Writing Skills of The Old Man and the Sea

Vertical Structure He adopted a vertical structure, that is, among many fishermen, the old man, as the protagonist of his novel, chose a very lovely child, Manorine, as his companion, and chose a series of plots to unfold in two days according to the natural time and space order. In fact, many things are not really cut, but let the readers finish them themselves, achieving the artistic effect of "killing many birds with one stone", which has profound implications. On the one hand, it embodies the theme of his works: "People are not born to be defeated. You can destroy him as much as possible, but you can't beat him. " This is the "grace under pressure" embodied in the image of "tough guy" in his works.

The whole time of the novel with spoke layout is very tight, only four days before and after: the day before going out to sea, taking the old man's return from the sea as the introduction, let the people around him appear one by one and explain their relationship with the old man: Manorine, a child who loves him and learns to fish with him; A group of fishermen who respect him but can never understand him; A hotel owner who cares about him. Old people live in such a personality group. By contrast, he is obviously different from others. He is an optimistic, open-minded, confident, hardworking, brave, adventurous and simple Cuban fisherman who loves life. At the same time, this spoke structure can also produce clear clues, prominent centers and concise stories.

When discussing the rhythm, Hemingway once said, "The book starts slowly, but gradually speeds up the rhythm, which is unbearable. I always let the mood rise to the point where readers can't stand it, and then stabilize it, so as not to prepare an oxygen shed for them. " This is the sense of rhythm that this novel gives people. When the story began to tell us about the relationship between the old man and the people around him, it was slowly explained. With the progress of the old man's sailing, the speed gradually slowed down. In particular, the fish struggled constantly, fluctuated up and down, sharks attacked violently, and the old man was very tired. The symbol of the sea in western literature is rich and colorful, whether it is a pure and amiable girl or an evil devil. In The Old Man and the Sea, the sea is described as a woman. In the process of old people fishing, the sea always flows quietly and slowly; Even if the shark ate the old man's fish, the sea was still so calm. She always gazes at San Diego quietly, confidently and equally, an old man like a "tough guy".