Old Man and the Sea-Q. 6

I think that we still read this book because the message will always apply to our lives no matter whats popular, what generation it is, or how old we get; our lives will always apply to this meaning or interpretation. Life doesn't matter about what other people think, as long as you are having fun you should keep it that way and enjoy yourself.

In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago spends most of his time mentoring and teaching the little boy about fishing so once the old man passed away the boy would know how. I think that when the old man went out and caught the big marlin, he didn't do it completely for the fame and to be known by the people there for catching the biggest fish they had ever seen. I think that he did it for the little boy Manolin so that he would think that the old man was still really cool and that he is a great role model and wish he could catch that big of a fish someday. I think that the old man just wanted to have one true friend and wanted to impress the boy into it by catching the fish, but in reality Manolin already enjoyed being around Santiago and he didn't have to catch the fish. I have another theory that maybe the old man did it to gain respect from the locals and for them to stop mocking him and making fun of him.

In the end, you don't have to do something to impress someone into becoming your friend if they are a true friend they will be your friend just because they enjoy being around you. Nor do you have to impress people who make fun of you for if they do its their fault and immature of them. One last thing we can learn is that if you put your mind to something you can accomplish great things.

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