I really really hate Hemingway's writing. And this book epitomizes every element of my hatred. At least it is short. It's got that going for it.

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
3+ out of 5 stars to The Old Man and the Sea, a classic book that most Americans read in middle or high school, written in 1952 by Ernest Hemingway. When you hear the author's name, it's a famous one, and most likely, everyone's familiar with the title, too. But not everyone enjoys reading this book, as it's hard to connect with as a teenager -- at least on the outskirts. But when you look deeper, it's probably a very similar plight when you compare that of the old man and a kid trying to make it through school. The book has many key themes. Courage. Strength. Nobility. Humility. Power. It's a struggle to be successful with your goal, with the destiny you believe is yours and with the way you handle your every move throughout the path. Like kids trying to fit in during their awkward years, the old man is trying to end his life with a big win -- something he feels must happen for a variety of reasons. The book has a good story. It's not easy to get into. The language is a little stilted, but it's pretty. Hemingway had a way with words, and sometimes, it was perfection. Others, it flies over your head. It's the kinda of book you need to read in utter silence while out in nature without any interruption. Then read it again. And you'll get a lot from it. You'll decide what kinda of (wo)man you want to be. But if you just do a cursory read, it''ll come across as a bit boring.... you'll ask, why didn't he just give up? And when it ends, you'll say "well that sucks." But when you step away, you'll see we are all that old man in our own battles each day. And at that point, you're ready for another read, as well as to take on more of Hemingway's novels.

n  n    About Men  n
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Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the masters of American 20th century fiction. Garnering from his life experiences, his novels reflect on his time as a newspaper reporter and correspondent in a Europe during both the inner war and war years. A member of the lost generation, Hemingway was the first of his group to have a major work published. In addition to all of the accolades bestowed upon him, Hemingway is considered along Steinbeck to be a master storyteller, especially of short stories. The crowning achievement to an illustrious career, The Old Man and the Sea won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1952, less than ten years before Hemingway's death.

Santiago is an older fisherman in Havana. He is content fishing and contemplating on his life while finding out the daily baseball scores. His favorite ball player is Joe DiMaggio because his father was a famed fisherman. As a younger man, Santiago was considered the strongest man in Havana, one time outlasting a negro from Cienfuegos in a twenty four hour arm wrestling duel. Yet, despite his fame and accomplishments as a fisherman, Santiago's luck has run out on hm. As an older man, her needs help from a boy to complete his daily fishing hauls and tasks, and has not caught a fish in 84 days. In spite of this run of poor luck, Santiago still returns to the seas on a daily basis, hopeful to catch the big fish that has alluded him for his entire life.

Because of lack of successes, his boy has turned to another, lucky fishing boat. Santiago has to go at it alone, with only two fishing lines and baits. Determined to catch that big one, he sets out even with the dangers of sea, especially sharks, knowing that each journey into the water could be his last. Yet, this is subsistence and sustenance for many people on an island, so Santiago persists at his task. His voyage for the big fish becomes more than a fishing trip but his contemplating life, bestowing his wisdom on both the fishing trade and life knowledge on the younger generations. This is without the assurance that he will even catch a fish or if this determination to catch the big one will be his last voyage.

From this 120 page novella, one can see glimpses of Hemingway's greatness. His sentences are full of imagery and imparting the wisdom of a rich life. As an older man, he himself enjoyed fishing and Santiago mirrors how Hemingway spent his later life. I have read a number of Pulitzers, and while the writing of this novella is enriching, I am left wondering if perhaps Hemingway won the award here as a crowning jewel on his life body of work. The story was captivating and full of messages yet a novella, rather than a novel. Perhaps, unbeknownst to me, this powerful novella was the best work of fiction in its given year and worthy of the award.

In my quest to read the Pulitzers, I am glad that I was finally lead to read Hemingway. It is clear to me that he is a master of his craft, and I look forward to reading his further work. The Old Man and the Sea looks back on an enriching life and won Hemingway a deserving award, if not for his lifetime of writing. As a lovely story and another Pulitzer I can check off my list, The Old Man and the Sea rates 4 powerful stars.

