The Old Man and His Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Cuba, Ernest Hemingway's haven for writing literature, fishing for marlin and basking in it's tropical weather. Cuba played a key role in Hemingway's life and literature. He spent many days and nights writing famous lines and passages for his well known novels such as Old Man in the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Islands in the Stream.
Born Ernest Miller Hemingway on July 21, 1899, he was the sixth child of Dr. Clarence and Grace Hall Hemingway. He was named after his maternal grandfather Ernest Hall and his great uncle Miller Hall. His love for Cuba can be linked to his childhood summer home, which surrounded Lake Michigan, where his father taught him the skills of hunting and fishing. (Heritage in Cuba P. 1)
Hemingway first touched Cuban soil in route to Key West in 1928 with his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer. Hemingway's attraction to this small island was intense and immediate and there would be many trips to follow. Hemingway would eventually make Cuba one of his many homes. (Baker, 1969, P. 191)
His first real visit to Cuba came in 1932 on a planned fishing trip with his old friend Joe Russell, the owner of the famous "Sloppy Joe's" located in Key West. They arrived in Cuba aboard Russell's cabin cruiser, the Anita, for a "two week" vacation that lasted for over two months. Hemingway settled himself at the Ambos Mundos Hotel, a place that proved to be an ideal place to complete his novel A Way You'll Never Be. Even though writing was his first priority, Hemingway's love for the sport of marlin fishing was a constant competitor, the later would be his link to Cuba (P. 228) .
Ernest Hemingway often modeled his fictional characters after his close friends. Jan...
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... mental breakdowns, two trips to the Mayo Clinic and shock treatments that eventually damaged his memory and put a stop to his writing, he committed suicide on July 2, 1961 (Meyers, 1985, 559,560). Coincidentally, his father had committed suicide in the exact same way as Hemingway, a single shot to the head. Hemingway's mental illness was in his genetic makeup and would continue with his offspring.
After Hemingway's death, Castro took possession of his home and his boat. Mary was quoted as saying "I had a phone call in Ketchum from the Cuban government asking me whether I would consent to donate our home in Cuba as a museum. In exchange I would be allowed to remove all the papers from the Bank and my personal belongings." (P.566) Hemingway died loving Cuba, so it is appropriate that The Hemingway Museum would be a lasting tribute to this "Old Man and His Sea."
For the rest of the people still in Cuba, life was and still is not easy. The everyday necessities are not always available and their technology is not that advanced. in fact, it is
Hemingway’s narrative technique, then, is characterized by a curt style that emphasizes objectivity through highly selected details, flat and neutral diction, and simple declarative sentences capable of ironic understatements; by naturalistic presentation of actions and facts, with no attempt of any kind by the author to influence the reader; by heavy reliance on dramatic dialogue of clipped, scrappy forms for building plot and character; and by a sense of connection between some different stories so that a general understanding of all is indispensable to a better understanding of each. He thus makes the surface details suggest rather than tell everything they have to tell, hence the strength of his “iceberg.” His short stories, accordingly, deserve the reader’s second or even third reading.
Cuba. The well-known island all over the world and located ninety miles south of Florida is the largest island of the West Indies. The island is popular for its natural beauty and cultural heritages. After the Cuban revolution that took place in 1950s, Batista regime was overthrown and new government was formed which was led by Fidel Castro. Since then Cuba was ruled by Fidel Castro until recently. In 2008, because of Fidel Castro’s illness, his brother Raul Castro replaced him. Many Cubans supported the Cuban revolution in the hope of seeing changes in Cuba; however after Castro seized the power in 1959, many left Cuba to find the better life and live free from the communist government in Cuba.
Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Buran, Cuba to the parent’s foreigners Angel, and Lina Castro Ruz. He is the son of a successful sugar cane planter. Fidel Castro was known for his athletic skill and for his smarts. He went to the school for and started studying under the law career at the University of Havana. In 1946, he had been in a few newspapers because of his speeches, and a year later Castro joined the socialist Party of the Cuban People.
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park Illinois in 1899. Oak Park was the town in which Ernest spent his childhood. Ernest later went on to say: “Oak Park was a place of wide lawns and narrow minds” (lib.utexas.edu). Life in Oak Park was a pleasant and peaceful place for Earnest. At home in Oak Park Ernest had two loving parents, his mother Grace Hall was an opera singer and a music teacher. She helped Ernest develop a love for art and literature. Ernest’s father, Clarence Edmonds, was a doctor and a naturalist. Ernest’s father helped him develop a passion for outdoor sports such as hunting, fishing, and woodcraft. Ernest also lived at home with a brother and four sisters (lib.utexas.edu).
