Once the fish had been hooked and the fight began between man and marlin, the author made it a point to mention every time Santiago prayed to God. I thought this was unusual because most authors don't have religion play a major role in their books, but Hemingway did. He used unique ways to bring it to your attention that the old man was praying, but they were brought up quite a few times. Not every time did the old man sit down and think real hard about what he was saying, but would ask for help and strength. He would say, "Lord I will do 100 Hail Mary's...", which was a common way of asking the Lord for help back then. Many Christians did Hail Mary's out of respect for the Lord during that time period. Its almost like us now-n-days saying I'm sorry let me do 100 hours of community service or something.
Another thing that is a lot different than modern times is the amount of people that go to church. Back in the mid 1900's the church was growing vastly and more and more people were joining, accepting the Jesus as their Lord and Savior, working for their way into heaven and everlasting life. Modern times people think that if they do the bare minimum and claim Jesus without ever working for Him they are automatically given a pass into Heaven, but that is not the case. If you accept the Lord one day and turn around and deny Him the next you are ignoring His rules.
That is why I found this book so interesting, noticing the differences between that time and this time. To think about what accustoms then were like and what they are now is amazing. To think that women and girls had to wear long dresses everywhere they went, no shorts or jeans no matter what the weather was like. And guys always wore long pants and a button-up shirt. I am thankful for modern clothing.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.
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