The Old Man and the Sea - 15

I think the tale of The Old Man and the Sea is a tale that can teach the reader about life. I think it is a story that you can take and compare it to your life. The old man in the book struggled. He struggled for three days with one fish. It seemed like he was struggling to no avail. It seemed like the sea was going to destroy him, just as sometimes it seems like life will kick us down and destroy us. But if we hold fast like the old man did, then we can prosper too, just as he did.

This story teaches much of life. We learn to keep fighting and to never give up. This is something that is so very important. Also, the old man refuses defeat, which is something that we need to each learn how to do for ourselves and can each learn what the benefits are of refusing defeat. The benefits of the old man were that he prospered. He conquered the fish an overcame it, which is what he tried to do for three days! And he finally proved to himself that he could do it. That is something that we all need to learn for ourselves; we need to learn how to not give up and not to accept defeat.

Just like in the novella, our world is also filled with predators, just like the old man's world. During the three days of battling with the fish, the old man was being tested and be tried the whole time. The fish wanted the man to give in and the fish just waited for him. It would have been so easy for the man to give up. The man would have every excuse as to why he should give up. The fish was bigger than the boat, he could not feasibly bring the fish back it. And the waves, oh the waves of the sea, they cried out to the old man. They looked so relaxing and calm, but they taunted the old man the whole way.

This is all just like in our own lives. It is so very easy to give up at times. Most of the time giving up is the easiest option and is the easy way out. However sticking to in and persevering is the more honorable thing to do, just like the old man did. Yes, it is often much more difficult, but it is the honorable thing to do and will be most beneficial to you in the end, just like it was for the old man.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.