The Old Man and the Sea is Ernest Hemingway's most famous novel. The idea of the work was nurtured by the author for many years, but the final version of the story was published only in 1952, when Hemingway moved to Cuba and resumed his literary activity after participating in World War II.
At that time, Ernest Hemingway was already a recognized writer. His novels Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, collections of short prose Men Without Women, The Snows of Kilimanjaro were in great demand among readers and were successfully published.
The Old Man and the Sea brought Hemingway two of the most prestigious awards in the field of literature - the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prizes. The first was awarded to the writer in 1953, the second - a year later, in 1954. The wording of the Nobel Committee was as follows: "For the narrative skill, once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea."
The story is truly a masterpiece. She inspired many cultural figures to create new works, in particular artistic adaptations. The first film was made in 1958. The issuing country is the USA. The director's chair was taken by John Sturgess, the role of old man Santiago was played by Spencer Tracy.
Screen version of the work
In 1990, Jud Taylor directed another TV version of the cult work. And in 1999, Russia went on a bold experiment by releasing an animated version of The Old Man and the Sea. The short animation won BAFTA and Oscar awards.
The most recent project based on the story was released in 2012. This is the film "The Old Man" from the Kazakh director Ermek Tursunov. He was warmly received by critics and nominated for the national Nika award.
Let's remember the plot of this realistic and magical, cruel and touching, simple and infinitely deep work.
Cuba. Havana. An old fisherman named Santiago is getting ready for his next trip to the sea. This season is not good for Santiago. This is the eighty-fourth time he has returned without a catch. The old man is no longer what he used to be. His hands lost their former strength and dexterity, deep wrinkles dotted his face, neck, nape, from constant physical labor and poverty, he emaciated and dried up. Only the still mighty shoulders and eyes of the color of the sea, "the cheerful eyes of a man who never gives up," remained unchanged.
Santiago really wasn't in the habit of falling into despair. Despite the hardships of life, he "never lost hope or faith in the future." And now, on the eve of the eighty-fifth exit to the sea, Santiago does not intend to retreat. The evening before fishing with him is spent by his faithful friend - the neighbor's boy Manolin. The boy used to be Santiago's partner, but due to the failures that befell the old fisherman, Manolin's parents forbade him to go to sea with the old man and sent him to a more successful boat.
Despite the fact that young Manolo now has a stable income, he misses fishing with old man Santiago. He was his first teacher. It seems that then Manolin was about five years old when he first went with the old man to the sea. Manolo was almost killed by the mighty blow of the fish that Santiago caught. Yes, then the old man was still lucky.
Good friends - the old man and the boy - talked a little about baseball, sports celebrities, fishing and those distant times when Santiago was still as young as Manolin and sailed on a fishing boat to the shores of Africa. Falling asleep on a chair in his poor hut, Santiago sees the African coast and the handsome lions who come out to look at the fishermen.
Saying goodbye to the boy, Santiago goes to sea. This is his element, here he feels free and calm, as if in a well-known house. Young people call the sea el mar (masculine) and treat it as a rival and even an enemy. The old man always called him la mar (feminine) and never feels hostility to this sometimes capricious, but always desirable and pliable element. Santiago "constantly thinks of the sea as a woman who bestows great favors or refuses them, and if she allows herself to act rashly or unkindly, what can you do, such is her nature."
The old man talks with marine life - flying fish, sea swallows, huge turtles, colorful physalia. He loves flying fish and considers them his best friends, faithful companions during long swims. He regrets sea swallows for their fragility and defenselessness. Fizaliy hates because their poison killed many sailors. He enjoys watching them being devoured by mighty turtles. The old man ate turtle eggs and drank shark oil all summer to gain strength before the autumn season when the really big fish came.
Santiago is sure that luck will smile on him today. He specifically swims far into the sea to great depths. There is probably a fish waiting for him here.
Soon the fishing line really starts to move - someone pecked at his treat. "Eat, fish. Eat. Well, eat, please, - the old man says, - The sardines are so fresh, and you are so cold in the water, at a depth of six hundred feet ... Don't be shy, fish. Eat, please."
The fish is full of tuna, now it's time to pull the line. Then the hook will plunge into the very heart of the prey, it will float to the surface and be finished off by the harpoon. Such a depth - the fish, for sure, is huge!
But, to the surprise of the old man, the fish did not appear above the sea surface. With a powerful jerk, she pulled the boat behind her and began to drag it into the open sea. The old man clung to the line with force. He won't release this fish. Not so easy.
