My Feelings

The Old Man and the Sea is a representative novella of Hemingway, a famous modern American writer. Although it is short in length, it has profound implications. The old fisherman always regarded the sea as his home, he regarded the seabirds and the sea breeze as his bosom friend. Fishing at sea is his daily life. At the beginning of the book, however, he is not so lucky, eighty-four days without a fish, no one wants to go to sea with him, even the only boy is forced to leave out of his parents' wishes, leaving him adrift on the sea alone. At first, the old man was excited when he caught the big Marlin fish, because it would bring him a lot of money to live on. But the old man with their own booty on the way back, encountered many sharks chase and siege. Although the old man fought the ferocious and voracious sharks with all kinds of weapons until he was disarmed and exhausted, all he took home was a huge fish skeleton. The old man failed in his fishing this time, but he overcame numerous difficulties and dangers. This is the right expression of the "tough guy" spirit. There is no doubt that the old man's life is hard, but this does not stop the old man's endless enthusiasm for life. The old man experienced two days and nights of confrontation. Even though his hand was cramping, he still held the fish tight and did not let go, which symbolizes the spirit of people trying not to give up in the face of hope. Finally, the old man killed the fish and tied it to the side of the boat. The old man dragged the fish bones back to the shore. On the surface, the old man had not accomplished his goal and still needed to endure hunger. But Judging by the strength and fearlessness with which he fought, he was on the winning side, too. He won the supreme spiritual victory. He does not doubt his own ability and energy at all, regardless of whether he wins or loses. He believes that in the face of difficulties and adversities, he can only choose to cope with and fight, rather than flinch. This work fully reflects Hemingway's attitude towards life. He believes that the spirit of struggle is the most indispensable part of a person's life, and only hard work and firm faith can change the reality. During this period, many problems appeared in the United States, such as the Great Depression and social disorder. The existence of these problems for the generation born after the war, often with a strong gap and despair. Therefore, in order to inspire the public and stimulate the human spirit of struggle and self-improvement, Hemingway put his own ideas into the book, through writing the old man and the shark struggle scene, to explain the importance of human indomitable spirit. The big fish caught in the novel also has the same admirable heroism as the old man. It is a combination of strength and gentleness, morality and wisdom in one, while fighting with the old man but also by the old man's admiration. When the old man caught the fish with the hook, it did not panic at all. When it grabbed the bait in the water, it looked like a huge male fish. It fought with great composure, which fully showed the intelligence of the big fish. When he was hooked, instead of leaping to the surface of the water or breaking free, and knowing that he had a better chance of fighting, he decided to hide in the dark depths of the water, as far away as possible from all the traps and tricks of the fisherman. At the same time, it also with lasting endurance and perseverance to drag the old man's boat swim for three days and two nights, during this period did not miss any chance to escape, the old man toss black and blue, physical and mental exhaustion. The tenacious willpower of the big fish moved the old man, and the strong spirit of heroism was respected and appreciated by the old man. In this sense, the big fish is equivalent to the old man in another species of doppelganger, also has a bright color of heroism. No wonder the old man saw the big fish as his equal and felt very sad when the fish was eaten down to fish bones. Although the hero of the novel is strong and resolute, and never gives up the hope of survival, he is old, and the function of all aspects of the body is gradually aging, which shows the contradiction between the ideal heroism of the old man and the reality of willing but insufficient.