A Book Review of the Old Man and the Sea

The novel the Old Man and the Sea has been read by me for two times. I first read it when I was in sixth grade and an excerpt of it appeared in my textbook. I could not remember the exact details but I still remembered the words that shocked me: A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. The second time I read this book I am in college. Through reading in addition to remembering the famous saying I also understand the immortal spirit of the old man's honorable spirit and of fighting between man and nature contained behind the book.

The book mainly tells the story of the old fisherman Santiago who was fishing in the sea and had not caught any fish for 84 days. Everyone was disappointed at him and even the little boy who had been following him in fishing left him at the demanding request of his parents. Then the old man went alone to the deep-sea fishing which he had never been to. There he finally stabbed the big marlin after three days of struggling with it. However on the way back the old man struggled to fight five times with the sharks that wanted to eat the enormous marlin before he dragged the skeleton of the marlin back home.

The plot of the book is very vivid and wonderful. And I was the most impressive of the plot of the old man's five fights with the shark. In the first fight the old man killed the shark with a harpoon rope but the harpoon was broken the big marlin was eaten forty pounds and the old man's hand was injured. In the subsequent fight the old man killed the shark with a knife pulp. Nevertheless the knife was blunt and the fish was eaten a quarter this time. What’s worse the old man's hand was bleeding. In the third fight although the old man had been injured he was resolutely unwilling to be defeated by the shark. This time he killed the shark with a blunted knife pulp but the knife was broken and he bled heavily again. In the fourth fight the old man used a short stick to beat the shark into a seriously injured to escape. However the giant marlin was eaten half and his body was stiff with pain. In the fifth fight groups of sharks swam over. The old man countered with the short stick but in the end of the stick lost the rudder broken and the giant marlin only debris the old man was breathless and extremely tired. Reading these five struggles. I greatly admire the old man's strong perseverance and fearless courage. As the saying goes in the book a man is not born to be defeated. He can be destroyed but not defeated. I think it is the unyielding drive that makes the old man stick to the last bar.

After reading this book many people may ask whether the old man has finally failed or succeeded. As far as I am concerned the old man has succeeded. If we are in the situation of the old man that there is no external help and there is more and more scarce on the man’s body and the hope is slimmer. I believe that even an energetic young man may not be able to cope with such cruel situation while the old man has managed to defeat the fish and return with the marlin. Although the marlin is left only bones in the end the old man's fight with the marlin as well as the sharks not only reflects the extraordinary courage and perseverance of him but also reflects the indomitable spirit of the struggle with nature. This spirit is good enough to show his success. The old man is a true "tough guy" because he never succumbs to adversity and always believes the spirit that a man’s destiny is made by himself not by God.

I benefited a lot after reading this book twice. The spirit that the old man never bows to the difficulties and indomitable perseverance deeply move me making me shocked. It gives me the courage and confidence to overcome the difficulties making me firmly believe that the energy of people is infinite and a man does not be easily defeated. Finally I would like to share a few classic sayings of the novel the old Man and the Sea. 1. Every day is a new day. Good luck is certainly good but I'd rather do it all right. So when the luck comes I am prepared. 2. It is lucky to be understood but not being understood may not be unfortunate. A person who places his own value entirely on the understanding of others is often worthless. 3. He understood that no one's presence at sea was completely alone. Hope all the people who have read the book can learn something invaluable and instructive from the book.

2023-01-09

分享

喜欢(0)