For four hours the fish had been pulling the boat with the old man like a huge tugboat. Santiago was as weary as his prey. He was thirsty and hungry, the straw hat hit his head, and the hand clutching the fishing line ached treacherously. But the main thing is that the fish did not appear on the surface. “I would like to look at her with at least one eye,” the old man reasoned aloud, “then I would know with whom I am dealing.”
The lights of Havana had long since disappeared from view, the darkness of the night shrouded the sea space, and the fight between fish and man continued. Santiago admired his opponent. He had never come across such a strong fish, "she grabbed the bait like a male, and fights me like a male, without any fear."
If only this miracle fish realized its advantage, if it only saw that its opponent is one person, and that old man. She could rush with all her might or rush to the bottom like a stone and kill the old man. Fortunately, fish are not as smart as people, although they are more dexterous and noble.
Now the old man is happy that he had the honor to fight such a worthy opponent. The only pity is that there is no boy nearby, he would certainly want to see this duel with his own eyes. With a boy it would not be so difficult and lonely. A person should not be left alone in old age - Santiago argues aloud - but this, alas, is inevitable.
At dawn, the old man eats the tuna that the boy gave him. He needs to gain strength to continue the fight. “I should have fed the big fish,” Santiago thinks, “because they are my relatives.” But this cannot be done, he will catch her in order to show the boy and prove what a person is capable of and what he can endure. "Fish, I love and respect you very much, but I will kill you before the evening comes."
Finally, Santiago's mighty adversary surrenders. The fish jumps to the surface and appears before the old man in all its dazzling splendor. Her smooth body shimmered in the sun, with dark purple stripes running down her sides, and for a nose she had a sword as big as a baseball stick and sharp as a rapier.
Gathering the rest of his strength, the old man enters the final battle. The fish is circling around the boat, in its death throes trying to turn over the flimsy boat. Having contrived, Santiago plunges the harpoon into the body of the fish. This is victory!
Tying the fish to the boat, it seems to the old man that he has clung to the side of a huge ship. You can get a lot of money for such fish. Now it's time to hurry home to the lights of Havana.
Trouble appeared very soon in the guise of a shark. She was drawn to the blood that flowed from the wound on the side of the fish. Armed with a harpoon, the old man killed the predator. She dragged to the bottom a piece of fish that she managed to grab, a harpoon and the whole rope. This fight was won, but the old man knew full well that others would follow the shark. First they will eat the fish, and then they will take him.
Another masterpiece from Ernest Hemingway is a novel about an American who came to Spain during the civil war in 1937.
In anticipation of predators, the old man's thoughts were confused. He thought aloud about sin, the definition of which he did not understand and in which he did not believe, he thought about the strength of the spirit, the limits of human endurance, the saving elixir of hope, and about the fish that he killed this afternoon.
Maybe in vain he killed this strong noble fish? He got the better of her thanks to cunning, but she fought honestly, without preparing any evil for him. Not! He did not kill the fish out of petty desire for profit, he killed it out of pride, because he is a fisherman and she is a fish. But he loves her and now they swim side by side like brothers.
The next flock of sharks began to attack the boat even more rapidly. Predators pounced on the fish, snatching off pieces of its flesh with their powerful jaws. The old man tied a knife to the oar and thus tried to fight off the sharks. He killed a few of them, maimed others, but it was beyond his strength to cope with a whole flock. Now he is too weak for such a duel.
When old Santiago landed on the coast of Havana, there was a huge skeleton at the side of his boat - sharks gnawed it whole. No one dared to speak to Santiago. What a fish! She must have been a real beauty! Only the boy came to visit his friend. Now he will again go to sea with the old man. Santiago has no more luck? Nonsense! The boy will bring it again! Do not dare to despair, because you, old man, never lose heart. You will still be useful. And even if your hands are no longer as strong as before, you can teach the boy, because you know everything in the world.
The sun shone serenely over the coast of Havana. A group of tourists with curiosity examined someone's huge skeleton. The big fish is probably a shark. They never thought they had such graceful tails. Meanwhile, the boy guarded the sleeping old man. The old man dreamed of lions.
E. Hemingway
Name: The Old Man and the Sea
Genre: Tale
Duration:
Part 1: 8min 59sec
Part 2: 8min 44sec
Annotation:
This is the story of an old Cuban fisherman and the ordeal that befell him: a relentless, painful battle with a giant marlin in the waters of the Gulf Stream. Using simple yet powerful language, Hemingway describes the age-old themes of courage in the face of defeat and triumph in the face of loss that have made this work an enduring classic of the twentieth century.
