Blog #1: The Old Man and the Sea

After reading The Old Man and the Sea, I began to reflect upon the style and perspective with which this novella was written. Ernest Hemingway uses an anonymous narrator and a very matter-of-fact tone making this story very cut and dry. The narrator simply describes the characters and events as they would appear, but he does frequently provide details about the inner thoughts and dreams of Santiago.

I think the tone that Mr. Hemingway used in writing this great classic is that of a journal. I did not notice the novella seeming very formal at all, actually I noticed that Hemingway was very relaxed with his style of writing and also not very creative with his word choices. Ernest simply described the days' events as they passed by, not really going into any extreme detail or adding any extra pizazz to the plot.

I believe that the values and attitudes of Mister Ernest Hemingway are displayed in the novella The Old Man and the Sea pretty clearly. I am guessing that Mister Hemingway was a very persevering person, or he strove to be one. I have come to this conclusion just by observing the persevering trait that Santiago possesses. I believe that Hemingway would only give Santiago the great character trait because he possesses the same one, or he is writing of that because he admires to have the persevering character trait.

I also noticed that the author seemed to develop Santiago as a compassionate character. Even though at the beginning of Santiago's fishing trip, the great Marlin was Santiago's enemy, in the middle of his trip he began to see the Marlin as his friend. I think that Santiago was friendly to the Marlin because he cared about the well being of it, and he wanted to get the Marlin home safely. When the sharks began to eat the Marlin, Santiago was very upset because he had become attached. I think that the author showed his personal views and morals through the thoughts and actions of Santiago.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.