On the day before yesterday's class (7 June)

My interpretation of The Old Man and the Sea is that the whole book is about Hemingway himself's wish. I came up with this idea when Rab told us that Hemingway sort of made up an unrealistic story which is quite unusual of him being famous as a realist writer.

Some people say that Hemingway represents Jesus but it does not seem to be accurate to my eyes. He thinks to himself that no one except for himself is worthy of eating the big fish. If you think about it how such a person who said that could be regarded as Jesus ,who was willing always and actually did sacrifice himself for people. Wouldn't Jesus give away the fish he caught with all his effort to those who are capable of doing so or to those who cannot afford any food and all that?

Writing the book, Hemingway wishes he had good relationships with his own son like the old man did with the boy who cares about and are concerned about the old man.




About the cover of the last year's edition. I thought the current one that we have on our book better suits the atmosphere and the mood of the story. That is, the previous one looks like a cover for a story of a strong man and his great enemy and about an accomplished victory or something like that. In fact, however, the story is rather flat and sometimes even miserable. Visualize in your head the situation given by the story. There is only one feeble man on a small skiff searching for a fish, getting one, and having it completely ruined except the head and the tail and talking to and even cheering himself constantly.

Here you might want to say that this story then can not be about his wish. But if you think about it it actually can since he kills all the sharks. The sharks could be anything that Hemingway regarded as his opponent, concern, burden, or any kind of trouble. He defeat every single one and manage to get home where the boy was waiting.

Those things are just part of my interpretation of the book and I know I need more and deeper understanding of it to be really prepared for the test...but ..........