The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Here's my rough draft of an essay I had to write for The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Hope you enjoy, even though there's probably a ton of mistakes.
In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, you can't help but feel sorry for the main character, Santiago. Hemingway just knew exactly what to put to captivate you and your heart. I doubt that there's a person out there who read The Old Man and the Sea and didn't feel at least a little bit of sympathy for Santiago.
One way that Hemingway gains the reader's sympathy is by making him have extremely bad luck. Santiago even goes on to lose his only fishing companion because of this. As described in the book, ''But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definetely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.'' So Santiago didn't just have bad luck he had the worst form of bad luck out there. You have to feel sorry for him.
Another way, Hemingway gained the reader's sympathy for Santiago is by making Santiago an impoverished person. You get a sense of just how poor he is especially when you read about his home and bed. ''He rolled his trousers up to make a pillow,putting the newspaper inside them.'' Can you imagine having to use your pants as a pillow case and newspapers as the pillow itself? It goes on to say, ''He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs of the bed.'' If you do not feel even a hint of sympathy for Santiago, then you must be made of stone.
The next way Hemingway makes the reader feel sorry for Santiago is by making him alone in the sea for around 3 days. His lonelieness gets so bad that Santiago actually starts talking to animals. He talks to the Marlin that he caught, he talks to a random bird that flys on his boat. He even starts talking to himself. Now, we've all seen people talk to themselves and I know from experience that you can't help but feel bad for the person. The old man also begins just wishing that he had the boy with him as he repeatdly says, ''I wish I had the boy.''
Hemingway also makes you feel sympathy towards Santiago by making Santiago get constantly injured while fishing for the marlin. In one part of the book, I believe that we hear about the wire cutting into Santiago's hand. It makes you almost cringe just trying to imagine how that feels. Hemingway also goes on to talk about how Santiago feels like his back is breaking or going out. There's also moments in the story when Hemingway describes how lightheaded Santiago feels.
Hemingway perfected the art of gaining sympathy from the reader's in The Old Man and the Sea. It would be close to impossible to find someone who didn't feel even slightly sorry for Santiago. By making Santiago have bad luck, be poor, be alone, and giving him multiple injuries, he captured the reader's sympathy and attention.
Song of the Day: Backstabber - The Dresden Dolls
In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, you can't help but feel sorry for the main character, Santiago. Hemingway just knew exactly what to put to captivate you and your heart. I doubt that there's a person out there who read The Old Man and the Sea and didn't feel at least a little bit of sympathy for Santiago.
One way that Hemingway gains the reader's sympathy is by making him have extremely bad luck. Santiago even goes on to lose his only fishing companion because of this. As described in the book, ''But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definetely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.'' So Santiago didn't just have bad luck he had the worst form of bad luck out there. You have to feel sorry for him.
Another way, Hemingway gained the reader's sympathy for Santiago is by making Santiago an impoverished person. You get a sense of just how poor he is especially when you read about his home and bed. ''He rolled his trousers up to make a pillow,putting the newspaper inside them.'' Can you imagine having to use your pants as a pillow case and newspapers as the pillow itself? It goes on to say, ''He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs of the bed.'' If you do not feel even a hint of sympathy for Santiago, then you must be made of stone.
The next way Hemingway makes the reader feel sorry for Santiago is by making him alone in the sea for around 3 days. His lonelieness gets so bad that Santiago actually starts talking to animals. He talks to the Marlin that he caught, he talks to a random bird that flys on his boat. He even starts talking to himself. Now, we've all seen people talk to themselves and I know from experience that you can't help but feel bad for the person. The old man also begins just wishing that he had the boy with him as he repeatdly says, ''I wish I had the boy.''
Hemingway also makes you feel sympathy towards Santiago by making Santiago get constantly injured while fishing for the marlin. In one part of the book, I believe that we hear about the wire cutting into Santiago's hand. It makes you almost cringe just trying to imagine how that feels. Hemingway also goes on to talk about how Santiago feels like his back is breaking or going out. There's also moments in the story when Hemingway describes how lightheaded Santiago feels.
Hemingway perfected the art of gaining sympathy from the reader's in The Old Man and the Sea. It would be close to impossible to find someone who didn't feel even slightly sorry for Santiago. By making Santiago have bad luck, be poor, be alone, and giving him multiple injuries, he captured the reader's sympathy and attention.
Song of the Day: Backstabber - The Dresden Dolls
posted by wizardsandwerewolves at
4:17 PM
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