Old Man And The Sea II Out of every single book that is in the ninth grade curriculum there is only one that is worth keeping. This one novel is The Old Man and the Sea. Other books students have read throughout the course of the year include; Death Be Not Proud, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Romeo and Juliet, and finally The Odyssey. These books were extremely tedious, hard to follow, and most of the time something students see as a "chore." Reading should not be a "chore" in the mind of the student. When a student goes to read a book assigned by his teacher he or she should want to pick up the book because they find it interesting. The only book that made a student want to pick it up was The Old Man and The Sea because of its reference to religion, its deep relationship between certain characters, and, because of its intensity in most events.
Mass-produced colour photolithography on paper for...
English: Title page of the second quarto edition (...
Charlotte and Susan Cushman (the Cushman sisters) ...Religion plays a hidden role in the novel The Old Man and the Sea. The reason it is hidden is because the reader has to infer it. In this novel the main character Santiago is being compared the Jesus. This is true for many reasons. First off, Santiago is on a journey to catch a fish and won't stop until he does. Just like Jesus was on a journey to spread religion throughout the world and wouldn't stop until he was done. Also, in this novel Santiago's hands are in great pain. Just like Jesus' hands when he was getting crucified. Additionally, Santiago has a "cross-like" mast that he constantly mentions throughout the entire novel. Exactly like Jesus' cross that he was killed on. Religion plays a great role in this story and makes the reader want to constantly read on so they are not only reading a book with a deep character relationship but one that is about a familiar subject matter.
A deep relationship between two people is something everyone can relate to and has experienced. Santiago is an old man who has been down in his luck for quite sometime now. Manolin is a young boy who lives on the same Island as Santiago and looks up to Santiago. He is his "mentor" in a way. Yet, in most relationships between mentor and student there a re few where the mentor and student are friends. It is this fact that makes the relationship between Manolin and Santiago one that makes readers want to pick up the book and keep reading on and on. Also, the fact that Manolin acts extremely mature for a young boy is another fact that makes teens want to read this novel. Manolin is about the same age as the average freshman maybe younger and not one of those freshmen would ever show the maturity that Manolin shows in the novel The Old Man and The Sea. He tries as much as he can to help the old man in his time of need. He buys the old man beer, offers him money for food, and hangs around with him when he needs someone to talk to. This section of the book is one that makes readers want to pick up this novel and read it rather than go out and buy the Cliff notes just to get it done. Another section of the story that makes is enjoyable is the intensity used in numerous scenes.
Intensity is something every reader wants in a book. The reader wants the author is use descriptive adjectives that would make the words come to life. They want to be able to perfectly see in their minds what is going on right then and there. In this novel Ernest Hemmingway does exactly that. When the old man is battling with the fish the reader can imagine exactly what is going on. They can see it in their minds. The adjectives Hemmingway uses make the reader want to keep turning the page. The way he expresses the scene where Santiago is fighting with the fish makes the reader want to turn the page so they know if he caught it or not. So the reader can have some insurance as to weather or not Santiago's drought it over. It is because of this that the reader will read the book and finish it because they wanted to and not because they felt they had to.
The Old man and the Sea expresses many aspects such as religion, friendship, and intensity that make the reader want to keep reading. Religion is a masked theme in this book and is one that the reader has to infer. That is why it makes it such an amazing novel because it makes the reader look at it from a different aspect. Friendship is something that everyone has dealt with and in this book it something everyone can relate to and also something everyone wants to relate to. Intensity is written throughout the entire novel and also makes the reader not want to put the book down. It is because of these reasons that this book should stay in the curriculum. A wise man once said, "A book required should feel like a book chosen."
Title page of the first edition
CliffsNotes for Romeo and Juliet
Old Man in Tunis
Original book cover