Cuba is an island located in the Caribbean Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida. Before the revolution, Cuba was stepping foot into democratic territory, allowing the people more freedom and respect for human rights. Fidel Castro, the future leader of Cuba, had other plans, soon to be assuming leadership of Cuba. He revolted against the current Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Though it was not successful the first time around, Castro took power of the government from Fulgencio. Soon after, Cuba became communist country under Castro’s rule, thus severing ties with the United States. The majority of Cubans did not want communism yet, it brought more order and less civilian crimes. Despite the U.S government’s wishes, Cuba’s leaders chose to become a communist country versus a democratic one, however it was more beneficial for the people of Cuba.
Hemingway packed plenty of theme, symbolism, and overall meaning into this short story. However, the story would not have been nearly as meaningful had it been written from another point of view.
Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, to Dr. Clarence and Grace Hemingway and the second oldest out of 6 children. Hemingway's childhood pursuits such as hunting and sports fostered the interests that would blossom into literary achievements. In 1918, during World War I, Hemingway served as a Red Cross volunteer in Italy, driving an ambulance and working at a canteen. "After working in Italy for six weeks, he was seriously wounded by a fragm...
Fidel Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926, to Angel Castro y Argiz and Lina Ruz Gonzáles. Born an illegitimate child, his father and mother married soon after his birth, and his parents baptized him in a Roman Catholic ceremony. 1
Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star after graduating from high school in 1917. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver in the Italian infantry and was wounded just before his 19th birthday. Hospitalized, Hemingway fell in love with an older nurse. Later, while working in Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star, he became involved with the expatriate literary and artistic circle surrounding Gertrude Stein. During the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway served as a correspondent on the loyalist side. He fought in World War II and then settled in Cuba in 1945. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. After his expulsion from Cuba by the Castro regime, he moved to Idaho. In his life, Hemingway married four times and wrote numerous essays, short stories and novels. The effects of Hemingway's lifelong depressions, illnesses and accidents caught up with him. In July 1961, he committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho. What remains, are his works, the product of a talented author.
The Old Man and the Sea is novella written by Ernest Hemingway in 1952. It tells the epic journey and struggles of the old fisherman, Santiago, and his younger fishing partner, Manolin. The story goes into detail the day to day life struggles that a fisherman off the coast of Africa endures. The majority of the story focuses on one particular trip out sea. In life, one will go through a number of stages in life. Infancy, Youth , Adulthood, and Old Age are all key stages. As one grows, they mature through these various stages. When one reaches old age, there is often a lot of doubt surrounding their lives. Serenity, and independence are often the two most questioned. These are some questions that Santiago has to ask himself as well.
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1899. He was a writer who started his career with a newspaper office in Kansas City when he was seventeen. When the United States got involved in the First World War, Hemingway joined with a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. During his service, he was wounded, and was decorated by the Italian Government. Upon his return to the United States, he was employed by Canadian and American newspapers as a reporter, and sent back to Europe to cover the Greek Revolution. In the 1920’s, Hemingway was a member of expatriate Americans in Paris. In one writing of Hemingway, it reads, “In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed he forged a literary reputation unsurpassed in the twentieth century” (LostGeneration). During this time, he wrote some of his most important and successful works of literature. Ernest Hemingway is one of the most influential writers of his time. One biography of him said, “His novels and short fictions have left an indelible mark on the literary production of the United States and the world” (TheEuropeanGraduateSchool).
Hemingway has a way of making his readers believe that the feats and strengths that his characters obtain in his novels are actually possible. Although this statement may be too critical, and maybe there is a man out there, somewhere on the coast of Cuba who at this very moment is setting out to the open sea to catch a marlin of his own. The struggle many readers have is believing the story of Santiago’s physical powers and his strength against temptation bring forward the question of whether or not The Old Man and the Sea is worthy to be called a classic. Hemingway’s Santiago brought Faulkner and millions of other readers on their knees, while to some, believed Hemingway had swung his third strike. As we look further into Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we can analyze the criticism and complications of the character Santiago. He is portrayed as a faulty Jesus, an unrealistic and inhuman man, and again still a hero to those who cannot find happiness in their life.
The Old Man and the Sea has been a time old classic by a both beloved and occasionally despised author Mr. Ernest Hemingway. In the Old Man and the Sea Symbolism and references that reflect Hemingway’s own life can be seen in many different lights, he had many ups and downs similar as Santiago’s struggles and as I have chosen to explore the suffering that can be seen in Santiago and in relation to Hemingway’s own life.