Old Man and the Sea

From ArticleWorld

The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by American author Ernest Hemingway and was published in 1952. Hemingway wrote it while living in Cuba. It was his last major work of fiction completed before his death in 1963The novella earned his critical acclaim as well as the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Original publication

“The Old Man and the Sea” was originally intended as part of a larger story but interest in the story encouraged Hemingway to publish it independently. In the September 1, 1952 edition of “Life” magazine, Hemingway published his story of a fisherman’s relationship with the sea. Early criticism was positive and in over 5 million copies of the magazine flew off shelves within the first two days of publication.

Summary

Santiago, an old fisherman has not caught a fish in 84 days. His unlucky streak has made him an outcast and he is determined to turn his luck around. On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago sets out to catch a fish. Confident he will again become a lucky fisherman, Santiago sets his bait into the water. By noon, a great marlin has taken the bait. It is too big for Santiago to pull it into his small boat so the marlin pulls him along for two days and two nights out into the ocean. Santiago is tired and hurt but has now gained respect for the great marlin he refers to as his “brother”. On the third day, Santiago sees the fish is tired and uses this to harpoon it and strap it to his boat. As Santiago heads home, his head is filled with thoughts of the riches the great fish will bring him. Unfortunately, a mako shark smells the blood of the fish and attacks. Santiago kills the shark with his harpoon but loses it in the water. During the trip home, Santiago kills seven sharks but many others have feasted on his catch and he is left with nothing but a giant carcass when he returns home. The fisherman reprimands himself for killing the marlin. Once home, he falls into a deep sleep. The next day, tourists mistake the carcass for that of a shark and speculation ensues. The man goes back to sleep after speaking with his helper, Manolin. They promise to find fish together and Santiago drifts back to sleep.