Death, Swimming, FlyFishing

Dear, Hemmingway

You gave us the some of the most vivid novels and short stories ever. Your writing style has influenced the writing of a number of famous authors. There are no unnecessary words which give you the image that you wanted us to have yet let it gives the reader a chance to draw there own image. By using that style you can read a good speed and understand and see everything. I look at your life and see worthless drunk. Most of what you have written is about your unhappy life. You tell us in the war you got a metal for being an America being injured in the war but still thought you were just as worthy as the other wounded soldiers in the war how did something you didn’t have the guts to do. Then you try to be friends with someone how was injured on the first day on the battle field and doesn’t get a metal but deserves it more then you. You also tell that you drink to make your self the same as all the others and take away the pain and shame. Then you committed suicide. You could have so much to change your life around but you found the easy ay out. The way out that has no way out. If you could have found a more permanent solution but that involved living you could have become an even greater writer.  Even though you found suicide as the only solution you are still remembered by millions which is what you probably wanted.     

The American Man is a person how dose what he wants but may not always like what he dose, he shows kindness and compaction for everyone, and doesn’t complain about what his life is like. He my not care how people see or treat him but he never treats them any differently. He takes no help and/or money from anybody. He may be a rancher or farmer, an old time carpenter, or a blacksmith but I see him working alone and living alone. He looks ruff my go weeks without a shower, he wears some sort of jeans it may be pants, overalls, or coveralls with a flannel plaid long sleeve shirt. He may live in the mountains or plains in a small town in Montana, Wyoming or the Dakotas. Has a dog most definitely, and goes to church on a regularly. The most important thing is that is him and the land. 

When the class finished the book there basically two reactions; wow that was dumb or wow.  The people that thought it was dumb opinions were; he just cut it off like he got bored with writing it, he stopped describing at the end like he had at the beginning, there wasn’t a conclusion, and/or the whole book was dumb and a waste of time. The others how thought it was a good book opinions were; it ended at a good time there wasn’t anything left to say, it was a meaningful or symbolic, it was thought provoking, and/or it gave you all the information you needed.

My thoughts were that it was a good book it was thought provoking, he just cut it off at the end but I don’t know if it needed a conclusion, he had seed all that was needed, he had caught the fish of his life, survived and now had to teach the boy. He didn’t really need to describe the end of the book because your mind did more for the image he was trying to give than his words ever could.

I feel that the book is more symbolic then anything. I see it giving a sense of encouragement in that he never gave up, he may have lost some of the force that keeps him going but he’s to keep on going. This book has shown that everyone should be more like the old man. In the end everyone showed him there remorse and sympathy when he returned for the way they treated him in the past. 

These are questions that the class had concerning the book.

Why does the old man keep contradicting himself? I think the reason he contradicting him self is that he cant talk to anyone for advice so he talks to himself. it gives him away to think of different solutions to a problem he encounters.

Why does he wish he’d never caught the fish? By catching the fish and the sharks eaten it he has insulted the fishes honor. Since the sharks have eaten the fish he thinks of him self of less of a man because he has killed such a great fish which deserve respect.

Why did he not bring some way to drain or blot up the blood? The reason why he doesn’t blot up the blood is that he hasn’t caught a fish this size before so he would normally put the fish in the boat. 

Why is he obsessed with bone spurs? I don’t think that he is obsessed about the bone spurs he just wants to know if he has the same pains as ”The great DiMaggio.” if the knows the pain of DiMaggio and compare it to him self he can tell if he is as strong as him. 

What is the boy to him? The boy is what gives the old man strength and courage to carry on, he always knows that the boy is going to care for him when no one ells will, so if it weren’t for the boy he probably wouldn’t have mad it. I think the only reason he didn’t die at sea is that he new the boy still needed him.

Why does he feel that killing the shark might be a sin? I think because the sharks are just being sharks. So it would be like the sharks killing him for fishing, the sharks are just making a living not doing anything wrong.

The old man and the fish are the  greatest symbols in the book. I think the biggest symbol in the book is the old man talking and contradicting himself but also the boy. It shows that the old man is truly alone on the sea.

He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by him self in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes… He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left… But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one to annoy…

It also shows that the old man isn’t crazy, he only talks to him self to break the silence. I think that when the old man talks and contradicts himself it keeps him form going crazy. It gives a symbol of the sanity of the old man and his determination.

The old mans 48 days of no fish has ended. This section shows the out look and philosophy the old man has on fishing. He’s gone almost two days fighting this fish with no food and little water. It shows that he is a true fisherman because hardly anyone would fight for 6 hours and he has gone on for over 12 hours.

His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.

This passage tells the values of the old man, in how he would have the fight no other way and that he goes too any length to do what has to be done. He tells how there is a connection of why the fish is out in the deep ocean and not by shore. He is not one to follow the crowd, he takes chances.  

Within the beginning of the Old Man and the Sea it shows an old man that has had a very hard life and isn’t getting any better. There is a young boy that helps the old man with his chores and get through every day, the boy loves the old man as if he was his grandfather and seems like he would do anything for him. It describes every detail of the old man so you can get a mental image of him.

The old man knew he was going out far and he left the smell of land behind….

This was my favorite quote because he knows what he is doing and yet it seems to me that he may no come back or not want to. He may just want to go out and catch his last fish for his own satisfaction. He knows he has to come back for the boy though.