Oh my GOD, just throw the fuckin' fish back in the water, already!

Fuck...

When I first finished this one, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. That’s an anomaly itself as I usually have a good sense of how I’ll score a book pretty early on in my readings, and I slowly enumerate my feelings about various aspects of the book. Certainly, my two reading sessions of The Old Man and the Sea were enjoyable, but I didn’t have a good grasp on what I made of the whole thing.

As the rest of the day wore on, I kept coming back to the story of Santiago’s days-long struggle with an immense marlin. The novella is profound, moving, and thought-provoking. Though Hemingway claimed little intentional symbolism, the book begs the reader to swim below the surface of the story in search of deeper meaning. A brief read around the internet after my completion of this novella yielded some interesting tidbits I’d noticed, as well as some parallels to Hemingway’s own life and writings with which I was previously unaware.

Despite the possibility of great depth, the book is also compelling on its surface. Santiago’s struggle is realized so fully and Hemingway’s writing so crisp and direct that I found myself pulled along for the journey. The prospect of a novel in which a man goes on a single fishing expedition doesn’t sound like the most invigorating read; however, the book feels so real that it’s impossible not to soldier on with the old man.

I wasn’t expecting the book to be moving, but Hemingway does with single sentences what other authors struggle to do over entire novels. He is able to convey Santiago’s present life in a few short pages, and establishes a stunning relationship with a local fishing boy. Each sentence is so tightly constructed that it delivers its message with crystal clarity despite its sparse style. The book is also refreshingly readable, which you might not expect from such a revered classic.

I’m super happy to have read of The Old Man and the Sea. It was a thorough pleasure and a novel that continues to appreciate the more I reflect upon it. I look forward to much more Hemingway in the future!

If this story can teach us anything, it is that sometimes you just need to let go. To let go of your selfish ambitions. To let go of your absent youth. And to let go of a fish (or a prize) that is going to bring you nothing because life is transitory.

It is a powerful allegory and one that extends far beyond the actual scenario, which I naturally found repugnant because it glorifies fishing. If it didn't have such a strong universal value, I would likely rate this differently. But that aside, I think it says a lot about the idea of chasing our dreams. The chase can be noble, but the actual catch can decay quickly.

Overall, it is an extraordinarily potent piece of writing, I just did not enjoy it as much as others have.

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“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

I read this book (forcibly) in school and hated it. I thought it was boring and tedious and set it aside never to be picked up again. Well, I did pick it up again, albeit over a decade later, and though my younger self would be deeply disconcerted by my change of heart, I really liked it. There is such feeling in the short book, in the spareness of the story. It's about a man and his fish, but it's also about the changing world and people being left behind, clinging on to what they know because they are afraid otherwise they will drown. It's about identity, and lost dreams and resilience and the constant battle between the world of man and the natural world, even as the old man has a sort of love for the fish he is determined to hunt and kill. I was surprised by how moved I was by this book after having shunned it for for many years, dismissing Hemingway as dry and tedious. Could it be that I was wrong about James Joyce and Nathaniel Hawthorne as well? Doesn't bear contemplating?!
In all seriousness though, I am glad I picked this up again. I suppose the young are not all knowing, all-wise after all;-)

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The book that I can trace back to my love affair with the classics. After reading it I was 'hooked' for life. Interesting fact: I have known several individuals who have called this book 'just an old guy catching a fish' story - and they have turned out to be amongst the most shallow individuals I have ever met! Thanks again Papa Hemingway!

My children and I were crossing a bridge in Rome. Our senses were acutely sharpened. We were aware of each minute spent in this capital of human storytelling, of the neverending drama of human culture and nature in interaction and in occasional clashes. Looking out over the river, my son and I spot the sorry remains of a boat, just the bare metal frame without any "flesh", and we instinctively say at the same time:

"Hemingway's old man!"

