Michael Escanuelas

For my first book I thought it would be nice to take the easy road with a nice, short, classic novel by the famous author Ernest Hemingway. I’ve familiarized myself with Hemingway’s writing when I read “The Sun Also Rises” on my Kindle. I really enjoy Hemingway’s style of writing and the way he develops his characters. His stories contain subtle metaphors and messages that really pertain to the everyday struggle of man (I mean that in general sense ladies, not in the macho masculine manner). This novel, which was written in Cuba in 1951, gained my interest because, one, I have never read it, two it’s considered a classic novel, and three, South Park did a really funny joke involving this book and writing essays.

watch the clip here:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155575

I’m pretty sure this joke is single handedly the dumbest/greatest joke ever. Anyway, the novel begins simply enough; an old man named Santiago, was having trouble finding fish at sea during his daily fishing duties. He had a young boy as his helper, but his continuous failures forced the boy’s parents to take him away. The man finally comes upon some luck (or does he?) and nabs a fish that takes him far out into the ocean. This leads our fishy friend on an epic adventure that pits him against the very nature of the sea.

The novel contains many themes of growing old, isolation, and the battle of pride. Throughout most of the novel, the man is in a struggle with this fish and refuses to listen to common sense and give up the fight. It is only when he is surrounded by sharks that he finally gives in and lets the fish go. In the novel he states, “You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman” (105). I felt like this novel was a great display of the human struggle. This old man is obviously crushed by the fact that he lost his pride over not catching any fish. His old age does not help with his discouragement. He is shadowed by the youth, which is displayed by the young boy who goes out on his own to fish because the man is bad at it. Although the man admits failure at the end of the novel, he does gain more respect from his fellow fisherman buddies and the boy. There is a lot to be learned from this man’s journey. Like for example, always bring the boy and shit (this was mentioned about 20 million times in the story by the old man).

Another fun fact that this book teaches is that it’s okay to talk to fish and birds. Hooray!

I think that this novel was a great pick for my first book. It’s engaging towards the end of the novel, it plays heavily into some interesting themes, and it’s short as fuck. Here’s looking at you old man.