On the Old Man and The Sea
Recent day, I have read an interesting book which written by Ernest Hemingway. It’s the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal —a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Santiago was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. A boy accompanied the old man to work. The little boy often helped him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast.
The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. Everything about him was old expect his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated. The old man no longer dreamed of storms, or of women, or of great fish, or of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. After failed for eighty-four days, Santiago didn’t lose his confidence. He decided to fish next day by himself. A bid fish was took the fish bait. This is a big marlin. The old man felt very happy and he recognized that he defeat the marlin successfully at last. He has fight against the big fish for several days. Gradually, the marlin was worn out. It was bleed out and died. The old man pulled the big fish to the beach, but several sharks were eaten up the marlin on the way. The old man bought a great long white spine back. Other people told him that the marlin was eighteen feet from nose to tail. Fishing such a big fish is an honor. Although the fish was eaten up by shakes, Santiago didn’t lose his confidence. He was still dreamed about the lions.
“Man is not made for defeat; a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” The old man said. When one in a dilemma, the most important thing is keep his confidence. We can allow one’s failure, but we can’t allow one’s decadence. Confidence is the fountainhead of success. In this book, the lion is the symbol of strength and young. Although Santiago was old, his heart was thirst for strength and young. He didn’t believe his fate and took a stand against it. The big marlin was eaten up by sharks is a fact, but it didn’t mean that Santiago was fail. He used his behaviors provide that he is
a man who never gives up. “Man is not made for defeat; a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” In modern time, we need this spirit. With the quickening pace of technological and economic development, our martial life was becoming more and more good, and our mental life was more and more voided. The people surround us was becoming frail in their world. When we faced with difficulties, we may lose our confidence and compromise to he matters. We need this spirit of not to lose heart despite repeated failures to defeat all kinds of difficulties. What’s more, this spirit is good for us to establish the harmonious society. Only in this way, can we build an excellent world.
