21 Jun 2019

BA English Novel The Old Man and the Sea-Summary




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.


ba english novel the old man and the sea,summary of the novel the old man and the sea


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.


No comments:

Post a Comment