We look at each other, smile at our simultaneous association, and start arguing whether or not one can see the fish in the same way as a boat, or whether the destruction of the boat is a more definitive loss. While we are arguing, my younger children are enquiring about the story we discuss, and we give them the details.

"Losing something means you really had it!"

That is their conclusion, and while my eldest son and I start pondering whether or not the younger two are ready for the old man and the sea in Hemingway's own words, we continue walking, and life goes on, and a new generation of Hemingway readers find sense and meaning in his parable on the human struggle.

We feel like saying: "I'm sorry, boat!", in the same way the old man said: "I'm sorry, fish!"

But the fact that it lies there showing its naked metal ribs tells us it truly existed. That's more than nothing. And it is not a bad place for a boat to rest. Just like the old man and the fish are in good hands between the covers of a Hemingway novel.

Nothing's lost as long as we can tell stories about it.

Brilliant parable of man's struggle with nature and himself. Beautifully written. One of my favorite Hemingways.

PS: And a Pulitzer that I don't find disappointing.

n  The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.n
-Tom Wolfe




Loneliness of human existence is omnipresent, perhaps that is what human existence is condemned to and that is what has haunted human beings most since the early days of civilization. Though loneliness is an unavoidable condition of our humanity, it resides in the innermost being of the self, expanding as each individual becomes aware of and confronts the ultimate experiences of life: change, upheaval, tragedy, joy, the passage of time, and death. Loneliness in this sense is not the same as suffering the loss of a loved one, or a perceived lack of a sense of wholeness or integrity. Existential loneliness is a way of being in the world, it is an ontological condition, a way of grasping for and confronting one's own subjective truth. And perhaps that’s where, the man uplifts himself against seemingly odds and defines his life and thereby stick to truth of life- truth which he has defined for himself or his life per se.


I struggle to put my thoughts into words about this little gem by Hemingway, it is exactly like fishing- just when you think you have grabbed the ideas and put them in assorted order, and you believe you would pull it away, it disappears in the depth of chaos and you lost it. This is what it is- a condensed prose written with the precision of a minimalist who can portray great ideas about human existence beneath the simple tales. The Old, Santiago has been going for fishing for 84 days now without success. In the first forty days a boy-Rogelio was with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that old man was now definitely and finally salao. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated. Perhaps that’s what kept him moving despite all not getting success for a longtime. Probably it was his experience too with life- for he would have been in such situations before- which provides him strength and motivation to move forward. How easy it to lose grip of life when things are not going as you want to be, and how difficult it is to get your act together to move forward even when you ‘believe’ things are not going as you like them to be. Perhaps not so difficult, probably it is all about mindset but is it really that easy- probably not, for had it been so, there wouldn’t have been no prophets, enlightened men throughout our history. Probably it requires high degree of meditation of soul to cultivate your mind in such a way that it may act as you wish- and a few have been able to do so since the outbreak of human civilization. At one level it is the tale of a man and a fish, at another, a story of man versus nature, at yet another, the story of the culture of manhood, courage, bravery in the face of existence, and at yet another a history of what life was like when individuals were more the central actors on the human stage and not groups or organizations.



The Old man no longer dreams of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. He has stood up from petty details of life and hope to sustain through punishing life keeps him moving forward. Better to sail an ocean of hope than a sea of despair. The Old man is a dreamer, though his dreams may not have been ordinary, scuffed and sanded down by decades of fishing the Gulf Stream: no longer does his sleeping mind drift to the great events throughout his life but instead just to a place, a childhood memory: lions playing on an African beach. He is reverent but not pious, wary of devotion, although he could waver. He is a symbol of an attitude toward life. He often thinks and talks poetically and symbolically and so artificially.His relationship with nature is not usual- unusual in the sense that he thinks of sea as most people do not:-

But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

”Fish,” he said, “I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”




