The genre of E Hemingway's work is the old man and the sea. Ernest Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea" - Analysis

Year of publication of the book: 1952

The story "The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemingway was first published in 1952 in one of the American periodicals. It was for this work that the writer received the Pulitzer Prize. Based on Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea", many performances were staged and several feature films were shot. The last film in 2012 was Shal, produced in Kazakhstan.

The story "The Old Man and the Sea" summary

Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" tells how an old man named Santiago has been going to sea every day for more than two months, but he never manages to catch anything. Because of this, the inhabitants of his village consider the hero unlucky. A few days ago, Santiago went to sea in the company of a boy named Manolin. However, now the parents of this same boy forbade their son to communicate with the old man, because they believed that he brings him bad luck. Nevertheless, Manolin is very fond of Santiago, who taught him all the tricks of fishing. The boy even buys large sardines, which would pass for good bait, and brings them to the old fisherman's house.

In the work "The Old Man and the Sea" we can read that Santiago himself lives quite modestly and has even come to terms with his poor life. The next morning, the old man again goes fishing, which, as it were, will bring terrible trials. Manolin helps him prepare the boat for sailing. With all my heart main character He believes that this time he will be lucky. While fishing, he enjoys the view of the sea and plunges into memories. The first fish to take the bait is a small tuna. Santiago was delighted, expecting that more big fish.

In "The Old Man and the Sea" summary says that soon the old man's fishing rod begins to stretch to the side. Pulling on the line, Santiago realizes that a huge fish has pecked at his bait. He tries to pull her out, but to no avail. The hero regrets that there is no Manolin next to him now, who could help him get the fish. Meanwhile, evening falls, and Santiago's hands are already scarred from the fishing line. He pulls on the line and puts a bag under it to be able to rest a little.

In Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" we can read that throughout the night the fish continues to pull the old man's boat as far as possible from the village. Despite being very tired, Santiago does not stop thinking about how lucky he was in the form of a large fish. The hero understands that he will try to get her to the last. In the morning, the exhausted old man was forced to eat a single tuna. From pulling the fishing line, Santiago's left hand was cramped. Suddenly, the same fish appears above the water. She was purple and had a huge, sword-sharp nose. The old man is surprised because he has never seen such a large fish. Now he certainly doesn't want to lose her.

In Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the summary tells that another day passes, and the main character is still fighting the fish. Distracted from hunger and loneliness, he begins to remember his childhood and youth, and even talks to himself. Alternately changing hands, he continues to hold the line so as not to miss the exhausted fish. At night, the old man manages to drive the harpoon into the side of the prey. He ties her to the boat and heads home.

Meanwhile, a shark had already swum up to the smell of blood. Santiago gets rid of her with a harpoon. However, having plunged to the bottom, the shark took the weapon with it. In addition, she managed to bite off a large piece of fish. After that, there were several more sharks, which Santiago tried to scare away with a knife and a huge club. They all took turns biting the fish, so the old man soon noticed that he only had a huge prey head and its backbone tied to the boat.

Ernest Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" tells how an exhausted Santiago enters the bay and goes home. Manolin comes to him in the morning. The boy notices the wounded hands of the protagonist and tries to think how to help the old man. He brings him coffee and tells him that he wants to continue fishing together so that Santiago doesn't feel lonely. That same morning, all the inhabitants of the village are considering the old man's huge catch. Even the tourists gathered around the fish, trying to figure out what exactly Santiago had caught. The old man continues to sleep soundly and sees in a dream huge lions walking along the coast of Africa.

The story "The Old Man and the Sea" on the Top Books website

Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" is still as popular to read as it was decades ago. Thanks to this, the story got into ours, as well as into. And given the consistently high interest in the work and work of Hemingway, we will see this work more than once among.

The Old Man and the Sea) - a story by American writer Ernest Hemingway, written in Bimini (Bahamas) and published in 1952. last known piece of art Hemingway, published during his lifetime. Tells the story of old man Santiago, a Cuban fisherman, about his struggle on the high seas with a giant marlin, which became the biggest prey of his life.

