I have finished my first book which was 140 pages, so I read a mere 120 pages since my last post.
A summary of what I read, which was pretty much the entire book, is as follows. The old man goes out after a long streak of bad luck. He eventually hooks an extremely large fish. The fish then takes him very far out and he must endure two days of holding the line, with no company but himself and the birds and fish. After a struggle he then catches the massive fish which turns out to be bigger then his boat. As he returns sharks begin to arrive. He initially fights them off with his harpoon until it is lost, then his knife attached to a oar until it is broken, and then clubs until he is defeated. When he finally returns home only the skeleton of the great fish remains and he goes to sleep.
Throughout the story the old man has a great respect for all of the creatures of the ocean (except some of the sharks) and the sea itself. He sees the fish as a more worthy and honorable being. As he returns after catching the great fish he talks to it until it is destroyed by the sharks. This shows a theme of the nobility of nature and the inferiority of humans.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Post #2 - The Old Man and the Sea - Favorite Passage
I read to page 20, for a total of 20 pages.
The book begins the story explaining how the old man has not caught a fish for over eighty days and a boy who used to help him has been forced to work on another boat by his parents. The old man is well respected by the other fishermen it seems but the boy is the only one who cares for him. The beginning of the book put simply is the boy preparing the man for another day of fishing.
A theme so far seems to be simplicity in life, the old man has only what he needs to survive (if that considering the boy is his main source of food). He is very simple minded, the only thing he and the boy discuss besides fishing is baseball and dreams from his youth.
One of my favorite passages was on page 17:
"May I take the cast net?"
"Of course."
There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction every day. There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.
This is a perfect example of Hemingway's style of writing. The sentences are all extremely simple and concise, only enough words to convey the information. There is also a pattern of lots of tradition throughout this book. Everything is done a certain way and the past is revered by the main characters, though they operate in the present. The sentences also do not have any punctuation because they sentences are all so short and/or simple. All of the writing is also very explanatory. As the conservation occurs, Hemingway explains the surroundings and meaning behind everything (at least from the eyes of the boy or old man).
The book begins the story explaining how the old man has not caught a fish for over eighty days and a boy who used to help him has been forced to work on another boat by his parents. The old man is well respected by the other fishermen it seems but the boy is the only one who cares for him. The beginning of the book put simply is the boy preparing the man for another day of fishing.
A theme so far seems to be simplicity in life, the old man has only what he needs to survive (if that considering the boy is his main source of food). He is very simple minded, the only thing he and the boy discuss besides fishing is baseball and dreams from his youth.
One of my favorite passages was on page 17:
"May I take the cast net?"
"Of course."
There was no cast net and the boy remembered when they had sold it. But they went through this fiction every day. There was no pot of yellow rice and fish and the boy knew this too.
This is a perfect example of Hemingway's style of writing. The sentences are all extremely simple and concise, only enough words to convey the information. There is also a pattern of lots of tradition throughout this book. Everything is done a certain way and the past is revered by the main characters, though they operate in the present. The sentences also do not have any punctuation because they sentences are all so short and/or simple. All of the writing is also very explanatory. As the conservation occurs, Hemingway explains the surroundings and meaning behind everything (at least from the eyes of the boy or old man).
Friday, February 1, 2008
Post #1 - Ernest Hemingway Proposal
Ernest Hemingway Proposal
For my American Author Paper I intend to read the works of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway ranks amongst some of the most famous and important American authors ever. I want to read Ernest Hemingway’s work because I believe I will find it interesting, which is probably the most important aspect when deciding upon an author to write a large literary analysis on. His style of writing, from what I have gathered for I have not read any piece from his extensive list of literary works is appealing and seems to be an enjoyable read. I am also interested in the content of many of his novels and short stories. He wrote about his experiences participating in and later witnessing war, and I plan to read some of those stories because I personally love first-hand accounts of armed conflict.
Ernest Hemingway is an American author through and through. He was born in America, Illinois specifically, and he committed suicide in the state of Idaho. He was not only a novelist; his first profession was journalism which he continued to do for much of his life. He was also the author of multiple short stories and nonfiction works. The most important and probably influential event in Hemingway’s life was his experience as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War I. He became part of the Lost Generation because of his disassociation and desensitization with the world after the horrible war experiences.