He has been victim of worst form of luck- Salao, the fish may remain allusive for 84 days from him, but he sets out 85th day with hope of life, forgetting the burden of last 84 days- as one should do in life. May be today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready. He gets lucky too this time and his quarry hooked and a big fish from the hope of sea struck in his fishing net. But then true test of life begins for him, Day becomes night becomes day, and with little or no sleep the old man loses track of time and islands of Sargasso weed drift by. Eating raw bonito and dorado to maintain strength, while slowly sapping the marlin’s will, Santiago regrets his poor planning: I will never go in a boat again without salt or limes. Santiago symbolizes courage, gut and perseverance- which are perhaps most important of the traits required to live the life. He will win the battle but lose the prize, and rue the desperation that carried him beyond practical bounds. He laments the ruins of his lionheart dream, and yet he remains unbowed: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” He is not only courageous. He is humble and gently proud, aware of beauty and filled with a sense of brotherhood with nature. And he has a loving heart. These attributes have not been common in Hemingway characters in the past. Since they are admirable and Mr. Hemingway admires them, the moral climate of "The Old Man and the Sea" is fresh and healthy and the old man's ordeal is moving.




The book reflects upon some of the basic parameters of human existence- which are loneliness and recognition. Here, it builds upon Sartre’s The Other, when the old man is fishing right in the middle of sea, the loneliness of human existence strikes him- a man may achieve insurmountable feats but he needs to someone to share the very feat; solitude may be a bliss but you need someone to discuss that it is. He looked around for the bird now because now because he would like him for company.. He develops psychological association with ‘the fish’ over a period of time as man generally becomes attached even with inanimate things if put in exile. But he is the symbolism for entire humankind, and he realizes how laws of nature work and any sort of unrequired affection may be futile in the struggle for existence.

I wish I could feed the fish, he thought. He is my brother. But I must kill him and keep strong to do it.



The Old man and The Sea may come across as a simple fable about an unlucky fisherman to a naïve reader, but it is what it conveys beside simple arrangements of words and it is exactly the beauty of Hemingway that how he has been words with minimalist approach to portray profound subjects of humankind. The book, to me, may be said as bible of human existence, the Old man symbolizes the human attitude towards life in general; it is the tale of civilized human life and exactly what does it take to live such one- courage, love, faith, hope, and clarity. And the prose of Hemingway provides indefinite possibilities to the readers to interpret it according to their own world, how rare it is to find a piece of art which can be interpreted in every probable way, which holds true in every era, and that is what exactly Hemingway offered to the mankind.

n  n    5/5n  n

العجوز والبحر

يترجم عنوان رواية هيمنغواي الشهيرة هذه عادة ً بالشيخ والبحر، ولكني أفضل هذه الترجمة (العجوز والبحر)، فكلمة الشيخ محملة بالوقار، بالحكمة، فالشيخ لا يفتش عن ذاته، لقد وصل إليها وحازها منذ وقت بعيد، بينما كلمة العجوز تحمل دلالات أخرى، فالعجوز هو الرجل الذي وصل إلى مرحلة العجز البدني، بدايات تهدم القوى، ومن ورائها البصيرة والحكمة، إنه نموذج الإنسان الذي يعيش صراعه الأخير، صراعه مع جسده الذي يفنى، ذاكرته التي تضمحل، وهو صراع للأسف غير بطولي، ليس في نظر الناس على الأقل.