Plot

84 days old Cuban fisherman Santiago goes out to sea and can't catch anything, so they start counting him salao, the most unlucky. And only his little friend Manolin continues to help him, although his father forbids him to fish with old Santiago and orders him to go to sea with successful fishermen. The boy often visits the old man in his hut, helps carry tackle, cook food, they often talk about American baseball and their favorite player, Joe DiMaggio. Santiago tells Manolin that the next day he will go out further into the Gulf Stream, north of Cuba into the Strait of Florida, confident that his streak of bad luck must come to an end.

On the 85th day, the old man goes into the Gulf Stream, as usual, on his sailboat, throws in the forest, and by noon luck smiles at him - a marlin about 5.5 meters long comes across the hook. The old man regrets that there is no boy with him - it is not easy to cope alone. For two days and two nights, the marlin takes the boat far out to sea, it is not enough to catch a fish - you still have to swim to the shore with it. Injured by the woods, Santiago has compassion and understanding for his opponent, often calling him brother. He also claims that he will not allow anyone to eat this marlin due to its high merit.

On the third day, the fish begin to swim around the boat. An exhausted Santiago, almost delirious, spends all his last strength to pull the fish to the surface and plant a harpoon in it. Santiago ties the marlin to the side of the boat and heads home, thinking about the high price he will get for it in the market and the people he will feed.

Sharks gather at the old man's boat for blood from fish wounds. The old man fights them, kills a large mako shark with his harpoon, but loses his weapon. He makes a new harpoon by tying his knife to the end of an oar to fend off another shark attack; in this way, he kills five sharks, forcing the rest to retreat. But here the forces are unequal, and with the onset of night, the sharks devour almost the entire marlin carcass, leaving only a skeleton of the spine, tail and head. Santiago realizes that now he has become completely unlucky, and, admitting defeat, tells the sharks that they actually killed the man and his dreams. When Santiago reaches the shore before dawn the next day, he struggles up to his hut, heaving a heavy mast on his shoulder, and leaving the skeleton of a fish on the shore. Entering the house, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The next day, many fishermen gather around the boat, to which the fish skeleton was still tied. One of the fishermen measures the skeleton with a rope. Pedrico takes the head of the fish for himself, and the rest of the fishermen tell Manolin to tell the old man that they sympathize with him. Tourists at a nearby cafe mistake a marlin for a shark. Manolin, worried about the old man, cries when he sees his wounded hands and makes sure that he is breathing. The boy brought newspapers and coffee to the hut. When the old man wakes up, they agree to go out to sea together again. Falling asleep again, Santiago dreams of his youth: lions on the African coast.

History of creation

In May 1953, Ernest Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize for his work, in 1954 - the Nobel Prize in Literature. The success of The Old Man and the Sea made Hemingway world famous. The story is studied in schools, and it continues to bring royalties from all over the world.

Significance in literature

The idea of ​​this work matured in Hemingway for many years. As early as 1936, in the essay "On Blue Water" for Esquire magazine, he described a similar episode that happened to a Cuban fisherman.

Already after the publication of the story, Hemingway revealed his creative idea in one interview. He said that the book "The Old Man and the Sea" could have more than a thousand pages, every villager could find his place in this book, all the ways in which they earn a living, how they are born, study, raise children.

About the party of prisoners in which Pierre was, during his entire movement from Moscow, there was no new order from the French authorities. On October 22, this party was no longer with the troops and convoys with which it left Moscow. Half of the convoy with breadcrumbs, which followed them for the first transitions, was beaten off by the Cossacks, the other half went ahead; the foot cavalrymen who went ahead, there was not one more; they all disappeared. The artillery, which the first crossings could be seen ahead of, was now replaced by the huge convoy of Marshal Junot, escorted by the Westphalians. Behind the prisoners was a convoy of cavalry things.
From Vyazma, the French troops, who had previously marched in three columns, now marched in one heap. Those signs of disorder that Pierre noticed on the first halt from Moscow have now reached the last degree.
The road they were on was paved on both sides with dead horses; ragged people, lagging behind different teams, constantly changing, then joined, then again lagged behind the marching column.
Several times during the campaign there were false alarms, and the soldiers of the convoy raised their guns, fired and ran headlong, crushing each other, but then again gathered and scolded each other for vain fear.
These three gatherings, marching together - the cavalry depot, the depot of prisoners and Junot's convoy - still constituted something separate and integral, although both, and the other, and the third quickly melted away.
In the depot, which had at first been one hundred and twenty wagons, now there were no more than sixty; the rest were repulsed or abandoned. Junot's convoy was also abandoned and several wagons were recaptured. Three wagons were plundered by backward soldiers from Davout's corps who came running. From the conversations of the Germans, Pierre heard that more guards were placed on this convoy than on prisoners, and that one of their comrades, a German soldier, was shot on the orders of the marshal himself because a silver spoon that belonged to the marshal was found on the soldier.
Most of these three gatherings melted the depot of prisoners. Of the three hundred and thirty people who left Moscow, now there were less than a hundred. The prisoners, even more than the saddles of the cavalry depot and than Junot's convoy, burdened the escorting soldiers. Junot's saddles and spoons, they understood that they could be useful for something, but why were the hungry and cold soldiers of the convoy standing guard and guarding the same cold and hungry Russians, who were dying and lagging behind the road, whom they were ordered to shoot - it was not only incomprehensible, but also disgusting. And the escorts, as if afraid in the sad situation in which they themselves were, not to give in to the feeling of pity for the prisoners that was in them and thereby worsen their situation, treated them especially gloomily and strictly.
In Dorogobuzh, while, having locked the prisoners in the stable, the escort soldiers left to rob their own shops, several captured soldiers dug under the wall and ran away, but were captured by the French and shot.
The former order, introduced at the exit from Moscow, that the captured officers should go separately from the soldiers, had long been destroyed; all those who could walk walked together, and from the third passage Pierre had already connected again with Karataev and the lilac bow-legged dog, which had chosen Karataev as its master.
With Karataev, on the third day of leaving Moscow, there was that fever from which he lay in the Moscow hospital, and as Karataev weakened, Pierre moved away from him. Pierre did not know why, but since Karataev began to weaken, Pierre had to make an effort on himself in order to approach him. And going up to him and listening to those quiet groans with which Karataev usually lay down at rest, and feeling the now intensified smell that Karataev emitted from himself, Pierre moved away from him and did not think about him.
In captivity, in a booth, Pierre learned not with his mind, but with his whole being, with his life, that man was created for happiness, that happiness is in himself, in satisfying natural human needs, and that all misfortune comes not from lack, but from excess; but now, in these last three weeks of the campaign, he learned another new, comforting truth - he learned that there is nothing terrible in the world. He learned that just as there is no position in which a person would be happy and completely free, so there is no position in which he would be unhappy and not free. He learned that there is a limit to suffering and a limit to freedom, and that this limit is very close; that the man who suffered because one leaf was wrapped in his pink bed, suffered in the same way as he suffered now, falling asleep on the bare, damp earth, cooling one side and warming the other; that when he used to put on his narrow ballroom shoes, he suffered in exactly the same way as now, when he was completely barefoot (his shoes had long been disheveled), his feet covered with sores. He learned that when he, as it seemed to him, of his own free will married his wife, he was no more free than now, when he was locked up at night in the stable. Of all that he later called suffering, but which he then hardly felt, the main thing was his bare, worn, scabbed feet. (Horse meat was tasty and nutritious, the nitrate bouquet of gunpowder used instead of salt was even pleasant, there was not much cold, and it was always hot during the day on the move, and at night there were fires; the lice that ate the body warmed pleasantly.) One thing was hard. First, it's the legs.
On the second day of the march, having examined his sores by the fire, Pierre thought it impossible to step on them; but when everyone got up, he walked limping, and then, when warmed up, he walked without pain, although in the evening it was still more terrible to look at his feet. But he did not look at them and thought about something else.
Now only Pierre understood the whole force of human vitality and the saving power of shifting attention invested in a person, similar to that saving valve in steam engines that releases excess steam as soon as its density exceeds a certain norm.
He did not see or hear how backward prisoners were shot, although more than a hundred of them had already died in this way. He did not think about Karataev, who was weakening every day and, obviously, was soon to undergo the same fate. Even less did Pierre think of himself. The more difficult his position became, the more terrible the future was, the more independent of the position in which he was, joyful and soothing thoughts, memories and ideas came to him.

On the 22nd, at noon, Pierre walked uphill along a muddy, slippery road, looking at his feet and at the unevenness of the road. From time to time he glanced at the familiar crowd surrounding him, and again at his feet. Both were equally his own and familiar to him. The lilac, bow-legged Gray ran merrily along the side of the road, occasionally, as proof of his agility and contentment, tucking his hind paw and jumping on three and then again on all four, rushing barking at the crows that were sitting on the carrion. Gray was more cheerful and smoother than in Moscow. On all sides lay the meat of various animals - from human to horse, in various degrees of decomposition; and the walking people kept the wolves away, so that Gray could eat as much as he wanted.

The Old Man and the Sea is Ernest Hemingway's most famous novel. The idea of ​​the work was nurtured by the author for many years, but the final version of the story was published only in 1952, when Hemingway moved to Cuba and resumed his literary activity after participating in World War II.

At that time, Ernest Hemingway was already a recognized writer. His novels Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, collections of short prose Men Without Women, The Snows of Kilimanjaro were in great demand among readers and were successfully published.

The Old Man and the Sea brought Hemingway two of the most prestigious awards in the field of literature - the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize. The first was awarded to the writer in 1953, the second - a year later, in 1954. The wording of the Nobel Committee was as follows: "For the narrative skill, once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea."

The story is truly a masterpiece. She inspired many cultural figures to create new works, in particular artistic adaptations. The first film was made in 1958. The issuing country is the USA. The director's chair was taken by John Sturgess, the role of old man Santiago was played by Spencer Tracy.

Screen version of the work

In 1990, Jud Taylor directed another TV version of the cult work. And in 1999, Russia went on a bold experiment by releasing an animated version of The Old Man and the Sea. The short animation won BAFTA and Oscar awards.

The most recent project based on the story was released in 2012. This is the film "The Old Man" from the Kazakh director Ermek Tursunov. He was warmly received by critics and nominated for the national Nika award.

Let's remember the plot of this realistic and magical, cruel and touching, simple and infinitely deep work.

Cuba. Havana. An old fisherman named Santiago is getting ready for his next trip to the sea. This season is not good for Santiago. This is the eighty-fourth time he has returned without a catch. The old man is no longer what he used to be. His hands lost their former strength and dexterity, deep wrinkles dotted his face, neck, nape, from constant physical labor and poverty, he emaciated and dried up. Only the still mighty shoulders and eyes of the color of the sea, "the cheerful eyes of a man who never gives up," remained unchanged.

Santiago really wasn't in the habit of falling into despair. Despite the hardships of life, he "never lost hope or faith in the future." And now, on the eve of the eighty-fifth exit to the sea, Santiago does not intend to retreat. The evening before fishing with him is spent by his faithful friend - the neighbor's boy Manolin. The boy used to be Santiago's partner, but due to the failures that befell the old fisherman, Manolin's parents forbade him to go to sea with the old man and sent him to a more successful boat.

Despite the fact that young Manolo now has a stable income, he misses fishing with old man Santiago. He was his first teacher. It seems that then Manolin was about five years old when he first went with the old man to the sea. Manolo was almost killed by the mighty blow of the fish that Santiago caught. Yes, then the old man was still lucky.

Good friends - the old man and the boy - talked a little about baseball, sports celebrities, fishing and those distant times when Santiago was still as young as Manolin and sailed on a fishing boat to the shores of Africa. Falling asleep on a chair in his poor hut, Santiago sees the African coast and the handsome lions who come out to look at the fishermen.

Saying goodbye to the boy, Santiago goes to sea. This is his element, here he feels free and calm, as if in a well-known house. Young people call the sea el mar (masculine) and treat it as a rival and even an enemy. The old man always called him la mar (feminine) and never feels hostility to this sometimes capricious, but always desirable and pliable element. Santiago "constantly thinks of the sea as a woman who bestows great favors or denies them, and if she allows herself to act rashly or unkindly, what can you do, such is her nature."

The old man talks with marine life - flying fish, sea swallows, huge turtles, colorful physalia. He loves flying fish and considers them his own. best friends, faithful companions during long swims. He regrets sea swallows for their fragility and defenselessness. Fizaliy hates because their poison killed many sailors. He enjoys watching them being devoured by mighty turtles. The old man ate turtle eggs and drank shark oil all summer to gain strength before the autumn season when the really big fish came.

Santiago is sure that luck will smile on him today. He specifically swims far into the sea to great depths. There is probably a fish waiting for him here.

