The Young Man and the Sea

I always read all of the books on the Rebecca Caudill list when I was in middle school, As I was reading The Old Man and the Sea it felt like I had read a story like that before. I was thinking about it and I realized that in middle school there was a book called The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick on the Rebecca Caudill list. The only thing that I remembered from reading it so long ago was the boy in the story was fishing by himself and almost died. Those two facts led my to do some research to see if that book was just a knock off of Hemingway's novel. Apparently it was, although the author says it was just a "homage" (Rockman par 3) to The Old Man and the Sea.

The themes of Hemingway's book are reusable (epic hero-ish characteristics, and the bond between old man and young boy) as Philbrick's book shows. That also shows how timeless and classic The Old Man and the Sea is when it is rewritten into a new book with different characters, but the same basic plot and similar title. If a book can spawn knockoffs then the book has to have been successful. A knockoff book means that someone took the time to get really into a novel and change it enough to make it their own.

In short this post was a slight ramble about knockoffs and the fact that people run out of original material and have to redo older novels. Very few knockoffs are better than the original, but then again the original is the first and always the best. If I read The Old Man and the Sea in middle school instead of The Young Man and the Sea I wouldn't have remembered it years later. The Young Man and the Sea was a nice preview and introduction that was engaging to kids, but it was no substitute for the real thing.

 Rockman, Connie. "The Young Man and the Sea Discussion Guide." Scholastic Teaching Resources. Scholastic. Web. 04 July 2011.

The Old Man and the Sea #8

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway reflects the events in history fairly accurately for this time period. Santiago lives on the coast of Cuba, and works as a fisherman. Fishing was a popular career choice if you lived that close to the sea during that time period. The old man and the young by, Santiago and Manolin, have a god relationship. They are as close as a father son relationship, but are mentor and apprentice. Like any apprenticing of this time, the boy's parents allow him to work and fish with the old man whenever he goes out to sea. After so many days without catching a fish, the boy's parents tell him he cannot fish with the old man anymore. They want him to be able to have a career with a good profit so he can help them with their costs. I understand where they are coming from because fishing is such an unreliable job, and they want the boy to become successful.

the old man and the young boy have a close father son relationship after working together so closely. When the old man goes out to sea by himself, the boy goes by his house every night and checks to see if the old man has returned, and to make sure everything is still okay there. When the old man finally comes back the boy was so worried and decided he will now fish with the old man no matter what his family thinks. while the old man was out on the ocean alone, he kept thinking, "I wish I had the boy" (Hemingway 45). The old man realizes how much better it is to have the boy with him then it is to be by himself all of the time. Hemingway loves fishing and wrote this novel because of this. the author might have also known and old man like Santiago, and modeled that character after him.

 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #7

The author, Ernest Hemingway, uses many uses of symbolism to keep his readers interested. the old man dreams several times of lions in the novel. In the beginning of the novel he dreams of the lions playing on the beach in Africa. The old man imagines this because it reminds of him of an innocent time in his childhood. he dreams of lions again in the middle of his battle with the marlin, and his dreaming closes the novel also. His dreaming happens at several low points in the novel, after an eighty-four dry dry fishing spell, cutting his hand, struggling to catch the marlin, and losing the marlin. You would think the dream was a bad omen, but it happens after the bad times happen, not before. After he dreams, a good thing always happens to him. Santiago hooks the large marlin, he catches the marlin, and he is reunited with the young boy again. His dreams of the happiness he had as a child, bring happiness to his life in the present.

Another symbol the author uses is comparing the old man to Christ. The old man's journey of loss and then redemption is very similar to Christ's crucifixion. The author does this to make the reader really believe in the severity of the suffering the old man goes through with the marlin. Several images the author creates of the old man a strikingly similar to that of Christ: cutting his hands on the fishing line and carrying his mast away from his boat.

One last image of symbolism the author uses is Santiago's legacy living on through the young boy, Manolin. After the man loses his fish he goes back to the young boy defeated. The young boy says he will fish with the old man again. "What will your family say?" "I do not care." (Hemingway 125). This shows how you can pass your life on through someone or something else even after death. Santiago will teach Manolin all he knows about fishing. By doing this, Santiago has given his knowledge a new life.