كتب أرنست هيمنغواي هذه الرواية وهو في الثانية والخمسين من عمره، هل كان في شيخوخته؟ أم كان في عجزه؟ أظن أنه كان في نهايات الأولى، وبدايات الثانية، ففي العام التالي لكتابة هذه الرواية يذهب هيمنغواي في رحلة صيد إلى أفريقيا، وهو نشاط حركي عنيف عشقه هيمنغواي منذ اللحظة التي أهداه فيها والده بندقية وهو في العاشرة من عمره، هذا النشاط الحركي العنيف ضم له همينغواي فيما بعد صيد الأسماك، الملاكمة – وهناك صور تصوره حتى وهو شيخ في وضعيات الملاكمين، وبقفازاتهم الثقيلة -، ومصارعة الثيران وهي نشاط اهتم به هينغواي كمتابع ولم يمارسه فيما أظن، على أي حال نعود إلى رحلة أفريقيا، ذهب هيمنغواي مع زوجته سنة 1952 م، وكان موسم صيد طيب استمتعا به، ولكنه انتهى بحادثي تحطم لطائرتين استقلهما همينغواي، الأول تسبب لهيمنغواي بإصابة في رأسه، بينما الثاني والذي كان رحلة إخلاء طبي يفترض أن تنقل هيمنغواي إلى أقرب مستشفى تسبب بحروق نتيجة اشتعال الطائرة حال الإقلاع، هذان الحادثان خلفا آلام بقيت مع هيمنغواي إلى اليوم الذي وضع فيه بندقية والده في فمه وقتل نفسه، ولكن هذا كان بعد تسع سنوات.

بعد سنتين من حادث أفريقيا حصل همينغواي على نوبل للآداب، عن سنوات من الكتابة التي تناولت موضوعاته الأثيرة، والتي كانت في أغلبها معبرة عن صراع الإنسان مع قوى مختلفة، فتارة يصارع رجال آخرين في حلبة الملاكمة، وتارة أخرى يصارع الثيران، أو وحوش البحر، كما كتب عن الحرب أيضا ً وهي مجموع لصراعات البشر، من واقع مشاركته في الحربين العالميتين، حيث أصيب في الأولى إصابة خطرة، كما عمل مراسلا ً خلال الحرب الأهلية الأسبانية، والتي كتب عنها روايته (لمن تقرع الأجراس؟).

هذه الرواية (لمن تقرع الأجراس؟) كانت أول ما قرأت لهيمنغواي، ذات صيف بعيد، في مرحلتي المتوسطة، كنت حينها قارئ نهم ولكن بإمكانيات متواضعة، قارئ لا يجد الكتب في المكتبات المحيطة التي يمكنه أن يصل إليها، فلذا كانت الكتب التي تقع بين يديه تكتسب بعدا ً أسطوريا ً وتقرأ مرارا ً، لم أكن ملم حينها بالحرب الأسبانية، ولكن هذا لم يمنعني من متابعة المتطوع الأمريكي الذي يصل إلى معسكر للجمهوريين في الجبال حيث تخاض حرب عصابات شرسة، مكلفا ً بمهمة نسف جسر هناك، والعلاقة التي تنشأ بينه وبين الفتاة الأسبانية ماريا، وهي ضحية من ضحايا ��لفاشيين، حتى النهاية الحزينة.

قرأت بعد ذلك مجموعات قصصية لهمينغواي، وروايتيه (الشمس تشرق أحيانا ً) و(وداعا ً للسلاح)، الغريب هو أن أهم وأشهر رواياته وهي (العجوز والبحر)، والتي عادة ً يستفتح بها أي قارئ لهيمنغواي تأخرت إلى هذا الوقت، رغم أنها متوافرة وشاهدتها مرارا ً، ولكني لم أحصل عليها، كانت لدي قناعة لا أدري من أين وصلت إلي، أن (الشيخ والبحر) رواية تأملات، العنوان خدعني حينها، شيخ وبحر !!! ما الذي يمكن أن يحدث بينهما؟ هذا جعلني أشيح عنها، وفي تلك الأيام لم يكن هناك انترنت، ولم تكن هناك وسائل أقرأ من خلالها مراجعات للكتب، أو أعرف نبذة عن المواضيع التي تتناولها، كنا كلنا في القراءة فراداى كجزر معزولة.

