Old Man In The Sea

5/30/07

Old Man In The Sea

"The Old Man In The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway is a story that was written to be intentionally boring. By showing the reality of life we learn that there is no instant satisfaction or success in life. Also we learn that life can be a long and painful burden at sometimes. But by following the Hemingway Hero Code you can persevere and get through any obstacle in life. The Hemingway Hero Code follows three parts, first is "Grace under pressure" in other words to keep going when the going gets tough. Second is playing the game well even if you know you are going to lose. Third is having confidence, trusting yourself because you know you have a skill that you are good at. By following this code the Old Man was able to persevere and in the end win without actually winning.

In the story the theme of perseverance is shown many times but not only from the Old Man. In the begging of the story the boy says to the Old Man, "I would like to go fishing with you. If I cannot then I would like to serve you in some way." (p.12) The boy shows perseverance because he is still willing to help the Old Man even though he cannot go fishing with him.

Another time perseverance was shown was when the Old Man had the fish hooked he said to himself, "It is not bad and pain does not matter to a man."

(p.84) The Old Man has refused to give up even when he is in the up most pain. Here he is and he has the line wrapped around his back and hands holding this massive fish, and he is refusing to give up because he wants everyone to know he still has one more fight in him. During this time he says, "The fish is my brother" he feels a connection with this fish because just like him the fish is refusing to give in.

The last major time that perseverance and determination

...