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.
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