Book Review

Hemingway delivered his last masterpiece with this book, a cultural phenomenon when first published in the early '50s: in an unprecedented move, Life Magazine published the novella in its entirety, recognizing that Hemingway, the most influential writer of 20th-century American literature and then a world-wide celebrity, had delivered a long-awaited masterful story. In Old Man And Sea, an elderly Cuban fisherman named Santiago heads out on his own in a tiny boat into the Gulf Stream in hopes of better luck after 84 days of unsuccessful fishing. He quickly catches what turns out to be the fish of a lifetime. He thinks about his plan, battles the powerful fish, and considers his life as he spends the next three days on the open seas being pulled by the enormous marlin.

Hemingway uses several imageries in the novella's last chapters to compare Santiago to Christ, the figure of transcendence who transformed loss into gain, failure into victory, and even death into new life. Hemingway overtly depicts the elderly guy as a crucified martyr: as soon as the sharks show there, the narrator remarks that Santiago moaned similar to what someone would make when they "felt the nail go through his hands and into the wood." The narrator's account of Santiago's entrance back into town also invokes memories of the crucifixion. The reader cannot help but think of Christ's journey to Calvary as he climbs up the hill carrying his mast across his shoulders. Even his sleeping position on his bed—face down on the newspapers with his arms straight out in front of him and his palms facing up—evokes the anguish of Christ on the cross.

And the story is indeed so much more, in no small part because of the inherent goodness of the old man. That's how I enjoy and interpret the book: it is a straightforward tale of an old man embracing the struggles and rewards of life with courage, and dignity and still full of the human spirit. Santiago is one of the most dignified characters in Literature, and I have to say he is my favourite and a bit of a personal hero... the old fisherman strives to be the best he can be and do the best he can do... he does not complain of his living in poverty, does not blame others for anything. His spirit is big, generous, and undefeated. While other Hemingway heroes might have disappointed some people by way of too much machismo, Santiago keeps all the best traits of courage, resilience and non-nonsense survivalism, while displaying more maturity and humility - perhaps reflecting the middle-age wisdom of the author 

Hemingway's story-telling skills are at their best here. I am a big fan of his style, particularly in the short-story format, but he is astounding all the way here. yeah, the prose is deceptively simple at first, but if you pay attention we can see the craft of a master. The opening sentence alone is formidable and could only be delivered by a master of the short-story format. The last sentence is also wonderful and pure Hemingway- simple but infinitely deep, and in this story hopeful and bitter-sweet.

As a significant feature in Hemingway’s writing, symbolism takes over a crucial role in Old Man And Sea. The main symbols in The Old Man and the Sea are Marlin, dreams, loins, sea, mast, shark, harpoons, bird, bear, and cottage. In the story Old Man and the Water, the sea serves as a major metaphor for life and the hardships that everyone must face. Hemingway believed that because he must work and fend for himself, man is most worthwhile when he is alone. The sea is a symbol of life and Santiago's exile from the rest of the world in the book. As we can see, there is absolutely no assistance or legislation in the sea. Santiago successfully overcomes his greatest obstacle by himself. In this sense, the book is a literary illustration of Naturalism.

In between, Hemingway writes with uncanny power, in such a way that you can fully experience what the character is going through: first you see what the old man does, from mundane tasks and spadework to the excitement of the deep-sea hunt and the exhausting struggle, and in the process, you start to think the way Santiago thinks and finally, you are feeling the way he feels. It is magical if you only give it a try. Granted, it is easier to immerse into this story if you are familiar with the ways of fishing and the ocean, but in any case, when Santiago is alone in the boat looking at the sea creatures or the night sky... I guess the recognition of the infinite solitude of the human condition, mitigated by the bonding with life and the world around us, is truly universal. 

2023-01-18

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