The Old Man and the Sea

 

(made by Maxwell)

    Dozens of miles out at sea, where the shores of Cuba have already disappeared over the horizon, there is nothing but salty ocean water as far as one can view. Yet as one looks closer, they can see that this lonely picture is teeming with life. Birds, fish, marlins, dolphins, and sharks, they are all living in this field of view, searching for food, or trying to avoid getting eaten themselves. In the middle of all the wildlife, is an old man, riding a skiff with a fishing rod, hoping desperately to hook something good after 84 days without a single fish caught. But on the 85th day, one massive marlin would give the old man a chance to break this unenviable streak. 

    The old man, and the events surrounding him, are all the making of Ernest Hemingway, in his brisk novella titled The Old Man and the Sea. Despite being only just over 120 pages long and using simplistic language, Hemingway's novella manages to create a complex main character and a unique atmosphere of loneliness that makes this a great read.

    

   In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway manages to forge an air of loneliness, which makes the book much more engaging to read, as it feels like it is only the old man and his thoughts that are relevant. For one, the only person who interacts with the old man is a boy that he mentors on how to fish. Hence, the only person the old man converses with is the boy and himself. The old man's isolation is compounded by his fishing trip, in which he sails away from all other human life, where the only things left in view are the old man himself, and the sea. This voluntary separation from the rest of society makes the book unique, as the old man is stuck with his thoughts, waiting until he finds a good time to sail back. 

    The pacing of the novella also makes it very fun to read, with large portions of the story being less action-packed, providing time for the old man's mind to wander. This gives us insight to his ideas, his plans, and most importantly, his obsessions on things outside of the present moment. The amount of time that it takes to catch a marlin gives us interludes where we can see what he is musing about, whether it is what his baseball player would do in his shoes, what he wish he had when he came into this fishing trip, or the marine wildlife around him. 

    There are many more reasons that The Old Man and the Sea is a good book, such as the old man's character, the way poverty affects the story, and the ambiance of the sea one can visualize while reading the story. However, what separates this book from the others is in fact the two main points listed above. These qualities make the book enjoyable to read while being able to tell an engaging story, and that is why I recommend that people read this book.