The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a classic I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I enjoyed the simple, short story but didn’t find it as profound as many have. For me, it’s somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 star read. The older you are, the more it’s said you’ll enjoy the book, so I’ll probably have to read it again sometime in the future!

“Age is my alarm clock,” the old man said. “Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?”

– Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Book Stats

• Title: The Old Man and the Sea
• Author: Ernest Hemingway
• Genre: Classics, Fiction
• Publication Date: Sept. 1, 1952
• Pages: 128
• Est. Reading Time: 2-3 hours
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Buy Now: Amazon or BAM!

The Old Man and the Sea: Plot Summary

The Old Man and the Sea tells a straightforward tale of an old fisherman named Santiago who goes out alone, farther than any of the other boats, in hopes of making a big catch after 85 days without one. He hooks a giant marlin, the biggest he’s ever seen or heard of, and an epic battle of wills ensues. After a 3-day struggle, Santiago finally prevails, killing the marlin and lashing it to the side of his boat to head home. Unfortunately, his struggles don’t end there and he is forced to fight off sharks all the way home, losing nearly all of his catch by the time he arrives.

“His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.”

– Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the story and felt for Santiago throughout. The first part of the story, with Santiago struggling to land the marlin, embodies the classic theme of man vs. nature. Even a crew of young men would likely have struggled against the great fish so being pitted against a single old man was especially impactful.

“Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so. I wish I was the fish, he thought, with everything he has against only my will and my intelligence.”

– Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Then, the second part deals with man’s pride as the sharks eat away at his prized catch. Left with nothing but the marlin’s skeleton, head, and tail, Santiago is forced to wonder whether he was right to kill such a magnificent fish.

“You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?”

– Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Overall, I think Charles Scribner Jr. summarized it best in the introduction where he says: “In the thoughts of Santiago, the reader shares the beliefs of a simple fisherman whose pride in his endurance is combined with the fatalistic sense that he has “gone out too far,” and whose efforts to kill his prey are combined with a reverence for life. It is impossible to read this story without believing that in many respects it represents Hemingway’s own ideals of manhood.”

The Old Man and the Sea: Favorite Quotes

“The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.”

“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

“I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg.”

“No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable.”

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”

The Old Man and the Sea: Final Thoughts

As a short story that can easily be read in one or two sittings, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a classic that everyone should enjoy at some point. The book was the last of Hemingway’s novels published while he was still alive, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and being cited in Hemingway’s winning of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

“It is a curious fact of literary history that a story which describes the loss of a gigantic prize provided the author with the greatest prize of his career.”

– Charles Scribner Jr., Introduction: The Ripening of a Masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea