The old Man and the Sea
Summary of the Novel
The famous novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea is written by the
world famous novelist and short story writer Ernest Hemingway. Basically this
novel is written on novella from which means a short formed novel. Like other
Novels and short stories of Hemingway, this novel too lacks female characters.
The novel was written and published in 1952 and after only
two years of its publication in 1954, it got Nobel Prize in literature. One can
say that it is the world best motivational novel. Yet it got much controversy
from the critic’s side. Some say that novel is nothing as it ends at the utter
failure of the protagonist. Some are in favour of the novel. They are of the
view that Hemingway very successfully forwards the idea of continuous struggle.
The story is quite simple which revolves around the lifesaving
struggle of Cuban fisherman Santiago. He fishes in the Gulf Stream. He goes
without catching any fish for the last 85 days but he never loses hope. He is
an optimistic fellow. He has a strong believe in struggle. To him ,to achieve
anything is not success but continuous struggle is a success.
His this failure makes him prominent in the society and
people label him as a salao. He is deprived of his only companion and pupil
Manolin after 40 days. He has no wife no children who can support him. He is
the severe victim of loneliness.
He faces the odds of life very bravely and goes on fishing
every day with this hope that someday he would catch a big fish. The other
fisher men laugh at this strange logic of Santiago. He is a determined fellow.
He does never mind anybody else.
On the eighty six day of his struggle he is able to hook a
big Marlin. The fish is 18 feet long and so powerful that it starts towing the
old man along with his small skiff towards the deep sea. But the old man never
gives up his struggle. He is fully determined to catch and kill that powerful fish.
This tug of war goes on for two nights.
On the third day noon the fish is tired. It starts taking
large circle around the skiff. The old man plays tricks and drag the fish near
the boat on each circle which it makes. At last on the 9th circle it
gets so close that it comes in the reach of old man s’ harpoon. He very
forcefully thrusts the harpoon into the body of the fish. It takes a long jump
in the air vertically and then drops down dead.
The old man efforts do not end yet. Now he is so tired that
he is unable to convert the fish into small pieces and to put them in the skiff:
small boat. Using his experience, he makes three loops “from the head, from the
middle and from the tail of this and ties the fish parallel to the skiff and
starts his homeward voyage.
He has some fears and doubts in his mind. As the blood of the
fish in mixing into the sea water, it is very inviting to the sharks. He fears
that sharks might attack the Marlin. It happens so after some time two sharks
appear .They attack on the marlin. One is killed by the old man but other
escapes with a large piece of Marlin flesh. After some time two more sharks
come and attack the fish. In the darkness of the night, they attack in packs.
The old man gives very tough time to the sharks with the resources whatever he
has at that time. Ultimately, the sharks are declared as winner as they reduce
the Marlin into a skeleton.
Mow the old man hurries to the shore as he is fainting with weakness
and tiredness. When he reaches at the shore with the skeleton of the fish,
everybody is amazed at the efforts of the old man. The old man announces that
tomorrow he would go again for fishing and would catch a big fish. In the shack,
he sleeps and starts dreaming about the lions.
This novel is based on Heming way philosophy that to achieve
anything is not success, the thing that matters is continuous struggle.
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