younger fisherman of Havana. But without enough room on his miniature boat, the old man must drag the fish in the water only to be followed by the trickling of blood… will the meat stay? Read the book to find out the prize of his journey.

__Review:The Old Man and the Sea__ is an all time classic for teenagers and adults. It features the genre of tragedy and humanities. The story strongly features the struggle of the old man in his fishing of old age, and drawing the empathetic feelings of readers. As the marlin stands for the symbol of pride, it represents the ultimate goal of the book. Hemingway illustrated very well, the toughness and non-withering will of the old fisherman to catch the marlin, through the profound self-conversations of the old man, and the imagery descriptions of the fisherman’s state of health. “ Bare scars cover the scars of the old,” it effectively demonstrates the strenuous adventure of the story. But however, in the modern world of literature that is characterized and demonstrated by incredibly fast-paced, and graphic action and conflict, this old timer might be falling behind in terms of suspense for the reader. In a relatively short 124 page book, it mostly illustrates upon the floating on sea for several days; which gets boring after a some reading. However, through the unique and direct writing style of Hemingway, and the ability to warm the hearts of people in society today, it clearly earns the title as a classic. I would not recommend this book to my friends, as it has been already read a lot, and it is more for the older aged readers that could feel the tragic feelings about the old man’s prize.