中国矿业大学外文学院 《美国文学选读》课程论文 论文题目:

Reading Report of Man and the Sea

2015 年 6 月 徐州the Old

Reading Report of the Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is a realistic novel written by an American writer Ernest Hemingway, who won the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize because of this novel. Nowadays, the novel has been translated into more ten languages and the image of code hero is known all around the world.

It is a short novel about an old fisherman, Santiago, who has gone for 84 days without taking a fish back. A boy named Manolin used to accompany the old man, but he is forced to fish at another boat. On the 85th day, Santiago goes out alone and hooks a giant marlin, which takes him quite a long time to conquer it. On his way home, the blood from the marlin leaves a trail for all sharks as wide as a highway, so fighting against sharks is unavoidable. The result is that sharks eat up all the meat of the marlin and Santiago only brings the marlin skeleton back.

The whole story takes place in four days and nights, describing the process from Santiago’s leaving for fishing to coming back home. When I first read this novel at high school, I think it very boring. Simple plot, few characters, and the similar description of sea and the fighting cannot attract my interest to it. But when I read it in English version, I can feel the concise words, which indicates the profound grounding of writer’s ability, beautiful description of natural scenery and vivid portrayal of fighting. After reading the Old Man and the Sea again, I can understand the honorable spirit of Santiago and noble humanity inside the story. Here, I want to express my understanding of the Old Man and the Sea in two parts, according to the two main characters in this novel.

1 Santiago, the Code Hero

Santiago is an old and poor widow though he is good at fishing and has so much valuable experience. He only lives on fishing all his life lonely. On the 85th day of no fishing, he takes his dignity and life to go for fishing. At last, he just brings the skeleton back. People may think he must be a loser, but this result doesn’t mean failing. On the contrary, Hemingway uses the skeleton which is the pillar of spirit to

strengthen the meaning of the old man’s life. Santiago is a strong person who never gives up. He tells us the truth that people are not born to fail, and a person can be destroyed, but cannot be defeated.

1.1 The Image of Sharks

In the novel, we all know that Santiago has a fierce fighting with sharks after fishing the huge marlin. On the way back, Santiago ties the marlin to the boat. He is exhausted but then, he gets attack from a group of sharks. Instead of giving up, the old man takes up his weapon and devotes himself to the fighting against sharks. Even though the marlin has been bitten and only head and tail are left, we cannot ignore the bravery of Santiago. In this story, the sharks are the symbols of evil forces and difficulties that man must face in his life. It represents the obstruction in the way of realizing ideals and goals. In the novel, the writer uses the sharp comparison between sharks and the old man to emphasize the great bravery of Santiago. It also indicates that code hero is not afraid of any force of destruction.

1.2 The Image of Lion

The image of lion plays an important role in this novel even though it only shows up for five times. When Santiago is tired to sleep, he dreams of a lion. In fact, the description of lion is not useless. The five descriptions of lion indicate the change of Santiago’s psychological process. Without sea’s passion and tenderness, and shark’s greed and ferocity, lion has its own confidence and dignity from the bottom of his heart. The old man just likes the lion since he sails for the sea again and again in order to prove himself. The image of lion also makes psychological and spiritual preparation for old man’s going to sea.

2 Manolin, the New Generation

The boy named manolin appears at the beginning and ending of the novel. During the voyage of Santiago, he sometimes comes into the old man’s mind. Even though there is few description of this boy, he plays a vital role in this novel as the

second main character. Actually, he is the only person who cares about Santiago sincerely, trusts Santiago absolutely, and the young boy will inherit Santiago’s career and carry his spirit and confidence to next generation. The appearance of Manolin is not by chance. During Santiago’s long voyage, boy’s encouragement and comfort come into the old man’s mind, which drives his loneliness away. Youth is the symbol of energy and hope. Hemingway not only tells us that the experience of fishing should be spread from generation to generation, but also expects us to admire, to learn from and to carry on the spirit of Santiago.

3 Conclusion

After reading the Old Man and the Sea, I understand that the life is like an ocean and you do not know what is going to take place at the next moment. Difficulties always happen in my life. They are sharks and avoiding them cannot settle the problems. The only way to solve sharks is to fight with them. Though the old man is lonely, he is a traveler who walks his way to realize his ideals. But he is not alone at the moment because his will is firm. In the future, I am not afraid of what difficulties I will encounter, I should face them with confidence, persist in the end, and never give up. Above all, I realize that the true victory can only be a triumph of the spirit. No matter who makes much material success, they cannot win our respect and thanks. Only the spirit of victory moves us and this is the reason why we think highly of the old man and the sea. I want to thank the book, for which I have learned to be a strong will person.

第二篇：Impression of the old man and the sea 《老人与海》英文读后感

Impression of the old man and the sea

I wanted to write a passage about another book called life of pi, but that book is a little weird. Then I chose this one, which I’ve just finished the second time.

This novel is so good that I read it twice. I believe that most people have read it before, so I’ll omit the summary.

It is not important whether Santiago (the fisherman) brings back the marlin at last, but the process is valuable. Remember that famous sentence? “Man is not made for defeat...A man can be destroyed but not defeated”. The sea is both kind and cruel, but Santiago cannot be defeated by whatever misfortunes befall him. Just like we are in this feminine and masculine world, right? We are really tired of the dark and boring competition, but we have to prove that we can be a better person if we are brave. We cannot withdraw when facing something bad, the best thing is to try hard to change it no matter how awful it is. Then you are satisfied, for you’ve done what you could do.

Nowadays, we youngsters are so weak. once we meet with a small problem, we want to escape. Actually, there are no big dills if we are strong enough to face it and challenge it! Sometimes we need to be obstinate to fulfill our goals and dreams.

Well, that is the faultily impression of the old man and the sea.

Some information about the book from WIKIPEDIA:

The Old Man and the Sea is a novella by Ernest Hemingway, written in Cuba in 1951 and published in . It was the last major work of to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.[1] It is noteworthy in twentieth century fiction, reaffirming Hemingway's worldwide literary prominence as well as being a significant factor in his selection for the in . It is first on Irish Independent's list of 20 Lifetime Reads.