ما سيأتي قد يكشف شيء من أحداث الرواية:

موضوع رواية (العجوز والبحر) هو الصراع، أو بالأصح هو صمود الإنسان عندما يخوض صراعا ً، عندما يصمد إنسان رغم قسوة الصراع وطوله، حتى عندما يخسر في النهاية، لا يكون قد خسر كليا ً، إنها خسارة جزئية، إنها خسارة ومكسب، فقد صمد وتعودت روحه على التحمل والصبر، وانتظار اللحظة المواتية، لهذا الصراع اختار همينغواي بحارا ً عجوزا ً يدعى سنتياجو يعمل على مركب صغير على شواطئ هافانا، يعمل مع سنتياجو صبي صغير كمساعد، ولمرور فترة طويلة لم يصد فيها العجوز شيئا ً – أربعة وثمانون يوما ً -، يقرر أهل الصبي سحب ابنهم من هذا العجوز المنكود وإلحاقه بصياد آخر، يحزن هذا العجوز كما يحسن الصبي الذي نرى في الصفحات الأولى مدى بره واهتمامه بمعلمه، يخرج العجوز في اليوم الخامس والثمانون وهو يأمل في كسر النحس واصطياد شيء، لهذا يبحر أبعد من العادة ويلقي شباكه، حيث تعلق بها سمكة ما، في البداية لا يدري الصياد ما هي، ولكنه يأمل أن تكون سمكة مارلين ضخمة، والمارلين نوع من السمك الذي له ما يشبه المنقار أو الرمح الطويل، يصل طوله إلى الخمسة أمتار، ويزيد وزنه على النصف طن، هذه السمكة العملاقة تمثل تحديا ً حقيقيا ً للصياد، فحجمها وقوتها الكبيرة تجعلها تجذب المركب خلفها، وتحتاج من الصياد متابعة مستمرة بحيث لا تقطع الحبل، الأمر الآخر أن حجم السمكة وطولها تجعله غير قادر على جذبها، ليس لوحده، كما أن لو جذبها واستطاع قتلها كيف سيرفعها إلى داخل المركب؟ الأمر كله يبدو غير ممكن، ولكن العجوز لا يستسلم، يضع قوته في يديه، ويترك السمكة تسحبه ليومين، تصاب يده فلا يتوقف، بل يظل يذكر نفسه بقوة يديه عندما كان يتغلب على البحارة في تحديات قوة اليدين، كما يستعيد ذكرى لاعب بيسبول أمريكي مشهور، كان يلعب وهو مصاب في كعبه، لقد تحامل على آلامه وانتصر، والعجوز الذي يعشق البيسبول ويتابعها يتخذ هذا كمثال للصبر، ويقارن صبر هذا اللاعب العظيم به هو، وصبره على إصابة يده، كما يمني نفسه بالمبلغ الذي سيحصل عليه من بيع السمكة الكبيرة، في اليوم الثالث يفلح في جذب السمكة إلى الأعلى ثم يطعنها، ويربطها على جانب السفينة، ويفرد أشرعته عائدا ً إلى هافانا، ولكن الصراع لم ينتهي لازال على العجوز أن يبقى مستيقظا ً ليحمي غنيمته من القروش التي تبدأ هجومها وقد جذبتها رائحة الدم، يبدو المشهد أسطوريا ً، والعجوز يطعن القروش التي تقضم السمكة الجميلة، تشوهها، يفقد العجوز الرمح، فيرتجل آخر، من مجذاف وسكين، ويواصل صراعه، وتواصل القروش هجومها، عندما يصل العجوز أخيرا ً إلى الشاطئ تكون سمكته قد فقدت لحمها، وصارت هيكلا ً عظميا ً لا يظهر منه إلى الرأس والذيل، يذهب العجوز إلى مسكنه، هل خسر الصراع؟ ثلاثة أيام من الجهد وما عاد به ليس إلا هيكلا ً عظميا ً؟ لا... فالصيادين يتجمعون حول مركبه يقيسون طول السمكة، حتى السياح يهتمون بهذا الهيكل المعلق إلى المركب، والصبي يأتي لزيارة العجوز ويعد بأنه سيعود للإبحار معه، لازال يريد أن يتعلم منه.

