The Old Man and the Sea

1. By Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea

2. Journal • Imagine that you were stranded on an 8’ boat. What/who would you bring along with you (think necessities and entertainment). Explain.

3. Life • Born 1899 in IL, living a fairly typical childhood • Served in WWI as an ambulance driver, wounded several times • Lived as an expat in Paris becoming part of a literary movement known as “The Lost Generation,” a group of young modernist literary figures—including Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald • Served as a war correspondent in the Spanish Civil War • An existentialist, believed that life is meaningless, so carpe diem and eat, “drink and be merry” were mottos he lived by • Insatiable thirst for adventure, the four great activities of man: boxing, bull-fighting, deep-sea fishing, and big game hunting • Married four times, lived in many places: Cuba, Florida, Idaho; traveled often     • Died in 1961 by suicide.

4. Work • Wrote novels and short stories, largely based on his own experiences, though not intentionally biographical   • Known for a sparse, understated style [think iceberg] • Prominent themes in his work included existentialist ideas, loneliness, man vs. nature, man giving up faith/hope   • “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.”

5. Legacy • The Old Man and the Sea firmly cemented his literary career and was highly acclaimed • He won the Pulitzer in 1952, Nobel Prize for Lit in 1954 • Established a new style in his sparseness that helped to further the Modernist lit movement—widely imitated, but none as well  

6. Literary Elements • Setting • A Cuban fishing village, probably sometime in the early 1900s • The sea • The skiff • Takes place over the course of 5 days and nights at sea • Based on an actual story told to Hemingway by a Cuban fishing buddy, first thoughts on this appeared in The Atlantic in 1936

7. Literary Elements • Characters • Santiago • Manolin • The Marlin • Villagers

8. Literary Elements • Plot • Suffering from 84 days of futile fishing, Santiago sets out in his skiff to catch a big fish • Hooks the marlin, pulled out to sea at the expense of his hands and back • Kills the marlin by stabbing the harpoon into his heart, straps to the boat and sets sail • Tries to defend the marlin against the attacking sharks, futile • Arrives back in the village broken and weary with the skeleton still tied to the boat

9. Literary Elements • Conflict • Man vs. Self: Santiago must wrestle with his own judgment as he decides to pursue, kill, and defend the fish; evidenced clearly in his frequent talks with himself • Man vs. God: Believes he can reason with God—tries to make deals and promises to land the fish and survive • Man vs. Nature: Santiago must survive in the elements of a cruel and despairing world; nature shows no mercy as he barely survives; shows the fragility and futility of humanity—one of Hemingway’s deepest beliefs  

10. Literary Elements • Point of View • Third person omniscient

11. Literary Elements • Themes • Honor in defeat • Nature (the world) is a harsh and inhospitable place • Everything good comes to an end

12. Literary Elements • Imagery • Descriptions of the ocean—at once a beautiful and horrific place, never friendly to Santiago • The fish—a beautiful and awesome prize never to be truly attained • Santiago—an old weathered man, sometimes seen as an extension of his boat, Christ-like imagery of prayer, stigmata, and carrying the cross-beam elude to sacrifice and glory

13. Literary Elements • Symbolism • The sea: a symbol of the harshness of the world • Lions on the beach: a symbol of how nature might be in glory, a symbol linked to Santiago’s aging and passing • Marlin: his opponent, his conquest, his friend, unattainable and irresistible  

14. Literary Elements • Irony • Once Santiago achieves his prize, it is taken from him • In the end, the villagers recognize him as a hero for the fish, but he never truly takes that mantle • The relationship with the Marlin: so many contradictory roles

15. Journal—Period C • What is the direst experience you have encountered in nature? Describe with vivid detail.

16. Symbols in The Old Man and the Sea • Directions: Create an explanation for the symbols listed below. Find and copy at least two quotes to back up your explanation and be sure to cover multiple aspects of the symbols. Be prepared to discuss your answers! • Group 1: THE SEA • Group 2: LIONS ON THE BEACH • Group 3: FISH AS FOE • Group 4: FISH AS FRIEND

17. Your Homework…Block 6 • Think ahead to your in-class essay for this Friday. We will work on developing an outline for your essay in class on Wednesday, but you can begin identifying quotes to integrate into your essay over the next few days! • PROMPT: Choose either Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Old Man and the Sea and analyze the novel for the theme of The American Dream. • This should be an organized, thoughtful, multi-paragraph essay. Focus on ANALYSIS, not plot summary. Use examples and quotes from the novel to support your analysis. • Bring your summer reading books to every class this week! • Journals will be collected on Friday! Make sure you bring them to class!

18. Your Homework…Period C • Think ahead to your in-class essay for this Friday. We will work on developing an outline for your essay in class Wednesday, but you can begin identifying quotes to integrate into your essay over the next few days! • PROMPT: Choose either Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Old Man and the Sea and analyze the novel for the theme of The American Dream. • This should be an organized, thoughtful, multi-paragraph essay. Focus on ANALYSIS, not plot summary. Use examples and quotes from the novel to support your analysis. • Bring your summer reading books to every class this week! • Journals will be turned in on Friday! Make sure you bring then to class!