The Old Man and the Sea helped revive Hemingway's reputation as a great writer. This small work brought Hemingway great fame, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel gained popularity thanks to interesting methods of presentation, part of it is a parable, the other part is a eulogy, a recollection of lost years in search of spiritual discoveries. At once touching and powerful, the story is told in Hemingway's simple, fragile style. The book covers the greatest human needs - stability and confidence.
Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea Part 1. Summary listen online.
Very short content (in a nutshell)
Fisherman Santiago has been unable to catch a fish for 84 days. Even the parents of his faithful friend, the boy Manolin, forbade him to fish with him, considering him unlucky. Santiago is old, he was worn out, there is no money even for food. Once again, he goes fishing, but already alone. Luck smiles at him and a very large fish gets on the hook. For several days he fights with her, and finally kills her. To his misfortune, he felt blood, sharks are coming. They slowly eat all the fish, despite Santiago's best efforts. He comes to the port only with a huge head. There are many fishermen around who are surprised by the size of the fish.
Summary (detailed)
For eighty-four days an old man named Santiago has been fishing alone in the Gulf Stream in his boat. All this time he is haunted by failure: the man again and again returns to the shore without a catch.
At first, the old man was helped by a boy named Manolin - his friend. But soon the parents forbade their son to fish with Santiago and sent him to work on another, happier boat.
What follows is a description of the old man's appearance. Santiago is "thin and emaciated", with deep wrinkles on the back of his head and brown spots on his cheeks and neck - traces of long exposure to the sun near the water. The man's arms are all covered with old towline scars. Only his eyes still shine with a cheerful brilliance and their color "look like the sea." These are "the eyes of a man who does not give up."
The old man and the boy like to sit on the Terrace and drink beer, talking about everything in the world. Santiago reminisces about his youth, about how he first took Manolin with him when he was only five years old, and a live fish almost blew their boat to pieces, and the boy almost died.
Manolin loves Santiago, because it was the old man who taught him everything he knows about fishing. Santiago also takes care of the boy tenderly. Young fishermen laugh at Santiago, and the elderly look at him with sadness, and only Manolin sincerely believes in his teacher and never doubts his skill.
After talking with a friend, Santiago falls asleep wrapped in a blanket and nestled on the old newspapers covering the "naked springs" of his bed. He dreams of the Africa of his youth.
The next day, the old man gets up earlier than usual, wakes up the boy, who helps him get ready for the journey, and sails away from the shore, driving his boat "straight into the fresh morning breath of the ocean." Santiago observes the life of birds and the inhabitants of the deep sea, feeling oneness with nature. They are all like friends to him. Today he decides to fish in a different place than usual, in the hope that finally luck will smile on him and he will be able to catch a big fish.
Santiago unwinds the lines and drops the bait into the sea. He always throws his tackle more accurately than other fishermen, he just hasn't been lucky lately. But finally, the cherished dream of a man comes true and a large fish comes across for bait. She is so big that she drags the old man's boat behind her, as if in tow, right into the open sea.
The line of the old fisherman is strong, and the fish swims near the surface and does not go deep, so he can keep the prey on the hook. But a strong opponent is in no hurry to die.
Thus the day passes and the night comes. Still holding the fish on the hook, the old man talks a lot both with her and with himself. He recalls his hunt for marlin, sympathizes with a small bird that sat down to rest on his line. And he constantly thinks about the boy and regrets that he is not around.
The fish still continues to resist death. But finally, she emerges from the water, and the old man manages to see his rival for the first time: “She was all burning in the sun, her head and back were dark purple, and the stripes on her sides seemed very wide and pale lilac in bright light. Instead of a nose, she had a sword ... "
The fish goes back into the water. The old man looks into the distance and realizes how lonely he is now, but "a man in the sea is never alone." Santiago reminisces about his youth and former strength, about how he once defeated a "powerful Negro" in a Casablanca tavern and won a bet. And the fish are in no hurry to slow down.
This goes on for a few more days. Santiago is already so tired and exhausted that he even decides to read prayers (“Our Father” and “Virgin Mary”) in order to ask God for help, although he does not believe in the existence of the Almighty.
The fight continues. The old man's back aches from fatigue, his arms are deeply cut with a whip, sweat rolls down his burned face, his head is spinning, and black spots flash before his eyes. But finally, the prey begins to bounce and walk in circles. This encourages Santiago and gives him confidence that now he will surely be able to defeat his opponent. Indeed, soon the fish approaches the surface, and the old man, having gathered the remnants of his strength, inflicts a mortal blow on her with a harpoon.