 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #6

We still read the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway for many reasons. the first one is that it is a great story. The old man, Santiago, goes out to sea after an eighty-four day dry spell without a fish and then goes on an incredible journey to catch the greatest fish of his life. This story is so unlike the other stories that were written in this time period, and even now many years later, it is no wonder that people are still reading the novel.
The old man teaches the readers a great lesson to remember: Never give up, even when what you are doing seems impossible. The old man never gives up once on his journey, even when he finds out how difficult it will be to hook this fish by himself given it's size and strength. the old man suffers from hunger, a cut in his hand, and a terrible cramped hand. The old man knows he is struggling and having a hard time but he believes he will catch this fish. "I am not religious," he said. "But I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys that I should catch this fish-" (Hemingway 64-65). This shows the readers to keep trying even when it seems like something will not work out.

The old man teaches a good lesson, but the entire novel teaches an even greater one, and that is why we still read it. The old ,am loses his fish and becomes, it seems, years older and more fragile. But a good thing comes out of this situation. The boy will gain all of the knowledge of fishing from the old man, and the old man's legacy will live on. Turning a bad situation into a good one is a hard thing to master. The Old Man and the Sea is still read today because of it's timeless messages and great, well developed characters.

 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #5

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was published in 1952. There are no real clues in the story about when it actually takes place, so I assume it just takes place around the publication date. The setting of the book is around the coast of Cuba and the surrounding sea. The old man's job is purely being a fisherman which seems likely given the setting and the time period. Because fishing can be so random with the catches they get, it makes sense that the old man is poor. The old man is a great fisherman and has many years of catching fish under his belt. The boy was becoming an apprentice of some sorts to the old man before he hit his eighty four day dry spell. The boy fished in vain with the old man for around half of the time before his parents made him stop. The boy's parents probably wanted the boy to have a better master or have chosen another career choice. Fishing could have been a very popular career choice or hobby of you lived by the coast, or just enjoyed the sport. Hemingway loved to fish and that is why he wrote the novel.

This novel is very symbolic with a great hero. This novel almost seems like a modern epic hero tale. Santiago has all of the characteristics of an epic hero from the past like bravery, an incredible journey he must go on, and a fatal flaw. The novel is about an old man beating the odds and catching an amazing fish, but because of his pride, he loses the marlin by chasing him too far out in the ocean. He realizes that he was the cause of the fishes and his destruction, but he forgives himself. This is why the novel is so popular, the hero goes through this incredible journey but does not catch the fish. "They beat me, Manolin," he said. "They truly beat me." (Hemingway 124). Because of this the fisherman passes his knowledge of fishing to the boy to live on.

 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #4

The hero of the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, is obviously the main and title character, the old man, Santiago. He is a old man who has been fishing for his entire life. Santiago is a minimalist, and lives by himself. The old man was a loner after his wife dies, but has recently taken the company of a young boy that he is now teaching how to fish. The author represents the old man as an ideal human. The old man has lived his life fully, he is brave, and he has an incredible will and determination. With any hero type character he has a fatal flaw: pride. Santiago makes a huge mistake because of his pride, fishing too far out into the ocean, but unlike most characters, he realizes his mistake and comes to term with the consequences of his decision. He turns his mistake into a good thing by teaching the boy all of his knowledge of fishing. Throughout the old man's epic journey on the sea, he learns many lessons. After being alone for so many years, the old man realizes that the company in the form of the young boy really makes a difference. "I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this." (Hemingway 48). By the end of the novel the old man realizes that in order to have his life's work live on, he much teach the boy everything he knows.

 The old man could also represent an abstract idea of Christ. After the old man is ashore most of the things that he does, makes you think of the crucifixion of Christ. Carrying the mast, and the way he sleeps are too examples. Hemingway relates the old man to Christ to show the idea of you can gain something even with the worst situation. The old man loses his prize fish, but the young boy will never do anything like that.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #3

One universal theme that the book address' is a man's pride. The old man chases the marlin far out into the ocean because catching this fish would mean that the other fishermen would like and respect him again, and if he would have caught a fish that huge, that far out in the ocean, it would solidify his skills as a great fisherman. The old man has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. This can heavily wound a fisherman's pride. When the old man goes to sea and sees this opportunity to gain back all of his respect as a fisherman he takes a chance and follows the marlin very far into the ocean. After a few days of sailing, the old man realizes that his pride will be the end of the marlin and possibly himself. Since he went out so far, sharks attacked his fish after he had caught the marlin. The marlin bled out into the ocean attracting more sharks and eventually the marlin was only a skeleton. The old man acknowledges that his pride was his and the fishes undoing, "I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish," he said. "Neither for you nor for me. I'm sorry, fish." (Hemingway 110).