من الأشياء التي تبرزها الرواية العلاقة الوجدانية بين العجوز والبحر، وبينه وبين السمكة التي يصطادها فهو يحترمها، ويخاطبها وهي تسحبه ورائها، بل حتى القروش التي تهاجمه وهو عائد يمتدحها، في لحظات معينة يتمنى العجوز "إنني الآن أود أن لو أن ذلك كان حلما ً، وأن السمكة لم تعلق بخطافي، وأنني كنت وحدي في فراشي" ولكنه يعود سريعا ً ليقول: "ولكن الرجل لم يخلق لكي يهزم، قد يتحطم الرجل ولكنه لا يهزم".

It is intimidating to offer a truly critical look at such a classic, so we will ease into it with a few images.

The GOP has offered us a ready-made item to begin this list, and yes, I know that John Stewart already snagged this one and threw it back.


I turned up a visual art concept that fits in, for a restaurant based on EH themes:

Although I did not sit for this photo, the resemblance is indeed striking

And, of course

The Old Man and the Cee Lo.

I suppose am certain there are plenty more images one might lure into our net, but sticking to words for a bit, we will pass on the porn offering, The Old Man and the Semen. How about the moving tale of a Navy Construction veteran, The Old Man and the Seabees, or an obstetrical episode of Grey's Anatomy, The Old Man and the C-Section. Then there might be a psychological drama about a man with bipolar disorder, The Old Man and the See Saw, or a book about an elderly acupuncturist, The Old Man and the Chi. How about a Disney adventure in which Paul Hogan rescues a pinniped, yes, gentle reader, The Old Man and the Seal. Maybe a bit of Cuban self-affirmation, The Old Man and the Si. I could go on, of course, and probably will, at home, until my wife threatens to leave. The possibilities are rather endless. But the Geneva Conventions might be brought into play, and we can’t have that. Tackling such a review head on seems, somehow, wrong, like using paint by number to copy the Mona Lisa, carving the Pieta out of gigantic blocks of cheddar, writing a love poem for your beloved using MadLibs or  Yes, the forces of righteousness sanity wanted this one deep-sixed:

…checking for skid marks on Ghandi’s dhoti. Ok, 12-year-old inner me is all giggly now. At some point, though, I guess you have to, you know, fish or cut bait.

I struggled mightily with this one, finding a hook, then having it pull away, grabbing hold of an idea and watching it disappear beneath waves of uncertainty. I tried waiting a while, resting between attempts, losing myself in other contemplations. Smiling a bit, but always hoping for something I could finally yank aboard. Notions of religious connections, Papa’s personal philosophy, and story-telling technique all pulled in diverse directions. As you will see, it was a not a simple contest. And I am not certain that what I ultimately caught is all that filling.

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.

So opens The Old Man and the Sea, the book, we hear tell, that convinced the Nobel committee to reel in EGH with the biggest literary hook of them all. Santiago is an old, unlucky, but skilled Cuban fisherman. He has an able assistant, the young Manolin. The lad is not a blood relation, but he sees a father figure in the old man, and he may be a younger reflection of the old man himself. Maybe Santiago sees himself in the young man and takes some strength from that. Like the best sort of father, he teaches the boy to fish rather than fishing for him. But Santiago’s ill fortune has marked him as someone to be avoided and Manolin’s parents have put the kibosh on their professional association. The old man is determined to salvage his reputation, and his honor, and bring in some money by going farther out than the other fishermen are willing to sail, in search of redemption. No herald calls him to action. No dramatic event sparks him to excessive risk. It is an internal challenge that powers his engines. But it is a quest nonetheless on which Santiago embarks.

Any time there are fish involved, one might presume a degree of soul saving. I do not know enough Hemingway to have a take on whether or not that figured here. I raise it only as a passing thought. But the second sentence of the book offers a hint. “In the first forty days…”clearly places Santiago’s travails alongside another person who spent forty days in a different barren environment. It was after being baptized that Jesus spent his time in the desert, preparing for what awaited. Is Santiago to be tested here? Will he be offered a route away from his difficult path?

