Greenwood Lab School

The Old Man and the Sea

pgs. 25-45

Ernest Hemingway

This week as I was sick I continued reading the very intriguing book, “The Old Man and the Sea.” As I’m sure you know if you read my last reading letter, Ernest Hemingway is a very good writer and progressing through the book, I find each page is better than the last. The following 20 pages I read this week, were similar to the first 25. But I think what I read this week focuses on how alone the Old Man is, but I think that that’s the way that he wants to live his life, I think he enjoy’s his life this way because there’s nobody to contribute to the stress of everyday life. Something else that really stood out to me was that, this man, works for what he needs and wants. Like whenever he went out to sea to CATCH HIS DINNER! He caught a marlin and a fish called Albacore. So that’s basically a synopsis/reflection of what was read this week.

This book is very easy to reflect about mainly because it’s got a lot of meaning and heart to it. I really like the old man’s attitude in this book because it’s kind of related to mine. He’s being himself, having fun with life, doing what he wants to do to make a living, but specifically not caring what anybody else thinks of him. There’s a quote that I heard the other day that makes me think of this book and a couple other occurances in my life and it goes like this, “There are Hurricane, Earthquakes, and Tornadoes, and lots of really bad things happen to good people everyday….and sometimes….there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.” This quote reminds me of the story because the old man is a very wise human being. He’s spiritual, and intriguing, fascinating, and smart. This just simply reminds me of something that he would say. Other than that the story was very enlightening and I gess I want to leave you by saying that this book is a great one. If you’re that kind of down to Earth person who likes the coast and the ocean, and tropics, and FISH! Then this book is totally for you…

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

pgs. 1-25

This week I decided to begin the book The Old Man and the Sea. I really wanted to read an Ernest Hemingway book, and this one sounded like a good one to start out with. Even though I’ve only read the first 25 pages this book is like nothing I’ve ever read before. It starts with an old man who kind of lives the lifestyle of a sailor, but his attitude kind of reminds me of myself. He is a poor old fisherman who lives on the shore, and as far as I know is in search for a very big fish, with a boy he met. However, I have a strong feeling that with the way this book is heading so far, that he is in search of much more than just a huge fish, from an old tale. He lives a pretty simple life as well which I think is cool. He seems to be a wise, worn, scraggly old man who spends his days down b the marina, or by the bay fishing, or on the coast, or at the bar with his friends. So as far as I’ve gotten into the book it was like an introduction.

Ernest Hemingway writes much different than any other author, which is something that I’m very much beginning to like about his books. There were quite a few lines that I read that I really liked and wanted to remember such as, “The lions would run and play along the African shore,” and then there were lines that showed the different way that Hemingway writes, such as “I borrowed two dollars and a half from him.” Something else that I like about his writing is that some parts are easy to comprehend, and to me they seem like they would make great song lyrics. I get the sense that the characters in his book are really down to earth as well. The old man in this story for instance, is kind of a loner, i mean he doesn’t really like being around people which is kind of how I see myself, therefore I can really relate to his character. So far it’s a very good book, and very interesting, and I hope to be getting back to it very soon, to find out especially where this sailing throughout the ocean may take the wise old man and the boy, and what journeys and/or lessons they may cross along the way…