Another universal theme the book address is the relationship between mentor and apprentice. The old man was teaching the boy about fishing before he hit his dry spell and the boy was not allowed to fish with him anymore. After the old man returns from his adventure, the boy realizes that he wants to spend more time with the old man before he is gone. The old man will teach the boy everything he knows from his many years of fishing and the mistakes he made on this past trip. The boy will learn to not make the same mistakes as the old man has made in his life. The boy will carry on the old man's legacy through his fishing.


Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea #2

In the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, the conflict is simple: An old man, Santiago, goes to sea and attempts to catch the greatest fish of his life. Although the old man makes a great attempt, he unfortunately does not end up catching the fish. Although the conflict seems to be a very simple one, lots of small and large events affected the final outcome and the rest of the old man's life. The old man has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, so the boy has not been allowed to fish with him. The boy's parents do not think fishing with the old man is good for the boy to be spending all of his time. If the boy did continue to go fishing with the old man, many bad events could have been avoided on the fishing trip. A gain of the conflict would be the strengthening of the young boy and the old man's relationship. The boy missed the old man when he was gone for so long, and when Santiago got back the boy helped care for him. The boy says he does not care what his family says anymore. "Now we fish together again." (Hemingway 125). The old man will now be able to pass along all of his vast knowledge of the sea to the boy.

One major loss of the conflict is obviously the fish. The old man chases this fish way farther into the ocean than he would have liked. When a shark attacks and takes a chunk out of the marlin that far into the ocean, there is no hope for the fish to last until they get back to shore. Plagued by many more sharks attacks on the way back the home, the old man realizes that it was not worth it to him or the fish to go that far out to catch the marlin. Th old man wanted to catch this fish purely for his own pride and to show the other fishermen that he is not a joke.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea #1

The novel, The Old Man and the Sea, shows may of the ideas that Ernest Hemingway had about life in general. One obvious one, is that Hemingway loved to fish. The entire novel is about Santiago's experiences before, during, and after catching the greatest fish of his life. The author models the old man after an almost ideal idea of a human. Santiago is a smart, gentle old man, with many great experiences from his long prosperous life. The only downside to the old man's character is his pride. His pride about being able to catch the marlin because he believes that he is a good fisherman makes him go way to far into the ocean to be be able to return safely, and because of this his marlin ends up being eaten by sharks. After the first shark attack, the old man acknowledges that he is now doomed because of his pride. This is rare for a character to actually do in a novel. Through this Hemingway can show that he thinks forgiveness is a vital human trait. The author shows the character realizing his mistake, in the old man's case: too much pride, and forgiving himself and coming to terms with the consequences of his actions. "'I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish,' he said. 'Neither for you nor for me.'" (Hemingway 110).

The novel is written in a third person limited narrative mainly with the old man, Santiago. You are also able to tell what the boy, Manolin, is thinking and doing in the very beginning and the end of the novel. This writing perspective is a good way to be able to see all that goes around the old man while he is fishing and being able to see what he is thinking. As his trip progresses, he mentions that he has been beginning to talk to himself when he is alone fishing. As the old man gets tired and worn out, it gets harder to tell what the old man is thinking and what he is actually saying out loud.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea: Morals

In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, the old man, Santiago is a man full of good morals. One you can see very plainly in the beginning of the novel. The old man seems to be quite poor, and he lives with very few belongings but I believe that even if Santiago was one of the very successful fisherman, he would still not have many possessions. The old man is a minimalist in a good way. He lives his life out on the sea for the most part, which makes his life fulfilled. He does not need to fill his life with material objects that do not mean anything personal to him. He also does not care that all the other fishermen make fun of him for being so old, and for not having caught a fish is so many days. Santiago only needs the company of Manolin, a young boy that he has taught to fish, to be satisfied. It is mentioned in the beginning of the novel that Santiago had a wife who must have died, "'Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him to lonely to see it.'" (Hemingway 16).

The largest moral the old man has is about killing the fish. He says many times throughout the course of the novel when he has hooked the marlin, how worthy of an opponent the marlin is to him. The old man seems to consider these fish to be his equals, which makes it hard to kill them. After the old man has killed the marlin he thinks to himself, "You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?" (Hemingway 105). This quote is very meaningful because it shows the confusion someone can have about killing or destroying something they love. This quote can be applied to many things not just a life, like it applies to the old man.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea: The End part 2

I have just finished the novel and I have mixed emotions about it. On one hand I was sad and disappointed when the old man had his fish completely eaten by sharks. The old man sees very defeated at the end and it seems like he will never fish to that extent again. On the other hand I was glad that the boy and the old man were reunited again. The boy was so worried about Santiago he even mentioned how the coast guard was out searching for the old man with their planes. The boy cares so much, he was checking every morning the old man was gone to see if he had come back home yet. When Santiago was sleeping the boy even sat next to him and waited until he woke up. one good thing that comes out of the old man losing the fish is that now he will probably spend all of the rest of the time he fishes with the boy. Manolin, the boy, says that he does not care what his family says and he will fish with the old man every day. Santiago is going to pass along all of his knowledge about his many years of fishing to the boy. He will tell Manolin all about his experiences on this adventure so the boy will not ever make those same mistakes.

