Ernest Hemingway's the Old Man and the Sea

by Laurie E. Rozakis, Monarch Notes, Ernest Hemingway

Clear and to the point, Monarch Notes provide students and interested readers with an excellent supplement for the understanding and appreciation of the world's great writing. Each volume helps the reader to encounter the original more fully by placing it in historical context, focusing on the important aspects of the text and posing key questions.

Genres: Classics

47 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sahar Pirmoradian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book from Monarch Notes although I bought it by mistake - I thought it’s the original text not the analysis. It gives a summary of Hemingway’s life, critics snd praises around his writing style, particularly on “The old man and the sea”.

Hemingway’s life had a lot of tragedies. He almost exploded in World War I, survived a plane crash, and lost his dad, who committed suicide. His signature or « code » for creating a character was empowering him with will, pride, and endurance, as boldly observed in Santiago’s character, the protagonist in The Old Man and the Sea, whose will, pride, and endurance led him to go far out and catch the huge marlin. But the final outcome didn’t matter, as the struggle itself is more important than the success. In any case the death is the final outcome for all of us. This « code » springs from his disbelief in religion and the profound loneliness of human being in the universe. Each person should willingly take an initiative and create the actions leading to his purpose and endure the hardship. However, the outsiders in his stories, for example the tourists, who were ignorant about the old man’s achievement, do not make sense of the values of these codes.

The symbolic aspects are also discussed in this book. The forty days of not catching any fish, injuries in the old man’s back and hands, killing seven sharks, three days on the sea, and carrying mast by the old man were compared to incidents in Jesus life.

[Manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

It read in the beginning like a silly tale ... of an old man who is unlucky as a fisher...... - don't want to tell you more to not spoil the surprise - instead it resulted as a deep, thought-provoking reading.
Absolutely amazing.
I am glad of my choice.
It was obvious to me to read whatever by Hemingway after getting back from my vacation to Cuba, the island where the American writer established to live for few years, I am glad for my choice.
It is n0t probably his best novel, but I somehow had an idea of his writing style.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great allegory for life. Quick read.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this book twice. Once for pleasure and then again for college. To me it is a boring book that takes so long to get to the "good stuff" that I failed to ever finish it. And the ending was pretty interesting. Finally did my college paper via cliffnotes.

[Aziz Atitallah]

Well actually, you get bored, and you need patience when it's about the old man being patient. That is, I thing, something that Hemingway did on purpose, because at the end you feel a bit of what is patience.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed it. Only found the part about the representation of The Old Man and the Sea helpful.

[Elaine Darlington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given up on Hemmingway gets on my nerves, boring boring boring !