FREE ESSAY ON OLD MAN IN THE SEA

OLD MAN IN THE SEA

AUTHOR The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway who was born July 21, 1899,
in Oak Park, Illinois. He later died of suicide in 1961 in Idaho. This book was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, and Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954. He
was an ambulance driver in World War I and wrote many major works.
CHARACTERS
Santiago, the main character, was a wise old Cuban fisherman who was very experienced in
the ways of the sea. Despite his age he had young eyes and great determination to catch
the Marlin. Santiago had to survive much pain and loneliness to capture the Marlin
The Marlin was eighteen feet long and purple with stripes on his side. This fish
eventually became Santiago's brother. It demonstrated its great skill and mobility by
fighting for three days before being caught.
Manolin, a young boy, admired and learned how to fish from Santiago. The boy was caring
towards the old man and refused to allow Santiago to fish alone again.
PLOT
Santiago had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and Manolin's family refused
to allow the boy to fish with the old man because they believed that he had bad luck. The
night before the old man was going to fish, the boy and the man talked baseball, which
they both loved. The next day Santiago caught a big marlin which started to drag the
boat. The fish continued to swim and did not seem to lose much energy. While it took
three days for the old man to catch the marlin, he had to catch other fish for
nourishment. Santiago's hands were cut and bruised from the line; his back was extremely
sore, and he was acting strangely, talking and arguing with himself. Then on the way back
to the village, sharks ate the marlin despite the old man's trying everything to stop
them. After the long trip home, Santiago was exhausted but was considered a hero by the
village people after they measured the length of the fish's skeleton. The boy was worried
and promised to always go with Santiago from then on.
SETTING
This book takes place in Cuba in the 1940's. The story continues over the course of three
days.
Distinguishing Characteristics
Hemingway's style of writing is direct and terse. He challenges the reader to think about
human emotions and courage.