Soon the fishing line really starts to move - someone pecked at his treat. "Eat, fish. Eat. Well, eat, please, - the old man says, - The sardines are so fresh, and you are so cold in the water, at a depth of six hundred feet ... Don't be shy, fish. Eat, please."

The fish is full of tuna, now it's time to pull the line. Then the hook will plunge into the very heart of the prey, it will float to the surface and be finished off by the harpoon. Such a depth - the fish, for sure, is huge!

But, to the surprise of the old man, the fish did not appear above the sea surface. With a powerful jerk, she pulled the boat behind her and began to drag it into the open sea. The old man clung to the line with force. He won't release this fish. Not so easy.

For four hours the fish had been pulling the boat with the old man like a huge tugboat. Santiago was as weary as his prey. He was thirsty and hungry, the straw hat hit his head, and the hand clutching the fishing line ached treacherously. But the main thing is that the fish did not appear on the surface. “I would like to look at her with at least one eye,” the old man reasoned aloud, “then I would know with whom I am dealing.”

The lights of Havana had long since disappeared from view, the sea area was shrouded in night darkness, and the duel between fish and man continued. Santiago admired his opponent. He had never come across such a strong fish, "she grabbed the bait like a male, and fights me like a male, without any fear."

If only this miracle fish realized its advantage, if only it could see that its opponent is one person, and that old man. She could rush with all her might or rush to the bottom like a stone and kill the old man. Fortunately, fish are not as smart as people, although they are more dexterous and noble.

Now the old man is happy that he had the honor to fight such a worthy opponent. The only pity is that there is no boy nearby, he would certainly want to see this duel with his own eyes. With a boy it would not be so difficult and lonely. A person should not be left alone in old age - Santiago argues aloud - but this, alas, is inevitable.

At dawn, the old man eats the tuna that the boy gave him. He needs to gain strength to continue the fight. “I should have fed the big fish,” Santiago thinks, “because they are my relatives.” But this cannot be done, he will catch her in order to show the boy and prove what a person is capable of and what he can endure. "Fish, I love and respect you very much, but I will kill you before the evening comes."

Finally, Santiago's mighty adversary surrenders. The fish jumps to the surface and appears before the old man in all its dazzling splendor. Her smooth body shimmered in the sun, with dark purple stripes down her sides, and for a nose she had a sword as big as a baseball stick and sharp as a rapier.

Gathering the rest of his strength, the old man enters the final battle. The fish is circling around the boat, in its death throes trying to turn over the flimsy boat. Having contrived, Santiago plunges the harpoon into the body of the fish. This is victory!

Tying the fish to the boat, it seems to the old man that he has clung to the side of a huge ship. You can get a lot of money for such fish. Now it's time to hurry home to the lights of Havana.

Trouble appeared very soon in the guise of a shark. She was drawn to the blood that flowed from the wound on the side of the fish. Armed with a harpoon, the old man killed the predator. She dragged to the bottom a piece of fish that she managed to grab, a harpoon and the whole rope. This fight was won, but the old man knew full well that others would follow the shark. First they will eat the fish, and then they will take him.

Another masterpiece from Ernest Hemingway is a novel that tells about an American who came to Spain during civil war in 1937.

In anticipation of predators, the old man's thoughts were confused. He thought aloud about sin, the definition of which he did not understand and did not believe in, thought about the strength of the spirit, the limits of human endurance, the saving elixir of hope, and about the fish that he had killed this afternoon.

Maybe in vain he killed this strong noble fish? He got the better of her thanks to cunning, but she fought honestly, without preparing any evil for him. Not! He did not kill the fish out of petty desire for profit, he killed it out of pride, because he is a fisherman and she is a fish. But he loves her and now they swim side by side like brothers.

The next flock of sharks began to attack the boat even more rapidly. Predators pounced on the fish, snatching off pieces of its flesh with their powerful jaws. The old man tied a knife to the oar and thus tried to fight off the sharks. He killed a few of them, maimed others, but it was beyond his strength to cope with a whole flock. Now he is too weak for such a duel.

