A Book Report of The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway, an American novelist. The story is set in the 20th century after World War II, which is based on the novel written true story Hemingway himself has experienced.

Exactly, it’s a story of an epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life. Leading character Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. At first 84 days, he did not even fish one fish. He did not have enough food, and many locals to doubt his fishing technique. Some even laugh at him. So, He decided to go to the sea to fish food and proved that he is a skilled fisherman. On the eight-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago does as promised, sailing his skiff far beyond the island’s shallow coastal waters and venturing into the Gulf Stream. At noon, a big fish, marlin, take the bait that Santiago has placed before. Although the old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat. He knows perfectly well very difficult to win, but still did not give up. Since then, they began their three-day fighting. The entire time, Santiago, endures constant pain from the fishing line. Eventually, the third day, the fish tires, and Santiago manages to pull the marlin in close enough to kill it with a harpoon thrust. However, things do not go smoothly as he expected. On his way home, he is attacked buy several crowds of shark. Although he kills the sharks in the end, they have devoured the marlin’s precious meat, leaving only skeleton. The old man arrives home before daybreak, and sleeps very deeply. Later on, the old man wakes up and finds the little boy Mandolin staying with him, and decides to go to sea to fish again.

In fact, the story contains many different symbols and themes .By reading this book, I was deeply impressed by the old man and what he said “a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Santiago, though destroyed at the end of the novella, is never defeated. Instead, he emerges as a hero. Santiago’s struggle does not enable him to change man’s place in the world. But the struggle somehow enables him to meet his most dignified destiny. The old man sets a good example for us. He teachers us that we should fight and never lose faith, never give up. No matter how hard the life is, it’s possible for us to overcome the difficulties.

 

第二篇：老人与海英文简介

Plot Summary

In a small fishing village in Cuba, Santiago, an old, weathered fisherman has just gone 84 days without catching a fish. On the 85th day, he is determined to catch a big, impressive fish.

For years, Santiago has been fishing with a young boy named Manolin. Manolin started fishing with the old man when he was only 5 years old. Santiago is like Manolin's second father, and has taught the young boy everything about fishing. Manolin is extremely loyal to Santiago and makes sure that the old man is always safe, fed and healthy. Manolin's parents, however, force the boy to leave Santiago and fish on a more lucrative fishing boat.

Manolin does not want to leave Santiago, but must honor his duty to his

parents. On the new boat, Manolin catches several fish within the first few days. Santiago, meanwhile, decides to head out on the Gulf Stream alone. He feels the 85th day will be lucky for him. He sets out on his old, rickety skiff. Alone on the water, Santiago sets up his fishing lines with the utmost precision, a skill that other fisherman lack.

Finally, he feels something heavy tugging at one of his lines. A huge Marlin has found Santiago's bait and this sets off a very long struggle between the two. The Marlin is so huge that it drags Santiago beyond all other boats and people - he can no longer see land from where the fish drags him. The struggle takes its toll on Santiago. His hands become badly cramped and he is cut and bruised from the force of the fish.

Santiago and the Marlin become united out at sea. They are attached to each other physically, and in Santiago's case, emotionally. He respects and loves the Marlin and admires its beauty and greatness. He sees the fish as his

brother. Despite this, Santiago has to kill it. He feels guilty killing a brother, but after an intense struggle in which the fish drags the skiff around in circles, Santiago harpoons the very large fish and hangs it on the side of his boat. He feels brave, like his hero Joe DiMaggio, who accomplished great feats despite obstacles, injuries or adversities.

After enjoying a few moments of pride, a pack of sharks detects the blood in the water and follow the trail to Santiago's skiff. Santiago has to fend off each shark that goes after his prized catch. Each shark takes a huge bite out of the Marlin, but the old man fends them off, himself now bruised, but alive. He sails back to shore with the carcass of his Marlin. He is barely able to walk and slowly staggers back to his hut, where he falls into bed.

The next morning, the boy finds his mentor and cries when he looks at

Santiago's bruised hands. He promises he will reject his parents' wishes and vows to fish with Santiago again.