Just as Dickinson describes poetry as "I know it when I feel it takes my head clear off," that is also how I perceive genius.

That and having the foggy-stumbling-can't get back to reality-feeling.

(Which is not to say that genius is something random, a momentary spark. There is technique behind it and Hemingway nails it.)

Oh, Santiago! Oh, the sea! (I wail inside myself)

He could not see the green of the shore now but only the tops of the blue hills that showed white as though they were snow-capped and the clouds that looked like high snow mountains above them. The sea was very dark and the light made prisms in the water. The myriad flecks of the plankton were annulled now by the high sun and it was only the great deep prisms in the blue water that the old man saw now with his lines going straight down into the water that was a mile deep.

This is gut-wrenching and soul-filled at the same time. There are so many meaningful details coming into my head as I think of it. It reverberates like ripples. Every sentence is meaningful. Every sentence is exactly where it needs to be. ( )

The pain and realization, the bright sunlight and the dark waters. Loved reading this and I prefer to gift it to family and friends (makes up for the perfect gift). ( )

Such a beautiful book; it's a classic for a reason. There were few characters in this book yet it was so thrilling to read. It was not overly abundant in detail despite Hemmingway having a detailed prose, but Hemmingway is very conscious as to when to use detail. The allusion to Jesus Christ when Santiago had the Mast sat upon his back was something that had bugged me in the past (for I was a child when I had read this book, ignorant of Christian theology) but I understand it now. The dialogue was also very subtle and powerful. The internal dialogue and narration went back and forth and was so well structured. ( )

The Old Man and the Sea follows Santiago, an aging fisherman, who embarks on a solitary struggle to catch a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream. Over several days, Santiago faces both physical exhaustion and mental isolation, reflecting on his life, his culture, and his connection to the sea. Through his battle with the fish, the novel explores themes of perseverance and the human spirit.

For social studies, The Old Man and the Sea offers a rich opportunity to explore Cuban culture, geography, and the traditions of fishing communities. The book provides insight into the struggles of a fisherman in a small, close-knit community, making it a valuable resource for discussions on labor, the economy, and the challenges of traditional occupations in a modernizing world. It also opens conversations about the environmental and economic significance of the sea. ( )

"I am better than him through trickery and he meant me no harm." I was supposed to read "The Old Man and the Sea" in school. I don't think I did. Because it has a scholarly place in my mind, I was reading it with a lookout for important phrases. That is the one I picked.
Original comment:
Only book - I think - I entered into library thing where I had to read in school.
31,385 members, 3.77 average rating, 12/1/2024
I am going to remove it from my "Read before joining LibraryThing" collection. ( )