Old Man and the Sea-Q. 7

Some different techniques that the author uses in Old Man and the Sea are suspense and symbolism. Since the story takes place mostly out at sea Hemingway had to be very creative to not bore the reader. By using descriptive phrases, constant suspense of when the old man would reel in the fish, if he ever did, and using symbolism to show the differences and similarities between the old man and Jesus.

By using suspense, he was able to keep the reader reading wondering if the fish would get away or not. I personally kept wondering if the fish would get away or not because he didn't just reel it in immediately it took three days for him to do so. Besides suspense Hemingway used symbolism and description to interest the reader. Some of the symbols he used were comparing the old man and Jesus as I said earlier and the old man to Joe DiMaggio. Description is one thing though that authors must be good at if they want to be successful at all with writing. In this book there weren't a lot of give away's that Hemingway used to show detail, but the few spots here and there that helped explain the surroundings more really helped. Some examples are like when he describes how small and dirty the old man's shack is or when he describes the small skiff that Santiago makes do with every day while fishing (Hemingway). He even describes the water and what it looks like at different times during the day which really made me feel like I was out at sea (Hemingway).

I normally do not like reading, but the style of writing and the modern English text really clicked with me and made it easy for me to read. I enjoyed the book a lot more and it was a lot easier to read too. Besides the different techniques the modern writing style really helped pull the entire book together.

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