When old Santiago landed on the coast of Havana, there was a huge skeleton at the side of his boat - sharks gnawed it whole. No one dared to speak to Santiago. What a fish! She must have been a real beauty! Only the boy came to visit his friend. Now he will again go to sea with the old man. Santiago has no more luck? Nonsense! The boy will bring it again! Do not dare to despair, because you, old man, never lose heart. You will still be useful. And even if your hands are no longer as strong as before, you can teach the boy, because you know everything in the world.

The sun shone serenely over the coast of Havana. A group of tourists with curiosity examined someone's huge skeleton. The big fish is probably a shark. They never thought they had such graceful tails. Meanwhile, the boy guarded the sleeping old man. The old man dreamed of lions.

The writing

At the lesson of foreign literature, we studied the work of E. Hemingway "The Old Man and the Sea." Literary critics define the genre of this work as a story-parable, i.e. a work that tells about the fate and certain events of the hero's life, but this story has an allegorical character, deep moral and philosophical content. The story is closely connected with all the previous works of the writer and looks like the pinnacle of his thoughts about the meaning of life. The story can be told in a few sentences. There lived a lonely old fisherman. Recently, fishing fate, like people, has left him, but the old man did not give up. He goes out to sea again and again, and in the end he is happy: a huge fish is caught on the bait, the struggle between the old man and the fish lasts for several days, and the man wins, and the gluttonous sharks attack the fisherman's prey and destroy it. When the old man's boat comes ashore, only the skeleton remains of the beautiful fish. The exhausted old man returns to his poor hut.

However, the content of the story is much broader and richer. Hemingway likened his works to an iceberg, which is only a small part visible from the water, and the rest is hidden in the ocean space. A literary text is that part of the iceberg that is visible on the surface, and the reader can only guess what the author left unsaid, left it for the reader to interpret. Therefore, the story has a deep symbolic content.

The title of the work evokes certain associations, hints at the main problems: man and nature, mortal and eternal, ugly and beautiful, etc. The union "and" ("The Old Man and the Sea") unites and at the same time opposes these concepts. The characters and events of the story concretize these associations, deepen and sharpen the problems stated in the title. The old man symbolizes human experience and at the same time its limitations. Next to the old fisherman, the author depicts a little boy who is learning and learning from the old man. And when the old fisherman is not happy, the parents forbid the boy to go to sea with him. In a fight with a fish, the old man really needs help, and he regrets that there is no boy nearby, and understands that this is natural. Old age, he thinks, should not be lonely, and this is inevitable.

The theme of human loneliness is revealed by the author in the symbolic paintings of a fragile boat against the backdrop of a boundless ocean. The ocean symbolizes eternity and irresistible natural force. Hemingway is sure that a person can be destroyed, but not defeated. The old man brought his ability to resist nature, he withstood the hardest test in his life, because, despite his loneliness, he thought about people (memories of the boy, their conversations about an outstanding baseball player, about sports news support him at a moment when his strength almost left).

At the end of the story, Hemingway also touches on the topic of misunderstanding between people. He depicts a group of tourists who are amazed only by the size of the skeleton of the fish and do not understand at all the tragedy of the old man, about which one of the heroes is trying to tell them. The symbolism of the story is complex, and each reader perceives this work according to his experience.

Other writings on this work

Man and nature (based on the novel by E. Hemingway "The Old Man and the Sea") Man and nature (based on the story by E. Hemingway "The Old Man and the Sea") (First version) Old man Santiago defeated or victorious "The Old Man and the Sea" - a book about a man who does not give up Analysis of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" The main theme of Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea" Problems and genre features of E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" A hymn to man (based on the novel by E. Hemingway "The Old Man and the Sea") Courageous hero of a courageous writer (based on Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea") "Man was not created to suffer defeat" (According to E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea") The plot and content of the story of the parable "The Old Man and the Sea" The world was excited by the magnificent story "The Old Man and the Sea" Features of Hemingway's style