Santiago pulls the dead fish to the boat, never ceasing to admire the greatness and beauty of this creature, and ties his prey. Some time passes, and the blood flowing from the wounds of the fish begins to attract sharks: first a few, and then a whole flock.
The man manages to kill the first predator with a harpoon. Dying, she goes into the depths, taking with her the old man's weapon and about forty pounds of his booty. Santiago kills the next two sharks by attaching a knife to his oar, but they still manage to tear off a significant part of the meat of the dead fish.
Returning home, the exhausted man, leaving the skeleton of a fish on the shore near his ship, somehow gets to the hut and immediately goes to bed. The next morning the fishermen measure this skeleton with ropes.
Santiago continues to sleep when a boy looks into his hut. Noticing the wounded hands of the old man, Manolin cannot hold back her tears. He quietly leaves the house to bring coffee to his friend.
After taking care that no one disturbs the old man, the boy returns to the hut. When Santiago wakes up, Manolin promises him that they will always fish together from now on. The man offers the boy to take the swordfish for himself as a trophy.
On the same day, a group of tourists arrive at the Terrace. Noticing the skeleton of a huge fish among the piles of garbage on the shore, vacationers mistake it for the remains of a shark. Upstairs, in his hut, the old man is sleeping again, and the boy is guarding him. Santiago dreams of African lions again.
Year: 1952 Genre: story
1952 In Bimini, the last, lifetime published work of Hemingway is published. This is the story "The Old Man and the Sea". The named work tells about the life story of the old fisherman Santiago, about fishing in Cuba. The plot is tied around an important event for Santiago - a struggle on the high seas with a giant marlin, which is the largest and most important prey in the life of a fisherman.
The main idea of "The Old Man and the Sea" is that Ernest Hemingway shows the struggle of man with the elements of life. The main thing in life is overcoming difficulties. The author emphasizes the idea that under no circumstances should one give up. One involuntarily recalls the biblical wisdom: "Everyone is given such a cross as he can bear."
Read the summary of Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea
The reader on the first pages of the book meets an old man named Santiago. This is an experienced Cuban fisherman who is lonely. He lives by catching fish and selling the catch. He is lucky, his boat almost never comes back empty...
One day, a boy named Manolin goes out to sea with Santiago. This boy passionately loves the old man, even though he is not his own. With all his childish soul, he wants to help Santiago in some way. Manolin's parents do not share their son's feelings and believe that their child does not belong at sea. But the boy stubbornly sees off Santiago and waits for his return. After all, it is so important for every person to realize that they are waiting for him, that someone needs him.
Luck for some reason left the old fisherman. For the past 84 days, Santiago's networks have been empty. Every day he returns from the sea more and more sadly. Manolin does his best to help the old man: he helps to put fishing tackle in the boat, he catches sardines for bait, he waits for the return of the old fisherman on the shore. Every day the boy finds words of comfort for old Santiago. But that doesn't make it any easier...
The morning of the 85th day comes. Santiago, more than ever, is sure that there will certainly be a catch today. He calmly gets into the boat and, without a trace of excitement on his face, watches how the boat is carried by the waves. Old Santiago loves the sea, he talks to it in his mind. He turns to the water element with a request for a rich catch.
The fragile ship is rocked by the waves. And now comes an exciting moment for any fisherman - Santiago's fishing line is stretched like a string. Here - here it will burst! An experienced fisherman understands that there, in the depths, a fish of incredible gravity pulls. Santiago tries to pull the fish closer to the side of the boat in order to finish it off with a harpoon. He fails to make such a maneuver - the fish is strong and pulls the boat along with it. An old Cuban fisherman regrets that Manolin is not around at the moment. He would certainly help. How hard it is to be alone!
The climax of the work is a lengthy description of the struggle between Santiago and the fish. The fight lasts almost two days - this indicates the size and endurance of the fish. The fish resist. She drags an old Cuban fisherman's boat behind her. Old Santiago was exhausted. His hands were numb, and his thoughts were confused ... You might think that here it is - the end of hopes and dreams ...
But no matter how strong the fish is, its strength is running out. She is no longer so eager to pull Santiago's boat. It does this less and less. Finally, she is practically powerless. Then the fish floated to the surface of the sea not far from the boat, even turned on its side, as if it wanted to make it more convenient for Santiago to throw the harpoon. The old fisherman does just that. Here it is, the coveted prey! With the last of his strength, he ties the fish to the side of his boat. At the very last moment, the thought flashes through his inflamed mind that the fish is longer than his boat. How will they float?
