The Old Man and the Sea blog 8

                The Old Man and the Sea is not a book that really shows much historical importance.  It tells the story of the challenges of a Caribbean fisherman in the early 1900s.  If it reflects any events in history, it would be the challenges that every fisherman must face with a low income depending on the availability of fish.  Ernest Hemmingway instead wrote this book as more of a parable.  It tells a story of man’s attempt to overcome the forces beating him down in the world.  Santiago’s struggle represents the trials to overcome our greatest challenges and never give up.  Though this might have had a true story behind it, The Old Man and the Sea does not really reflect events in history.  Ernest Hemmingway believed that humans and nature share a special relationship.  In The Old Man and the Sea, he shows that Santiago cares for the marlin, but believes he must catch him because it is the way life works.  “I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars….Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him.  How many people will he feed, he though.  But are they worthy to eat him?  No, of course not.  There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity” (Hemmingway 75).  Though this is a very long quote, it accurately explains what Hemmingway believes the relationship between animals and people is.  As humans we must eat animals to survive, but we must still care for them and honor them even when they will die.  It is apparent that Hemmingway’s love of nature and the sea played a role when he was writing this book.  These ideas are clearly seen through Santiago’s characterization. 

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.