Book Review

"A ship has crossed the end of the world, heading for the unknown sea. On the bow of the ship hangs a gorgeous flag, though it has been stripped by the wind and the rain, but it is still very beautiful. On the flag, four words like a cloud and dragon are dancing and shining -- Beyond the limit!" This is how the author Hemingway described his work the Old Man and the Sea. The Old Man and the Sea created a classic image of a tough guy. An old fisherman from Cuba named Santiago, who went out fishing alone, caught a huge marlin after 84 days without any fish. It was the biggest fish the old man had ever seen or heard of, two feet longer than his boat. The fish was strong and strong, dragging the boat drifting for two days and two nights, the old man in these two days and two nights through never experienced the difficult test, finally the big fish stabbed to death, tied to the bow. However at this time but met a shark, the old man and the shark had a life-and-death struggle, the results of the big marlin or sharks eat up, the old man finally dragged home only a pair of bare fish skeleton. Why didn't Hemingway let the old man finally win? In the words of the old man in the novel, "A man is not born to be defeated." "A man may be destroyed, but not defeated." This is the philosophy of the Old Man and the Sea. There is no denying that everyone has defects. It does not matter whether one ends up with a whole marlin or an empty skeleton, for the value of one's life is fully realized in the pursuit of the marlin, when one admits this defect and strives to overcome it rather than yield to it. Once for their own ideal hard pursuit, struggle, isn't he a winner? The old fisherman is a winner who dares to challenge his own defects and his own courage and confidence. From the point of view of worldly victory, the old fisherman was not the final winner, because although he had defeated the big marlin at the beginning, the big marlin was finally eaten by the shark. He just returned to the shore with the big marlin's skeleton frame, that is to say, the shark was the winner. However, in the eyes of idealists, the old fisherman is the winner, because he has never surrendered to the sea or the big marlin or the shark. As Beethoven said, "I can be destroyed, but I cannot be conquered." Human nature is strong, human beings have their own limits, but it is because of the old fisherman again and again to challenge the limits, beyond them, the limit was expanded again and again, again and again put greater challenges in front of the human. In this sense, heroes like old Fisherman Santiago, whether they succeed or fail against the limits, are worthy of our everlasting respect. Because, what he brings us is the human most noble self-confidence!