At the lesson of foreign literature, we studied the work of E. Hemingway "The Old Man and the Sea." Literary critics define the genre of this work as a story-parable, i.e. a work that tells about the fate and certain events of the hero's life, but this story has an allegorical character, deep moral and philosophical content. Ernest Hemingway is a world-famous American writer whose works are a true eyewitness and participant in the events of the 20th century. E. Hemingway was born in the family of a doctor. At the age of eighteen he became a journalist. He was not just a newspaperman, but a correspondent of history itself, therefore in his prose one can feel the sincerity of a person, empathy for the suffering and oppressed. The heroes of E. Hemingway are courageous and smart people, but they feel superfluous in life: they are fooled by false everydayness. Through his heroes, the author approves a well-known code that provides for a system of moral, ethical, and life principles. A striking figure in E. Hemingway's prose is the fisherman Santiago, the hero of the story "The Old Man and the Sea". He lived and worked all his life at sea, he knew him as himself, he saw the meaning of his life in him. "Everything in him was old, except for the eyes - they were the color of the sea and shone cheerfully and invincibly." It was his eyes that testified to strength, courage, readiness to stand up for himself and for his cause. He always thought of the sea as a living creature that can both give great affection and take it away when he does something dashing or inconsolable.

Santiago, through his theme of human loneliness, is revealed by the author in symbolic paintings of a fragile boat against the backdrop of a boundless ocean. The ocean symbolizes eternity and irresistible natural force. Hemingway is sure that a person can be destroyed, but not defeated. The old man brought his ability to resist nature, he withstood the hardest test in his life, because, despite his loneliness, he thought about people (memories of the boy, their conversations about an outstanding baseball player, about sports news support him at a moment when his strength almost left).

At the end of the story, Hemingway also touches on the topic of misunderstanding between people. He depicts a group of tourists who are amazed only by the size of the skeleton of the fish and do not understand at all the tragedy of the old man, about which one of the heroes is trying to tell them. The symbolism of the story is complex, and each reader perceives this work according to his experience. the attitude to the sea, to all living things and even to our defeat, shows us that it is very important to live in harmony with nature, to be a part of it, to respect any living creature, whether it be a child, or a bird, or fish. Hemingway showed the old Santiago as a strong man who does not bow to circumstances, does not bend under the burden of life, indestructible under the merciless blows of fate. This gives him great respect. The story is closely connected with all the previous works of the writer and looks like the pinnacle of his thoughts about the meaning of life. The story can be told in a few sentences. There lives a lonely old fisherman. Recently, fishing fate, like people, has left him, but the old man does not complain. He goes out to sea again and again, and in the end he is happy: a huge fish pecked at the bait, the struggle between the old man and the fish lasts for several days, and the man wins, and the gluttonous sharks attack the fisherman's prey and destroy it. When the old man's boat comes ashore, only the skeleton remains of the beautiful fish. The exhausted old man returns to his poor hut. However, the content of the story is much broader and richer. Hemingway likened his works to an iceberg, which is only a small part visible from the water, and the surrender is hidden in the ocean space. A literary text is that part of the iceberg that is visible on the surface, and the reader can only guess what the author left unsaid, left it for the reader to interpret. Therefore, the story has a deep symbolic content.

The title of the work evokes certain associations, hints at the main problems: man and nature, mortal and eternal, ugly and beautiful, etc. The union "and" ("The Old Man and the Sea") unites and at the same time opposes these concepts. The characters and events of the story concretize these associations, deepen and sharpen the problems stated in the title. The old man symbolizes human experience and at the same time its limitations. Next to the old fisherman, the author depicts a little boy who teaches and learns from old Santiago. And when the old fisherman is not happy, the parents forbid the boy to go to sea with him. In a duel with a fish, the old man really needs help, and he regrets that there is no boy nearby, and understands that this is natural. Old age, he thinks, should not be lonely, and this is inevitable.

    The story "The Old Man and the Sea" strikes with the sharpness of the outwardly, seemingly uncomplicated plot, the peculiar character of the hero, and the refinement of the language. Genuine interest is caused by deep, sometimes mournful discussions about the life of a simple fisherman who finds himself in an extreme...

    Epigraph - His best thing. Perhaps time will show that this is the best of all written by us - by him and my contemporaries (W. Faulkner on E. Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea"). In the spring of 1936, E. Hemingway published an essay in Exwire magazine in which ...

    There are many photo portraits of the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway. In one of them, the camera captured the writer on the deck of his yacht Pilar. A tall, shirtless man looks directly into the sun. In his slight smile and squinted...

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    On the outskirts of Havana, in the fishing village of Kohimari, there is a plate with the following inscription: “Ernest Hemingway. Author of The Old Man and the Sea. So grateful fishermen, with whom the writer often met and whose features he embodied in the image of his hero Santiago, ...