I find it very ironic that the tourists at the party on the Terrance say that they think that the skeleton of the fish is one of a shark because of the fact that sharks were the cause of the fish's destruction. "'I didn't know sharks had such a handsome, beautifully formed tails."' (Hemingway 127). It is also very bittersweet that the old man was dreaming of at the end of the novel, and also as he seems to be nearing the end of his life. He was dreaming of the lions in Africa that he saw when he was a child. This shows how at peace the old man is finally.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea: The End part 1

As I near the end of the novel, I still continue to be amazed by the old man. His pure optimism about catching the fish and then getting the fish back to shore is inspiring. I am still shocked about how much I like the novel. Even though I have not finished the novel quite yet, I would consider putting this into my top five list of classic novels that I have read over the years. But back to the old man, even after a shark attacks the fish that he caught he maintains a positive attitude. "'Think about something cheerful, old man,' he said. 'Every minute now you are closer to home. You sail lighter for the loss of forty pounds.'" (Hemingway 104).

The old man has not slept more than a few hours in the last three days when he has been at sea, or even eaten more than a little bit of raw dolphin and flying fish, yet he still fishes on. The old man has such a respect for the fish that he catches it's incredible.When the fish is circling the boat and the old man is about to catch him he states, "'Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.'" (Hemingway 92). The old man means that after this long honorable fight, even if the fish gets the best of him, he will be okay with it. I hope that the old man ends up catching the fish. I will be pretty upset if he does not catch that fish after all that he has been through. I also hope that the boy comes back into the story. I mentioned before how much I like the old man and the boy's conversations and I would like to see how the boy reacts to seeing the giant fish.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea: The Middle

As I continued reading The Old Man and the Sea, I expected it to become boring because all the old man was doing was fishing. But again, the book surprised me and kept me interested. The way Santiago goes about fishing and just life in general is very inspiring. Santiago is very optimistic about everything that is thrown in his way. In the beginning he never lost hope, even after having an eighty-four day dry spell for fishing. Santiago even has a positive attitude about his hand cramping. "It will uncramp though, he thought. Surely it will uncramp to help my right hand" (Hemingway 64). He has to force himself to eat some fish to get the strength for his hand.

I am really interested in if and when Santiago will catch this fish. I am also really curious what kind of fish he will catch. My theory is that it will be some kind of fictional fish the author made up because there is no way that there is a real fish that could accomplish those feats. Where I stopped off, page sixty four, Santiago notes the fish has slowed down and moved closer to the surface of the water. This probably means that Santiago will catch the fish very soon. I think that if the old man actually catches the fish he will have even more problems than he has now. If the fish is big enough to pull the old man's boat that it will not probably fit in his boat and it would be too heavy and sink it too. I wish that the boy was able to go on this fishing trip with Santiago. I know that this would defeat some of the purpose of the novel though. I like to read the interactions between the boy and the old man because they seem to care so much about each other. Their relationship reminds me of a close father and son relationship.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Pre-reading/Beginning

Before I started reading The Old Man and the Sea, I sort of leafed through it to figure out how I was going to blog about it. Then, I realized that there was no chapters, just a super long run-on paragraph type of book. This kind of worried me, but I decided I would just split it up into four different sections, the beginning, middle, and probably two different ones for the end. I am considering the beginning of the novel to last from the start of the novel and to go until around page forty-five, when Santiago goes out onto the sea and first sees a fish that he starts trying to catch.

