The main content of the Old Man and the Sea (concise but comprehensive)

The background of the story of "The Old Man and the Sea" is Cuba in the mid-20th century. The protagonist is an old fisherman named Santiago, and the supporting role is a child named Manolin. The frail old fisherman failed to catch a fish for eighty-four days in a row, but he still refused to admit defeat. Instead, he was full of fighting spirit and finally caught a fish that was eighteen feet long and weighed one thousand five hundred and fifty on the eighty-fifth day. A hundred pound marlin. The big fish dragged the boat toward the sea, but the old man still held on. Even though there was no water, no food, no weapons, no assistants, and his left hand was cramped, he was not discouraged at all.

After two days and two nights, he finally killed the big fish and tied it to the side of the boat. But many sharks immediately came to snatch his trophy. He killed them one by one, until in the end only a broken tiller remained as a weapon. As a result, the big fish could not escape the fate of being eaten up. In the end, the old man was exhausted and dragged back a pair of fish bones. He returned home and lay on his bed, having no choice but to look back at the good old days in his dreams to forget the cruel reality.

This article comes from the expanded information of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" in the United States

Writing background:

"The Old Man and the Sea" was written by the American writer Hemingway in 1951. A novella written by Cuba and published in 1952. The story revolves around an elderly Cuban fisherman who fights a huge marlin in the Gulf Stream far offshore. Although the old man in Hemingway's works is tragic, he possesses Nietzsche's "superman" qualities. He accepts failure calmly and faces death calmly and bravely. These "tough guys" embody Hemingway's philosophy of life and moral ideals, that is, Human beings do not bow to fate, have a fighting spirit that never admits defeat, and a positive and optimistic attitude towards life.

The novel "The Old Man and the Sea" is based on a true story. After World War I, Hemingway moved to Cuba and met Gregorio Fuentes, an old fisherman. In 1930, Hemingway's boat sank in a storm, and Fuentes rescued Hemingway. From then on, Hemingway and Fuentes formed a deep friendship and often went fishing together.

On his way back with the loot, Santiago was unfortunately attacked by a group of sharks. The old man also showed the "toughness" of a tough guy in his fight with the group of sharks. Faced with the siege of swarms of sharks, the old man used "firm strength and extremely vicious heart to fight the sharks with almost no hope" and determined that "I will fight them to death." So the old man did not hesitate to spend his money and use all the weapons at hand to beat the oncoming shark to death.

Santiago’s fight with sharks was more thrilling than chasing the big marlin. When the vicious and greedy sharks came one after another to attack the big fish, the already exhausted old man, in order to preserve the fruits of his labor, , cheered up again and fought against the sharks regardless of their own safety. At first he used a harpoon to deal with it, but the harpoon was taken away by the injured shark. He used the knife tied to the oar to kill them one by one. At this time, his hands were covered with blood, he was exhausted, and he had no strength at all. Moreover, the harpoon was taken away, the knife was broken, and many sharks came to attack, but the old man still supported it unyieldingly.

He said in his heart: "As long as I have an oar, a short stick, and a rudder, I will definitely find a way to beat them to death." At night, a large group of sharks came to fight again. The old man still fought hard without sharp weapons. Although his big fish was eaten up, the sharks were either dead or injured and fled. Here, Hemingway uses contrast to portray Santiago's character. As Hegel said: The greatness and strength of personality can only be measured by the greatness and strength of its opposites.