Book review

‘ The Old Man and the Sea’ is a story of man versus nature, hardship, poverty, and himself. Just as Hemingway wrote, "A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated." I think it is the best sentence to describe the old man in this book. A Chinese ancient book, The Book of Changes, wrote that “A gentleman can look hardships in the face, but the small trapped only to blame. A man of virtue is open-minded and always at ease; a man of meanness is full of distress at all times.” There is no doubt that the old man Santiago is the gentleman and the man of virtue.

At the beginning of the novel, Hemingway takes readers directly to the life and struggles of Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman. He was making his way back to shore after what is his eighty-fourth day without catching a fish. This hardship, and its reverberating impact, consume Santiago’s life. Fishing is everything to him. It is both his passion and the way he makes a living. But it doesn’t make him lose faith. ‘Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.’ While Santiago’s luck might be down, his ability to look toward the next day and find a reason to keep going is persistent. Luckily, he finally managed to catch a gigantic fish on day 85. But he can’t bring it to shore smoothly thus leads to a drastic fight with the sharks but this can not keep the fish from being eaten. So the old man went back home tiredly and a boy called Manolin accompany him.

We learn the significance to persist even people are in the face of one great difficulty after another through the persistence of Santiago. Obviously, the old man firmly believes that he will make it to the end to bring the fish ashore, and therefore with his patience and skillfulness he managed to fight with the fish for two days and nights then beat back the fierce sharks. For another thing, it is also clear that the author tried to enrich the character’s image by narrating that the old man still doesn't want to admit his failure, and conveying a belief that through a man’s continuous efforts, he could prove his worth in the end. 

It has been said that Hemingway's work has two eternal themes, one is courage, and the other is death. In the hero of the Old Man and the Sea, we can see the crisscross of the two themes.  The main character Santiago could mean a lot. He was the man who could be destroyed but never conquered; he was the tough guy fighting terrible enemies; he was the man who could stick to one single thing; he was the man who never bowed to failures. He teaches us the spirit of hope, courage, and toughness in humanity.  He was a real hero, a loser who won in spirit,  and who could truly face difficulties and failures. Sometimes, i t is us that are the biggest enemy of ourselves. To face our inner thought, to win ourselves.  The old man always thought a lot, about proving himself “a strange old man”. I think that was like how the people chasing for these days, proving themselves, to be valuable and worth-existed in the world. The old man just set sail for his wish of the big fish, great success. How about modern people today? They just fall down and climb up, running for their goals. Sometimes, they only need to prove themselves. I think it’s important to prove our ability of ours, but we could not just stop and stay at this level. And what was more, I think we could admit failures. Failures were made to be faced. Once we conquered ourselves who bowed to the failure, would the success remain far from us?

So what should we do to fight sharks, or, the strong power blocking us?  Only with courage can we have the power to move forward in the face of difficulties. In modern life, we should also have the courage to face difficulties. Courage is a quality that affects not only individuals but whole nations.  Do not forget, we are the humans who are really tough, and can never be defeated. Before men get destroyed, I think they shall leave a lot of glory and heroics in history, singing and memorizing by everyone after their ages. In that time, like Santiago, their spirit will live forever. What is failure? Perhaps it can be said that people do a thing but did not achieve the expected purpose, this a is a failure. But I think, not trying, not fighting, is really a failure. A man who is always fighting close to his limits will often fail, a man who wants to explore the mysteries of nature will often fail, and a man who wants to reform society will often fail. Only those who are content to live within their limits are always "victorious." This "victor" is victorious only because his opponent has already surrendered, or he has not entered the struggle at all. When you fight bravely, in some ways you win.

2023-01-30

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