I started reading this book when I was on my break from work, and an old lady came up to me and asked what I thought of Hemingway. I told her I had just started it, and she said it was not one of her favorites. After this conversation I was thinking, "Great. This is going to be awful." But after I had started reading, I was pleasantly surprised. Just after reading a few pages of dialogue between the old man and the young boy, I can already tell the closeness of their relationship. You can tell how much the boy cares for the old man, Santiago but the way he asks about his meals and his other necessities, "'Keep warm old man,' the boy said. 'Remember we are in September.'" (Hemingway 18). The old man's unwavering hope about catching fish, even after an eighty-four day streak is inspiring. He will keep going out onto the water every day until he dies it seems, even if he never catches another fish again. The old man seems to be almost withering away. The boy comments on his eating habits, and other fisherman make fun of his old appearance. This does not seem to effect the old man, he just takes it in stride.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye: Holden and Phoebe

The relationship that Phoebe and Holden Caulfield share is a different kind of sibling bond. Throughout the novel, Holden is always alone and never really makes an effort to be with any other person until he goes back to his apartment to visit his kid sister, Phoebe. You can tell by the way Holden describes her that he really does love her. She seems to be the only living person he really cares about. The only other person that he seems to really care about is his younger brother Allie, who died several years earlier. Holden's love for his sister is the only thing that really keeps him grounded. Every time Holden seems really lost he will always mention wanting to either talk to or visit Phoebe. After these thoughts Holden always seems a little happier.

Phoebe seems to have this great admiration to her older brother. She does not really even question him for visiting her in the middle of the night when Holden is supposed to be at his boarding school, Pencey. The only times she questions him being home, is when she realizes that he was not supposed to be home before Wednesday, so he must have been kicked out (Salinger 165). Holden bought her this record as a present, but unfortunately it breaks during his travels around the city. When he tells Phoebe of the broken record, she does not care. She wants to save the pieces anyway because they are a present from her big brother.

Near the end of the novel, Holden decides to run away. He tells Phoebe to meet him one last time before he goes away, and she surprises him by bringing along a bag of her own belongings to go with him. Holden tells her that she cannot go with him and she refuses to speak to him from there. Holden has to promise that he is not going anywhere, that he will stay at home, in order for Phoebe to talk to him again.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye #8

The novel The Catcher in the Rye, does not have too much to do with the events of the time period, considering the events of the novel only take place over a four day period. You can tell parts of the tone of the era the novel was written, but that is as far as it goes. The author, J.D. Salinger, shows the relationships of the teenagers of the time period through Holden's descriptions. Holden describes the typical teenagers of the generation as "phony's". If they are too much like the generic teenager, smart, tall, built, then Holden almost automatically dislikes them. Holden also calls basically all of the adult's that he is around phony. The only people that Holden does not call phony at some point in the novel are, Jane Gallagher, his younger sister Phoebe, and his late younger brother Allie. Holden uses the term phony to apply to everyone when they do not do something, that Holden wants. If someone turns Holden down, it is just because there are phony, and so on like that.


The author had to have been influenced by his own actions when he was younger, or some people he had met. The character of Holden is so complex, it would be very hard to be able to interweave all of his feelings about life in general without someone to base the character upon. the author may have met a very sad or lonely person somewhere in his life and then dreamed up the character of Holden to continue that person's story. Throughout the book, Holden seems very alienated and far away from everyone until he meets up with Phoebe, and you see a softer more caring version of Holden with her, "The thing with kids is, if  they fall off, they fall if, but it's bad if you say anything to them" (Salinger 211). You really get a feel of how Holden's personality really is after this point.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

The Ctacher in the Rye #7

J.D. Salinger definitely uses the humor tone to keep reader interested in his novel. Holden's take on most of the people around him and the experiences that he goes through are very humorous. It is very strange how Holden can see so much humor in even the worst situations he is handed. "God, my old heart was damn near beating me out of the room. I wished I was dressed at least. It's terrible to be in your pajamas when something like that happens." (Salinger 101). Holden had recently given money to a strange man in an elevator to hire a prostitute. When the prostitute came to his door, Holden felt very uncomfortable and did not do anything with her. When the elevator man, Maurice came to collect his money, he asked for more then he originally told Holden. When Holden does not give him the money, Maurice becomes threatening. Holden is scared but tries to joke in his mind about the fact that he is still in his pajamas.

Another moment when Holden uses humor before he goes and meets a sort of friend from school, Carl Luce. Holden goes to the movies, but he seems to not be in the mood to enjoy them, so he let his mind wander. Holden bring up this old memory of him and his younger brother, Allie. They used to always want to be like the kettle drum player in the orchestra. Holden even mention that one time, Allie even tried to send a postcard to the drummer, but was insure of how to address it (Salinger 138).

Holden has mentioned in the book, that he lies all of the time, and it is brought up quite a few times. One time Holden is trying to get up to his apartment to visit his sister without his parents knowing. This whole scene his humorous from Holden lying to the doorman about a limp to go to his neighbors, to Holden trying to sneak past his parents room by bring as quiet as possible.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.