Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea - Essay Example

Written by the American author, Ernest Hemingway, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is a wonderful tale about the life of a fisherman struggling with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. The book has proved to be an earnest success for the author with wide appeal from various kinds of people. Despite looking like a simple book, it has gained acclaim because of the intensity of words that the author has chosen and how he has portrayed the same through the eyes of the aging fisherman. The novel helped the author to gain popularity and re-establish himself among writers with a capacity to be able to make their readers think and perceive what they feel.

There were various critics that condemned Hemingway’s work as well as they proved points against the writing that the author had to offer. Many of them turned their works into articles criticizing ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and have provided for a healthy debate. This paper helps to discuss various sources by way of which Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ has received fame as well as criticism worldwide. The paper aims to provide an annotated bibliography with a varied explanation of each source that has been chosen in order to describe the work and time of Hemingway. Category. (n.d.).

The Old Man and the Sea. Books & Literature Classics. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://classiclit.about.com/od/ol As per the article provided, "The popular reception of the novel comes from its part-parable, part-eulogy style--recollecting a by-gone age in this spiritual quest for discovery. Touching and powerful in turns, the story is told in Hemingway's simple, brittle style. The book reaches out to a very human need--for stability and certainty." The story helps to understand an overview of the kind of life that every man is destined to follow and live through.

This short novella by the author has been an expression or tool to prove that understanding a man is a complicated yet easy task and the author has tried to derive the same by marking an analogy to the simple life of a fisherman. He has also marked the kind of struggle that the fisherman underwent through life and the proposition of death that he was faced with and the kind of stance that he portrayed when faced with the greatest of adversities, in trying to prove to him that he would be able to overcome whatever hindrance came his way.

Schatz, B. (n.d.). Life Lessons from The Old Man and the Sea | The Art of Manliness. The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://artofmanliness.com/2011/07/12/lessons-in-manliness-from-the-old-man-and-the-sea/ Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea' has aimed at providing a number of lessons to the common man. At first glance, it looks like a simple novel written through the perspective of an old man, dying to achieve his last goals in order to be able to satisfy his wishes and needs as he fears that his end is near.

Thus, "it is the idea of redefining success and victory that makes The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella, so profound." The book talks about the kind of experiences that a man goes through during the course of his lifetime and how they help him in realizing and understanding himself from within. It further talks about the kind of life lessons that are meant to be learned along the journey of life that every man embarks upon by default. According to Hemingway, and as discussed within the scope of the article, various aspects need to be understood and learned by whatever situations life throws across at a human being.

The author writes that, "A man can be destroyed but not defeated," and Santiago's musing, "It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when the luck comes you are ready." Among other aspects, he has also laid emphasis on how a man must not boast; admit suffering, ultimate tenacity and mental strength, as well as looking for inspiration in every corner. KansasCity.com : Kansas City breaking local news,