meaningfuel

“There isn’t any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The sharks are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.”

Ernest Hemingway

I’ve chosen this book because it’s one of the few that I’ve read in one day. When you consider that it’s only 27,000 words, it is not really that impressive.

I think that makes it less intimidating. It’s regarded a modern classic but it’s accessible and easy to tackle over two or three sittings.

This was Hemingway’s last writing that was published before his suicide in 1952. It’s the story of an aging Cuban fisherman, who has gone 84 days without catching a fish.

His village distance themselves from him, believing him to be unlucky. His young apprentice has to leave him to find profit with other fisherman. The old man believes he has little left to lose.

He sails far out to sea and eventually hooks a giant marlin. The old man battles the fish for three days and nights, he’s exhausted, hungry and surrounded by sharks taking bites out of his prize fish.

When he returns home, his prize marlin is only a skeleton having been devoured by the sharks. The old man doesn’t care anymore, he returns to the village with his head held high and the respect of the other fishermen restored.

Chasing something and not giving up. He reaped no reward for his fish other than restoring his own pride. Critics might now call this arrogance; but we live in a world where everything is instant. Fish on a platter. Maybe that’s a good thing, but someone somewhere sacrificed and we should always hold sacrifice higher than expedience.

It’s a story of perseverance, determination, and the struggle against nature. It’s not really relevant that the man goes to sea. He could hunt boar, or bears or any big beast. It’s an old-school idea that primitive skills still have a place.

The story’s simplicity is refreshing, it’s set in a primitive world we won’t really recognise anymore but the writer won’t go to lengths to describe every inch of the setting, the poverty, the living standards.

Ultimately, it is Hemingway’s style of writing that will win you over. He does not pull punches with his words. He describes very simply, sparing little time for metaphors or symbolism. For a man who lived such a colourful life, perhaps there is something in just existing in the moment.

Let the adventure be enough, the reader can find their own symbolism later.

I’ve found plenty. Find your own.

The Old Man and the Sea: Ernest Hemingway: Amazon.co.uk: Hemingway, Ernest: 9780099908401: Books