History Literature / TheOldManAndTheSea

Due to the symbolism, relatively easy prose and short length, ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a mainstay of [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school English courses]], and is perhaps one of the most widely-read books in the United States (at least for people under thirty). It won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize in 1953 and pretty much sealed the deal on Hemingway's 1954 UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature. It was adapted into a 1958 film starring Creator/SpencerTracy, an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward-winning 1999 Russian cartoon, and a 1990 miniseries with Creator/AnthonyQuinn.

* ThinkingOoutLoud: Santiago got into the habit of talking to himself while out fishing alone.

->''Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.''

* DuelToTheDeath: Santiago comes to realize that this is essentially what his situation with the marlin has become when it starts to circle. He muses why it has to be this way, in one of the biggest NotSoDifferent moments between he and the fish.

* NotSoDifferent: Santiago and the marlin, {{Determinator}} vs. {{Determinator}}. Santiago acknowledges this throughout the latter half of the story.
** By extension of this, the ''galanos'' are this to the younger generation of fishermen in some interpretations.

Due to the symbolism, relatively easy prose and short length, ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a mainstay of [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school English courses]], and is perhaps one of the most widely-read books in the United States (at least for people under thirty). It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and pretty much sealed the deal on Hemingway's 1954 UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature. It was adapted into a 1958 film starring Creator/SpencerTracy, an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward-winning 1999 Russian cartoon, and a 1990 miniseries with Creator/AnthonyQuinn.

Due to the symbolism, relatively easy prose and short length, ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a mainstay of [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school English courses]], and is perhaps one of the most widely-read books in the United States (at least for people under thirty). It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and pretty much sealed the deal on Hemingway's 1954 UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature. It was adapted into a 1958 film with Creator/SpencerTracy, an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward-winning 1999 Russian cartoon, and a 1990 miniseries with Creator/AnthonyQuinn.

* BrokenAce: The last book Hemingway ever saw published himself was also fittingly his last [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] reconstruction of his philosophy of manhood. Santiago catches the fish, but it [[SenselessSacrifice gets eaten by sharks]] and [[spoiler: [[MentorOccupationalHazard it's implied he dies at the end]]]]. Nevertheless, he still passes his lessons on to the boy, and most importantly, [[DoomedMoralVictor the fish never beat him]]. His DoomedMoralVictor status is even cemented by a literary CrucifiedHeroShot.

* TaxonomicTermConfusion: The old man catches a fish known as "Dolphin Fish", and calls it only "dolphin" throughout the book.

%%* WorthyOpponent: The marlin.

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Santiago has a nail driven into his hand, which is described in a way that it could just as easily be talking about UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} during his Crucifixion.

* BadassGrandpa: And how. Santiago, naturally, being a Hemingway protagonist.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Of a sort. Santiago for the most part is the standard Hemingway protagonist, i.e. [[TheAce a competent]], [[DuelToTheDeath utterly determined]] [[BadassNormal paragon of manliness]]. But he's also an [[BadassGrandpa old man]]. Hemingway was starting to age around the time he wrote Old Man, and it came right after he wrote ''Across the River and into the Trees''[[labelnote:*]] Which Hemingway [[MagnumOpusDissonance actually considered]] his masterpiece[[/labelnote]], a book which got significant bad press. In a way, Santiago is probably something of a reflection upon the way Hemingway felt about himself.

-->''Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.''

* CrucifiedHeroShot

* WorthyOpponent: The marlin.
** The first shark might count too.

* [[ThreateningShark Everything Is Even Worse With Sharks]]

** The marlin as well. That's one {{badass}} fish to drag the old man that far out to sea.

Due to the symbolism, relatively easy prose and short length, ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a mainstay of [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school English courses]], and is perhaps one of the most widely-read books in the United States (at least for people under thirty). It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and pretty much sealed the deal on Hemingway's 1954 UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature. It was adapted into a 1958 film with Creator/SpencerTracy and into a 1990 miniseries with Creator/AnthonyQuinn.

* {{Beige Prose}}: This book basically defines this trope.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Of a sort. Santiago for the most part is the standard Hemingway protagonist, i.e. [[TheAce a competent]], [[DuelToTheDeath utterly determined]] [[BadassNormal paragon of manliness]]. But he's also an [[BadassGrandpa old man]]. Hemingway was starting to age around the time he wrote Old Man, and it came right after he wrote Across the River and into the Trees[[labelnote:*]] Which Hemingway [[MagnumOpusDissonance actually considered]] his masterpiece[[/labelnote]], a book which got significant bad press. In a way, Santiago is probably something of a reflection upon the way Hemingway felt about himself.

* {{Narm}}: The Polish title of the novella, ''Stary człowiek i morze'', while being a perfectly faithful rendition of the original, has the dubious distinction of being one of the most chuckle-inspiring titles in the history of Polish translations due to the fact that the pronunciation of the "sea"-meaning word ''morze'' and ''może'', the latter of which literally means "he/she/it can", sounds about the same. And when the verb ''może" is left without a complimentary, it is commonly associated with sexual prowess. So the whole title, when read aloud, might just as well say "An old man who can still get some".

* Narm: The Polish title of the novella, ''Stary człowiek i morze'', while being a perfectly faithful rendition of the original, has the dubious distinction of being one of the most chuckle-inspiring titles in the history of Polish translations due to the fact that the pronunciation of the "sea"-meaning word ''morze'' and ''może'', the latter of which literally means "he/she/it can", sounds about the same. And when the verb ''może" is left without a complimentary, it is commonly associated with sexual prowess. So the whole title, when read aloud, might just as well say "An old man who can still get some".

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Of a sort. Santiago for the most part is the standard Hemingway protagonist, i.e. [[TheAce a competent]], [[DuelToTheDeath utterly determined]] [[BadassNormal paragon of manliness]]. But he's also an [[BadassGrandpa old man]]. Hemingway was starting to age around the time he wrote Old Man, and it came right after he wrote Across the River and into the Trees[[labelnote:*]] Which Hemingway [[MagnumOpusDissonance actually considered]] his MagnumOpus[[/labelnote]], a book which got significant bad press. In a way, Santiago is probably something of a reflection upon the way Hemingway felt about himself.

Due to the symbolism, relatively easy prose and short length, ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a mainstay of [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school English courses]], and is perhaps one of the most widely-read books in the United States (at least for people under thirty). It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and pretty much sealed the deal on Hemingway's 1954 NobelPrizeInLiterature. It was adapted into a 1958 film with Creator/SpencerTracy and into a 1990 miniseries with Creator/AnthonyQuinn.

* TheMentor: The old man to the boy. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fittingly]].

* {{Determinator}}: Santiago continuously combated the marlin over the course of two days and two nights without rest, all the while feeling the effects it and age had on his body, including hunger, cramps, and even minor injuries. Even after the fish is caught, Santiago remains determined to protect his catch from sharks, and only stops when he runs out of ways to fight off the sharks (after using a harpoon, a club, and and improvised spear made from a knife tied to an oar) and all but the head of the fish has been taken. Keep in mind that this is AFTER going roughly 96 hours without sleep and only a few morsels of fish as sustenance.