An Overview of The Old Man and the Sea

An Overview of The Old Man and the Sea

The fisherman, who was in the twilight, didn't catch a fish for 84 days in a row and almost starved to death; But he still refuses to admit defeat and is full of the spirit of struggle. Finally, on the 85th day, he caught a marlin 18 feet long and 1500 pounds. The big fish dragged the boat to the sea, but the old man still clung to it. Even without water, food, weapons, assistants and cramps in his left hand, he was not discouraged at all. After two days and two nights, he finally killed the big fish and tied it to the boat. But many sharks immediately came to snatch his booty; He had to kill them one by one, and finally only a broken tiller was left as a weapon.

However, marlin cannot escape the fate of being eaten. Finally, the old man dragged back a pair of fish bones exhausted. He went home to lie in bed and had to look for the good old days from his dreams to forget the cruel reality. Although the old fisherman was old, he was unlucky and failed. But he still keeps working hard, and he can win by failure. This novel shows a struggling outlook on life. Even in the face of unconquerable nature, people can still win spiritually. Maybe the result is failure, but in the process of struggle, we can see how a person can become an indomitable spirit.

A Brief Introduction to The Old Man and the Sea

It is a novella written by Hemingway 195 1 in Cuba and published in 1952. This is one of Hemingway's most famous works. It tells the story of an old Cuban fisherman struggling with a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream off the coast. It established Hemingway's prominent position in world literature, and this novel won the Pulitzer Prize in the United States and the Nobel Prize in Literature of 1954.

On October 20 17 1 month, the Examination Notes of Beijing Volume of College Entrance Examination was released on October 20 17, and The Old Man and the Sea was included in the compulsory scope of Beijing College Entrance Examination.

You may not be able to understand the meaning just by reading the article, but this must be interpreted in combination with the background at that time.

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

1936, fuentes caught a big fish far from the sea, but because it was too big, it dragged on the sea for a long time and was attacked by a shark on the way home. When it came back, there was only a skeleton left.

What this novel mainly wants to tell us is that.

1. Vertical structure

The Old Man and the Sea adopts a vertical structure, that is, among many fishermen, the old man takes San Diego as the protagonist in the novel, chooses a very lovely child Manorine as the old man's partner, chooses the vast and far-reaching sea as the typical fishing environment for the old man, chooses the rare marlin as the old man's opponent, and arranges the development of this series of plots in two days according to the natural time and space order. In this way, many things have actually been deleted, but the readers are allowed to complete them themselves, thus achieving it. " 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 you can, but you can't beat him. " This is the "grace under pressure" embodied in the image of "tough guy" in his works.

2. Spoke layout

The whole time of the novel is very tight, only four days before and after: the day before going out to sea, with the old man's return from the sea as the introduction, 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 pair of very selfish parents; 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, experienced, confident, hardworking, brave, adventurous and simple Cuban fisherman who loves life. At the same time, this spoke structure can also produce clear clues, focused centers and concise stories.

3. The sense of rhythm of priorities

Hemingway once said such a sentence when discussing rhythm: "The book started slowly, but gradually accelerated the rhythm, which was unbearable. I always make the mood so high that readers can't stand it, and then calm down, so as not to prepare an oxygen shed for them. " This is the sense of rhythm that this novel gives people. When the story begins to explain to us the relationship between the old man and the people around him, it is slow, and with the progress of the old man's navigation, the speed is gradually accelerated. When the old people, especially when the fish keep struggling, fluctuating up and down, sharks attack violently and the old people are very tired, readers are in high spirits and hold a sweat tightly for the old people.

The influence of the work

The Old Man and the Sea is Hemingway's work in his later years. With this work, he won the Pulitzer Prize of 1953 and the Nobel Prize in Literature of 1954. At the same time, the book was also rated as one of the 100 classics that influenced history; One of the 32 landmark books in American history; 1986 The ideal library recommended by the French magazine Reading sold 5.3 million copies within 48 hours, ranking first in sales.

The novel The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most satisfactory works, the crystallization of Hemingway's personal world outlook and outlook on life, and one of the most influential novels in European literary circles in the 20th century, which has a great influence on promoting the development of European literature.

Meet a great writer.

Ernest miller hemingway (1July 2, 8991-191July 2, 2008) was born in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an American writer and journalist and is considered as one of the most famous novelists in the 20th century.

Hemingway won many awards in his life. He was awarded the Silver Medal of Courage during World War I; 1953 won the Pulitzer Prize for the book The Old Man and the Sea? ; 1954' s The Old Man and the Sea won Hemingway the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 200 1 year, Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms were listed as "the best English novels in the 20th century 100" by American modern libraries.

Hemingway committed suicide with a shotgun at his home in ketchum, Idaho, on July 2, at the age of 62.