Santiago is an experienced Cuban fisherman. To arrive at the shore, he is guided by the wind, or rather by its direction and strength, and directs the boat where it is needed. Santiago with prey swims to his native shore.
Everything seems to be fine, the old Cuban is satisfied with the result of his work. But ... at one point, Santiago sees that he is being overtaken by a huge shark. The shark hunts the prey of the fisherman. She doesn't need the old fisherman herself.
Santiago does his best to resist. He even plunges a harpoon into a shark. It seems like a short respite - the shark bites off a piece of prey and goes under the water with a harpoon. But here's the problem! After some time, a whole flock of sharks appears. Santiago is scared and at the same time sorry for the prey. The old fisherman shows skill - he ties a knife to an oar and kills one of the sharks. Of course, this is not enough at all ... While the fisherman is fighting with one, the rest eat his catch so much that only the tail and skeleton remain from him. So now poor Santiago is sailing on his boat, and the skeleton of his recent prey is dragging behind him ...
The day turns to evening and finally the night comes. Santiago, exhausted and tired, sails to his native shore. And Manolin is waiting for him there. An old Cuban fisherman shows a boy what is left of his prey. He is so hurt that he cries, not embarrassed by the child. Boy Manolin does his best to calm Santiago. He convinces the old fisherman that from now on they will always fish together and, of course, they will catch many, many more fish. After all, it's always good to be together. How wonderful it is to feel supported!
Morning of a new day. A huge crowd of tourists gathers on a deserted shore, who are amazed by the skeleton of an incredible fish that lies on the sand. They build different conclusions about who brought this skeleton here. Simple human curiosity...
Picture or drawing The old man and the sea
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“The old man was fishing all alone in his boat in the Gulf Stream. For eighty-four days he had been sailing in the sea and had not caught a single fish. For the first forty days he had a boy with him. But day after day did not bring a catch, and the parents told the boy that the old man was now clearly alao, that is, the most unlucky one, and ordered to go to sea on another boat, which really brought three good fish in the first week. It was hard for the boy to watch how the old man returned every day with nothing, and he went ashore to help him carry tackle or a hook, a harpoon to a sail wrapped around the mast. The sail was covered with patches of burlap and, rolled up, resembled the banner of a completely defeated regiment.
This is the backstory of events that unfold in a small fishing village in Cuba. The protagonist - old Santiago - "is thin, emaciated, deep wrinkles cut through the back of his head, and his cheeks were covered with brown spots of harmless skin cancer, which is caused by the sun's rays reflected by the smooth surface of the tropical sea." He taught the boy Manolin to fish. The boy loves the old man, wants to help him. He is ready to catch him a sardine as a bait for his tomorrow's sailing. They go up to Santiago's poor hut, built of royal palm leaves. In the hut there is a table, a chair, in the earthen floor there is a recess for cooking. The old man is lonely and poor: his meal is a bowl of yellow rice with fish. They talk to the boy about fishing, how lucky the old man is, the latest sports news, baseball scores, and famous players like DiMaggio. When the old man goes to bed, he dreams of the Africa of his youth, “its long golden coasts and shallows, high cliffs and huge white mountains. He no longer dreams of fights, women, or great events. But often distant lands and lions come ashore in his dreams.
The next day, early in the morning, the old man goes fishing. The boy helps him pull down the sail, prepare the boat. The old man says that this time he "believes in luck".
One by one, fishing boats leave the shore and go to sea. The old man loves the sea, he thinks of it with tenderness, as of a woman. Having put the bait on the hooks, it slowly swims with the flow. Mentally communicates with birds, with fish. Accustomed to loneliness, he talks aloud to himself. He knows the different inhabitants of the ocean, their habits, he has his own tender attitude towards them.
The old man is sensitive to what is happening in the depths. One of the rods trembled. The fishing line goes down, the old man feels a huge heaviness, which entails it. A dramatic many-hour duel between Santiago and a huge fish unfolds.
The old man tries to pull up the line, but it doesn't work. On the contrary, she pulls, as if in tow, the boat behind her. The old man regrets that the boy is not with him. But it's good that the fish pulls to the side, and not down to the bottom.
It takes about 4 hours. Noon approaches. This cannot go on forever, the old man reflects, soon the fish will die and then it will be possible to pull it up.