一等奖 秦思怡作品

As one of Hemingway's most enduring works, "the old man and the sea" is really of universe significance on the grounds that it shapes an old man who struggles with age, poverty, loneliness and death to maintain his identity and dignity. And I am overwhelmingly impressed by the "tough guy" and his indomitable spirit.
The novel revolves around an unfortunate man, Santiago, who had to make his living on sea but hadn't caught any fish for 84 days. Next day, he came across a tremendous marlin, far more enormous than his boat, and took a formidable battle with it. Although he won on the "battlefield", the fishy smell on the wounds of the marlin fascinated several groups of sharks to snatch food without any mercy. As a consequence, he was merely left with a skeleton of the giant marlin.
The process of fishing was extremely bumpy. Nevertheless, Santiago's dauntless spirit struck me a lot. To be frank, I couldn't envisage whether I would persist in fishing after 84 days' abortive experiences. Meanwhile, I couldn't bear the anguish of the fruit of victory being snatched away by a crowd of fierce sharks. But he did it. Confronted with the cynicism from others, he kept positive and still insisted on fishing instead of being knocked down by frustrating emotions. And it was his perseverance that drove him to fight the cruel sharks to death by using all his tools on hand. It's true that the old man was just left with a tremendous white skeleton but he got the victory on his spirit. His heroic struggle saved himself as well as inspired the individuals around him and evaluated them spiritually.  
Deeply exploring, the novel focuses not only on the old man but also in the entire society. The images in the novel have strong symbolic meanings. As an example, the author uses the sea to symbolize the fickle humankind society, the marlin to emblematize the ideal of life while the fierce sharks to signify the tragic fate. Additionally, the child who is prepared to learn all the "skills" from Santiago symbolizes that the spirit of "beating unbeaten" will be passed down from generation to generation. Looking back at the history of mankind, it's exactly the history of mankind's struggle with nature. It is apparent that the humanity is in a weak position in nature. Storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters can overwhelm us easily. Nevertheless, there are still crowds of individuals who are ready to challenge the limits of mankind just as the old man mentioned in the book. They are just as the lights which lighten our road in the dark and make our society prosperous and advanced. Even if they fail in the arenas of life, they still deserve our respect.  
Eventually, I would like to end the essay up with sentences mentioned in the novel: A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. Although the life is full of obstacles and frustrations, we are still capable of pursuing our aims and ideals with our strong perseverance. Remember that where there is a will, there is a way.