Hemingway is one of the most influential twentieth century writers, and many modern fiction writers, such as members of Generation X, continue to be influenced by his style. His writing was constructed of very short and simple sentences that would describe one thing after another in succession. This can be attributed to his journalistic influences as well as his simplistic outlook on life. Most of the protagonists in his works are stoic men who, like himself, have difficulty relating to women but are graceful under pressure. His writing is also usually very symbolic of his philosophy of realism.
Throughout his life he received positive and negative critiques of his many novels and stories. They ranged from claims that some of his work represents the best ever written to critical failures. After writing The Old Man and the Sea he received a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Literature Prize in 1954. Overall Ernest Hemingway is a well know author amongst both the general public and the literary circles as an extremely influential writer.
As one would assume I do not know what my thesis will be yet. However, I am confident that I will be able to create a thesis that has enough depth to write a fascinating ten-page literary analysis paper on. I believe that many of the same themes will be present in his work and one possible thesis or at least subject would be to explore how his ideas or philosophies evolved over time, if at all. His similar average protagonist is another possible topic I could write about, again because there are major similarities between most of his main characters. I am fairly confident that there will be a wide swath of possible subjects I could develop a thesis on.
At this point in the project I am looking to read three of his novels. The Sun Also Rises is the first novel, followed by A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea. I also intend to read at least one collection of his short stories, such as The Killers. Finally I will read one of his nonfiction pieces, Men at War, and a biography. I plan to read everything in chronological order, mainly so I can directly witness any changes in his style.
For my American Author Paper I intend to read the works of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway ranks amongst some of the most famous and important American authors ever. I want to read Ernest Hemingway’s work because I believe I will find it interesting, which is probably the most important aspect when deciding upon an author to write a large literary analysis on. His style of writing, from what I have gathered for I have not read any piece from his extensive list of literary works is appealing and seems to be an enjoyable read. I am also interested in the content of many of his novels and short stories. He wrote about his experiences participating in and later witnessing war, and I plan to read some of those stories because I personally love first-hand accounts of armed conflict.
Ernest Hemingway is an American author through and through. He was born in America, Illinois specifically, and he committed suicide in the state of Idaho. He was not only a novelist; his first profession was journalism which he continued to do for much of his life. He was also the author of multiple short stories and nonfiction works. The most important and probably influential event in Hemingway’s life was his experience as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War I. He became part of the Lost Generation because of his disassociation and desensitization with the world after the horrible war experiences.
Hemingway is one of the most influential twentieth century writers, and many modern fiction writers, such as members of Generation X, continue to be influenced by his style. His writing was constructed of very short and simple sentences that would describe one thing after another in succession. This can be attributed to his journalistic influences as well as his simplistic outlook on life. Most of the protagonists in his works are stoic men who, like himself, have difficulty relating to women but are graceful under pressure. His writing is also usually very symbolic of his philosophy of realism.
Throughout his life he received positive and negative critiques of his many novels and stories. They ranged from claims that some of his work represents the best ever written to critical failures. After writing The Old Man and the Sea he received a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Literature Prize in 1954. Overall Ernest Hemingway is a well know author amongst both the general public and the literary circles as an extremely influential writer.
As one would assume I do not know what my thesis will be yet. However, I am confident that I will be able to create a thesis that has enough depth to write a fascinating ten-page literary analysis paper on. I believe that many of the same themes will be present in his work and one possible thesis or at least subject would be to explore how his ideas or philosophies evolved over time, if at all. His similar average protagonist is another possible topic I could write about, again because there are major similarities between most of his main characters. I am fairly confident that there will be a wide swath of possible subjects I could develop a thesis on.
At this point in the project I am looking to read three of his novels. The Sun Also Rises is the first novel, followed by A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea. I also intend to read at least one collection of his short stories, such as The Killers. Finally I will read one of his nonfiction pieces, Men at War, and a biography. I plan to read everything in chronological order, mainly so I can directly witness any changes in his style.
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