10:57 AM
Mr. B-G
The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, follows the adventures of a deep sea fisherman named Santiago. After traveling the sea with a marlin leading him for numerous days, the old man encounters numerous difficulties to overcome, and gradually throughout the tale, becomes worn down in a torment of his own determination. With the rising and the setting of four suns, Santiago is both physically and mentally destroyed by the elements of his journey.
As the old man begins his journey, in less than a day, he succeeds in hooking a marlin. Shortly thereafter, the strength of the fish challenges Santiago’s age as the old man encounters the simple beginning to physical fatigue that will burden him throughout his journey. When the marlin first begins to react to the line, Santiago states, “‘You’re feeling it now, fish…And so, God knows, am I’” (56). Within short time, the old man also finds his hand bleeding and tense: “…his hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust” (58). Though at the time, Santiago views these occurrences as simple troubles of his work, they soon reveal themselves to be fallen keystones of a healthy physical and mental state, the waking hours of his destruction.
Continuing to be pulled by the marlin, the old man comes to the realization that he is truly beginning to suffer at the toll of such a beast. The wear of pain holds with it, the decrease in mental state for him, despite his fear to admit it: “He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit to the suffering at all” (64). In all of his pain, Santiago struggles to accept the fact of his deterioration and due to weak mental state attempts to ignore the burdens. After talking to the fish, the old man claims he is feeling healthy, well-rested, and prepared. This is however, a lie: “He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and gone into a dullness that he mistrusted” (74). The story progresses, reflecting the theme of his determination to avoid defeat.
Santiago soon finds his journey coming to a closing, the marlin coming nearer and nearer to the surface. It is at this time he openly admits to himself: “You are killing me, fish…But you have a right to” (93). He summons all strength he has left and finally pulls in his beautiful 18 foot marlin, harnessing it to the side of his skiff to bring it home. Returning back to the harbour, the old man encounters and fights off a shark that mutilates his catch, taking over forty pounds of its entirety. It is at this point in the story, where all Santiago worked for, all he was, is destroyed. He finds himself physically and mentally weak, as well as the largest marlin he ever heard of, now hardly worth what he had hoped for. Wishing it was all a dream, he expresses his pain-filled words: “‘But a man is not made for defeat…A man can be destroyed but not defeated’” (103).
Throughout the story, Santiago gradually faces the wear of physical and mental pain, and in the end, watches all that he worked for, all that he endured and suffered for, get destroyed. The old man returns to his home alive, in peace, and with the knowledge that he had caught the largest marlin, defending it to the end. Though he and the marlin were destroyed to a minimum of existence, Santiago was far from defeat.
As the old man begins his journey, in less than a day, he succeeds in hooking a marlin. Shortly thereafter, the strength of the fish challenges Santiago’s age as the old man encounters the simple beginning to physical fatigue that will burden him throughout his journey. When the marlin first begins to react to the line, Santiago states, “‘You’re feeling it now, fish…And so, God knows, am I’” (56). Within short time, the old man also finds his hand bleeding and tense: “…his hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust” (58). Though at the time, Santiago views these occurrences as simple troubles of his work, they soon reveal themselves to be fallen keystones of a healthy physical and mental state, the waking hours of his destruction.
Continuing to be pulled by the marlin, the old man comes to the realization that he is truly beginning to suffer at the toll of such a beast. The wear of pain holds with it, the decrease in mental state for him, despite his fear to admit it: “He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit to the suffering at all” (64). In all of his pain, Santiago struggles to accept the fact of his deterioration and due to weak mental state attempts to ignore the burdens. After talking to the fish, the old man claims he is feeling healthy, well-rested, and prepared. This is however, a lie: “He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and gone into a dullness that he mistrusted” (74). The story progresses, reflecting the theme of his determination to avoid defeat.
Santiago soon finds his journey coming to a closing, the marlin coming nearer and nearer to the surface. It is at this time he openly admits to himself: “You are killing me, fish…But you have a right to” (93). He summons all strength he has left and finally pulls in his beautiful 18 foot marlin, harnessing it to the side of his skiff to bring it home. Returning back to the harbour, the old man encounters and fights off a shark that mutilates his catch, taking over forty pounds of its entirety. It is at this point in the story, where all Santiago worked for, all he was, is destroyed. He finds himself physically and mentally weak, as well as the largest marlin he ever heard of, now hardly worth what he had hoped for. Wishing it was all a dream, he expresses his pain-filled words: “‘But a man is not made for defeat…A man can be destroyed but not defeated’” (103).
Throughout the story, Santiago gradually faces the wear of physical and mental pain, and in the end, watches all that he worked for, all that he endured and suffered for, get destroyed. The old man returns to his home alive, in peace, and with the knowledge that he had caught the largest marlin, defending it to the end. Though he and the marlin were destroyed to a minimum of existence, Santiago was far from defeat.
5 comments:
Jack, Excellent essay, the thesis statement is well put together and is clear and to the point. In your essay my favorite quote is “You are killing me, fish…But you have a right to” this qoute is saying that if santiago has the right to kill the marlin, then the marlin has a right to kill him.
One thing I like about your essay is that there is a wide variety of vocabulary. I dont know of anything that you could improve on the essay is very good.
Jack, you have an acceptionally good essay. It is put together well, flows well, and concludes well. Yout thesis is very clear and focused. It is consistent not only in the opening paragraph but through the story. It is very enticing and attention grabbing. You have a variety of good quotes at your disposal. My favorite is the one found on page 93,"You are killing me, fish…But you have a right to”. That is because it goes well with your thesis and your supporting themes through the paragraph.
I thought you included a lot of good things in oyur essay. Your diction was extrodinary, your organization was well done to. Each paragraph flowed into the next. Your introduction and conclusion were exceptionally good to. I also liked how you used a good variety of quotes to support your thesis throughout your essay. The only complaint I have is that you do not have enough sentence variation. Although, your essay had a good amount of diversity with prepostions, I thought you started your sentences off with the words after and the a bit too much. Overall, the best essay I have read so far and very clear.
CHA CHING. Perfect, like everything else you write. I noticed that you were the only one who really mentioned that Santiago was a deep sea fisherman. I thought this was a great mix of a summary of the story and answers the question about struggles in detail. That makes your essay a lot easier to follow than those of other people (such as mine. Your vocabulary is to die for, as always, and your quotes rang out to me. They didn't seem just last minute picked out, but well thought out ideas and emotions. It was like you put yourself into Santiago to see how he was feeling so you could make your work as accurate as possible.
Very nice essay Jack. I think your thesis is very good and you explain and reinforce it well throughout the essay. Something I found confusing was your overuse of quotes. I found when you used so many instead of exemplifying certain parts of the story it came of confusing. Overall this was a fantastic essay and you pulled it off very nicely, good job Jack.
It took me a minute to find your thesis statement, but once I did, it sucked me in. Lots of people chose this same topic, but the way you word it is so eloquent, it's like I'm reading it for the first time. My favorite quote is the quote in the fourth paragraph. It makes me happy that Santiago bears no ill will towards the fish even if it does kill him. It would be ironic if in the end he was killed by a fish when he spent his whole life killing fish. I wouldn't change anything about your essay. Sorry, I know you probably want some criticism, but I have none to give. GOOD JOB!
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