The waters are becalmed. Nothing moves. A moment, then, for a digression. OK, let’s try some simple arithmetic, if Jesus, at age 30, spent 40 days in the desert, and Santiago has gone 84 days in his version of the desert, just how old is the old man? 63, according to my calculations. Possible. I do not recall seeing an actual age noted, so I am gonna go with that. I know you guys will let me know if an actual age is revealed somewhere and my squinty geezer eyes missed it. Done. I can feel a slight breeze beginning to flutter the sail.

Some sort of religion seems to flow through this fish tale. Not only are we sprinkled with forty-day references, but Santiago discusses sin. In his struggles he suffers physical damage in which some might see an echo of Calvary. But I think that is a stretch, personally. So, we have a bit of religion, and a quest. What is Santiago questing for? Redemption would fit in nicely. Having failed for a long time, he feels a need to redeem himself in the eyes of his community. Maybe not a religious thing, per se, but swimming in the same waters. And speaking of religion, water as a baptismal element is always a possibility, although somewhat diluted here, as Santiago makes his living on the water.

The old man is strong, skilled and determined. Maybe it is his character that is at issue. Maybe somehow, taking on this challenge is a way to prove to himself that he is truly a man. He goes about his business, and his fishing is his fate, maybe even his life. It is in how he handles himself when faced with this challenge that will show us the sort of person he is, a common Hemingway theme, and he does just that.

This is a very short novel, more, maybe, a novella or large short story. But it has the feel of a parable. There is definitely something going on here even if it keeps slipping out of my analytical net.

I was reminded of another well-known fish story, Moby Dick (really, allow a little literary license here people. Yes I know the whale is not a fish. Geez.). Whereas in that one, the fisherman, Ahab, sets himself against the whale, and therefore either fate or god, seeing a personal enemy, Santiago sees the fish as his brother, a fellow creature in the universe acting out his part. The challenge is always about oneself and not about the external enemy, or rival. In fact, the fish and Santiago are both victimized, together, by the sharks that feast on his catch.

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 thought. But are they worthy to eat him? No, of course not. There is not one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity.

One might be forgiven for seeing here a possible reference to catholic communion and the relative merit of so many of those who receive. Is the fish (a Christian symbol if there ever was one) meant to be Jesus or some other form of deity, as Moby was?

Could it be that Hemingway’s notion of religion is less Christian and more a sort of materialist (as in non-spiritual, not as in accumulating stuff) philosophy? Lacking the proper tackle for that I will leave such considerations to those who have spent more time than I trolling Hemingway’s waters.

The writing is mostly either third-person description or the old man’s internal, and sometimes spoken, dialogue. Regardless of the literary ambitions splashing about here, the story is about a very sympathetic character. Santiago is a man not only of physical strength, but moral character. He is not portrayed as a saint, but as a simple man, maybe even, in a way, an ideal man in his simplicity. He knows his place in the world, faces the challenges that world presents to him and using only his skill, intelligence, strength and determination, overcomes (or not). It is easy to climb on board as a Santiago supporter. He is a fellow who is very much a part of the world, even as he contemplates larger things.

The Old Man and the Sea is a small story, but it is a whale of a tale. If you have not fished these waters before, don’t let this be one of those that got away.

WB32


==============================UPDATES

1/5/13 - Jeffrey Keeten sent along this amazing link. Gary Wyatt had shared it with him. It will definitely make you smile

6/20/13 - I discovered that one of the images I used had vanished into the ether, so I substituted another

9/4/2019 - I just came across a really wonderful piece about Hemingway, this book in particular, by Joe Fassler, in The Atlantic - The Hemingway Scene That Shows How Humanity Works, in which he interviews novelist Téa Obreht about the unexpected lions in this book - Great stuff. Check it out.