The first three associations when we hear the name Hemingway: wine, a gun, "men's prose." The latter definition is very important, because now "boyish prose" is in use, so Ernest Hemingway is the author of "man's". A man always remains a man, even in old age. This is what the composition of the American classic "The Old Man and the Sea" tells us. His analysis hurries to appear before the bright eyes of the reader of this article with all possible agility.
Plot
The story of the old man Santiago and his struggle with huge fish.
A small village in Cuba. The elderly fisherman ceased to be lucky, for almost three months he had not known the sweet sense of satisfaction from the caught prey. Halfway disappointed with him was the boy Manolin. Then the parents told the younger partner that Santiago is no longer friends with fortune and their son is better off looking for another company to go to sea. In addition, you need to feed your family. The boy succumbed to the wishes of his parents, although he himself did not want to leave the old fisherman, he really liked him.
And then came the day on which, as the old man felt, everything should change. And indeed, it happened: Santiago managed to catch a huge fish on a hook. Man and fish fought for several days, and when the prey was defeated, the old man dragged her home, tied to a boat. But, while they fought, the boat carried away far into the sea.
On the way home, the old man was already counting the profits from the sale of fish in his mind, when he suddenly noticed shark fins on the surface of the water.
He repulsed the attack of the first shark, but when the sea animals attacked in a flock, the fisherman did not sail. Predators left the boat alone only after they had almost completely eaten the “reward” of the fisherman (only an trophy remained from the fish caught by the elderly man - a huge skeleton).
The old man did not bring a catch to his village, but he proved his worth as a fisherman. Santiago, of course, was upset and even cried. The first on the shore met his faithful companion - Manolin, whom only the parental order and the need to get food for his family tore off from the old man. He comforted the old man and said that he would never leave him again and that he would learn a lot from him and together they would catch many more fish.
We hope that the reader does not find the retelling offered here incomplete, and if he suddenly asks: “Why is the content of the work (“ The Old Man and the Sea ”) short?” “Analysis also requires space, dear reader,” we will answer.
For such a not-too-complicated story, Ernest Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 , and in 1954 the Nobel Prize in Literature, which marked the writer's entire work.
The reader may not be angry with the long prelude to research, but without a storyline called “The Old Man and the Sea” it is difficult to analyze, because he must rely on facts presented at least concisely.
Why is the story called "The Old Man and the Sea"?
Hemingway is a great writer. He was able to write a story in such a way that he admired specialists and more than one generation of readers, but it is worth a lot. In the work, the writer raised the eternal theme of man and the elements. “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis carried out in this article confirms this conclusion) is the story, first of all, about the struggle of the decrepit, old man and the forever young, strong and powerful element. In the story, not only fish is important, but nature as a whole. It is with her that a man fights and does not lose in this battle.
Why is the old man chosen as the main character?
The study of the book “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis of it) suggests an answer to this, in general, obvious question.
If the fisherman was young, the narrative would not be so dramatic, it would be an action movie, such as, for example, “To Have and Not To Have,” by the same author. In the laureate work, Hemingway managed to squeeze out a mean male tear from the reader (or uncontrollable and loud female sobs) about the sad fate of the old sea wolf.
Hemingway’s special tricks that immerse the reader in the atmosphere of the story
There is no exciting development in the book of the American classic. The work has almost no dynamics, but it is saturated with inner drama. It may seem to some that Hemingway’s narrative is boring, but it’s not at all. If the writer did not pay so much attention to details and did not describe in such detail the torment of the old man at sea, then the reader could not fully feel the suffering of the sailor with his own gut. In other words, if there had not been this “stickiness and stickiness” of the text, then “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis of the work proves this) was not such a penetrating composition.
Old man Santiago and boy Manolin - a story of two generations of friendship
In addition to the main theme in the book, written by Ernest Hemingway, there are additional reasons for reflection. One of them is the friendship of an old man and a boy. How touching Manolin feels for Santiago, how he encourages him during failures. It is believed that old people and children get along so well because some of them recently left oblivion, while others will soon get there. This common homeland, where some come from and others are about to leave, brings them together on an unconsciously intuitive level.
Speaking specifically about the two heroes, it seems that the boy just feels that the old man is a master of his craft, a seasoned sailor. Manolin probably believes that he really has something to learn, and while he is alive, do not miss this opportunity.
We are left with the story “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis of the work is almost finished) to consider only the issue of discrimination. He hardly cared for Ernest Hemingway when he was writing a masterpiece, very topical at the present time, but the story of the American writer provides food for thought in this direction.
Discrimination and the "Old Man ..."
At all times, children, the elderly and the disabled have been accepted with indulgence: some can still do little, others are not fit for something serious already, and still others have been placed outside of the ordinary framework by nature.
But Ernest Hemingway did not think so at all. “The Old Man and the Sea” (the analysis presented in the article confirms this) says that all people debited from the accounts of society still have hope for salvation and accomplishment. And children and the elderly can even come together in an excellent team that can wipe the nose of many.
The experience and old age of the fisherman in the story of the American classic are presented as advantages. And really, imagine, if the fisherman was young and full of strength, then he most likely would not have survived the fight with the fish and would have fallen unconscious. Young - yes, old man - no, never!
Ernest Hemingway himself thought a lot about the heroic figure of a fisherman. “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis confirms this) is a monument to human courage.
“Man can be destroyed, but not defeated”
For an old man, this is not just work. For him, the struggle at sea is a way to prove to himself and society that he is still in a cage, which means he does not have the right to "disconnect" due to hunger and thirst, the sun and even numbness of his limbs, and even more so to die.
Yes, the sailor did not bring his fish this time, but he still accomplished a feat. And we firmly believe that some other old man (not necessarily the conqueror of the sea) will certainly have the opportunity to get even with his fate as his fellow man and create something outstanding.
Wonderful and popular author Ernest Hemingway. “The Old Man and the Sea” (analysis, by its very nature, cannot convey the whole charm of a work) is a multifaceted and bottomless composition.