In Ernest Hemingway’s novella the old man and the sea, the main character is an old fisherman who hasn’t caught a fish (marlin) in 84 days. Santiago, the old man, tells his little fishing buddy Manolin that he will go very far out on his next journey. Santiago decides to go out alone rather than take Manolin with him like he usually does. Santiago uses old school fishing technics and a tiny skiff which might account for his recent failure. Santiago also chooses not to bring his own food but instead let the sea supply him. Not only was his idea not to bring food a bad one it could have been his downfall.
Santiago hooks the biggest fish of his career and finds himself in a three-day struggle with the mighty marlin. During which Santiago has no food. He rests when the fish is resting and is always scavenging for food. Santiago wishes "I wish a flying fish would come on board tonight."(66) just about every night he is on the water struggling with the fish. The weird thing is that Santiago talks to the fish as though it was his brother. Santiago knows that he must catch this fish yet he respects it and treats it almost as he would treat another human.
Santiago is no stranger to the sea. He knows how to survive and how to stay somewhat healthy. His understanding of the sea and its organisms are demonstrated in his words "with so much flying fish there should be a dolphin."(71). Sure enough before night fell a dolphin had hooked by the old man. The old man knew this was not only great because he can eat the dolphin but because of his knowledge of the sea he also knew there could easily be flying fish in the stomach. Santiago also knows that the great marlin must be getting tired because it has pulled for about 2 days strait now.
Santiago knows that when the marlin dies it may be easy prey for sharks and other predators. The old man realizes that if a substantial amount of blood is spilled into the water then sharks will undoubtedly come. After the first shark attack the old man sees the negitive and positive if getting his fish bitten. "Every minuet now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds."(104) The sharks do come again and eventually eat away all of Santiago’s fish. When he gets back to his home all the people see the skeleton and they respect the old man once again.
In an adventure or in life in general your survival depends on food. If you don’t have enough then your in trouble. I believe that if Santiago had brought enough food for at least 2 days then he would have got the fish home and eat it. Many other factors could have hlped santiago bring the fish home but I strongly believed that extra food from home would have done him some extreme good.
About Me
- Mr. B-G
- “Man lowers his head and lunges into civilization, forgetting the days of his infancy when he sought truth in a snowflake or a stick. Man forgets the wisdom of the child.” - Jack Kerouac (1922 - 1969)
8 comments:
This story's thesis is both clear and to the point. It is around one central idea and is consistent throughout the essay. It also entices the reader to continue reading to further explain the thesis. My favorite qoutation is the one found on page 71,"with so much flying fish there should be a dolphin." That is because that qoute supports and reinforces the main idea in his thesis and it also shows the vast knowledge of the sea that the old man possesses.
The essay is well organized and all the thoughts are clear and to the point. The words moved well through teh essay and the author showed good diction. The choice of quotations were also good because each one was relevant to the thesis. The only criticism I have is gramatical errors because through teh essay there was a lack of necessary commas. However, the ideas and points were excellent and it was a well-done essay.
This essay's thesis is very clear and easy to understand. It focuses on the main idea in the essay and doesn't go off on to other not as important things. It is very enticing and makes the reader want to keep on reading. My favorite quotation is on page 71,"with so much flying fish there should be a dolphin." I like this quote because it really supports the main idea in the story. I like the wording in this essay because it makes the essay easy to understand and it helps describe the conflict. This essay has a very nice conclusion which sums up the entire essay.Nice work!!!
The story's thesis statement was mainly clear and easy to understand. It grabs my attention and will also get other peoples attention. My faviorite quote in this essay was "Every minuet now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds."(104). This quote tells everything in the story and in my opinion I think its the best quote in the book.
I like how your essay is well organized and fulfilled with many accelerated word. And also good job on staying on the topic. The only thing is that you had little spelling and grammer error like what David said but anyways you did a good job.
I agree with all three of them, that your thesis is very clear and jumps out at you. Its great that your story revolves around it, and never loses sight of it. I liked the quote on page 104. It makes you feel bad for the old man because he lost so much of his fish. You did a good job of telling what happened, but not telling it so it is so boring. You made it more interesting to read than the story. The only thing that could be improved is that you could have made the ending paragraph a little more interesting, because I felt once you got to the ending it went downhill. But good story!
The essay seemed a little too blunt to be consideed "great," but it was decent. It seemed like you were realying more on telling us the plot instead of the actual struggles you witnessed. We've read the book, we want to know what you saw Santiago struggle through. The grammar was not the best I've ever seen, but I was always able to understand your meaning.
Jamey this story was well written but I have to agree with Pat. Its not your greatest. The storyline and thesis was very good but you did not support it very well. Although I liked your quotes and how they supported your thesis statement. All in all Jamey great story keep it up.
Jamey this story was well written but I have to agree with Pat. Its not your greatest. The storyline and thesis was very good but you did not support it very well. Although I liked your quotes and how they supported your thesis statement. All in all Jamey great story keep it up.
Jamie,
This story's thesis is both clear and to the point. It is around one central idea and is consistent throughout the essay. My favorite quote is ,"with so much flying fish there should be a dolphin.(97) That is because that quote supports and reinforces the main idea in his thesis .The essay is well organized and all the thoughts are clear and to the point. The choice of quotes were also good because each one was relevant to the thesis. The only criticism I have is grammatical errors because through the essay there was a lack of necessary commas.
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