The Old Man and the Sea is one of the most famous fictions of Hemingway. It created a dauntless man whose name was Santiago. He had fished on the sea and, after 48 days without any harvest , Santiago eventually caught a vast marlin which the old man had never seen like this (longer than his junk) in his life. No doubt, the strong fish struggled and tried to flee, it had dragged that junk for two days. Santiago had experience a test that he tried to tame this marlin and he consumed all of his strength in killing this fish, suffered from pain. Finally, he did it. However, while Santiago bolted the fish onto the prow, several sharks attacked him and stole two thirds of the fish. When he arrived the jetty, what he had gained was only a marlin’s skeleton. What made me surprised was the defective end. At the beginning, I thought this story would probably like this: Santiago had fished on the sea and had pained a lot, finally he came back with a big fish. But how could this make Hemingway the owner of The Nobel Prize in literature of 1954？ I think just the end attracts readers. Santiagohad said “A man can get destroyed but is so not defedinedd” Even though Santiago didn’t bring the whole fish , but only skeleton. However, this is no more important, this old man had once paid lots of effort to catch his dream, offered his blood, toil, sweat. Never mind who is the winner, the value of Santiago’s life has totally been seen when he tried to tame the fish. Perhaps, this is what Hemingway aimed to. Everyone has his own shortcoming, not to surrender, but to strive. Whatever how the end is, no pain no gain.

It seems like Hemingway didn’t give a perfect termination for Santiago, but he showed us Santiago’s fortitude character. Failure cannot beat us, but you should know how to face failure.

 

第二篇：老人与海读后感_英文版(The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea)

The Old Man and the Sea

When I was a middle school student, I’ve finished this book in Chinese. At that time, I thought it was a boring story. I couldn’t understand why the writer uses so many words to describe an old man’s fishing experience. But when I read it in English recently, I really gain something new both in the way of expressions and the spirits it shows to me. Maybe different ages to read the same book will learn different things from it.

The old man and the Sea, one of Ernest Hemingway’ s most famous work of fiction, was published in 1952. Critics praise that the novel is Hemingway’s last major work of fiction, and he won 1953’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction , Award of Merit Medal and 1954’s Nobel Prize in Literature. Hemingway is a famous American writer of modern times. He is also an international literary celebrity in the world. His father was a prominent doctor, and also good at fishing and hunting. The influence of his dad made him full of love with fishing and hunting. His life was active and adventurous, but it was full of pains. He had once joined the army and had injured in Italy, and he suffered much that was brought about by the war deeply. He was disppointed with the world and the pessimistic about the fate of the man. In order to save the desperate situation, Hemingway wrote a work, the Old Man and the Sea, that he firmly believes to be the best works in his life.

It is a story that an old man whose name is Santiago went out to do some fishing on the sea. But down on his luck, he hadn’t caught any fish for eight-four days -----he will soon pass his own record of eighty-seven days. He goes far out into the sea and He caught a huge marlin which is much bigger than his boat. A desperate struggle ensures. Santiago manages to kill the fish and ties it to the boat. When he was on the way home, the smell of blood of the marlin draw a lot of sharks’ attention and they fought for it. In order to protect the marlin and him, the old man tried his best to fight with them. But these dangerous giant sharks eat up the marlin, leaving only a skeleton. The old man brings it home and goes to bed to dream, almost dead with exhausion.

This book gives me a deep impression especially the description about the old man. Different aspects can be seen from Santiago: such as brave, persistent, pride, optimistic, lonely and intelligent. He does not catche a single fish for eight-four days, what is worse, the child who has catched fish with him also forced to leave him. Lonesome is his only friend as well as enemy. But he still keeps on trying without being despaired. He goes far out into the sea and catches a huge marlin after three 1

days’ patient struggle. When a person waits for something so hard and when he has an opportunity to get it, he will cherish the chance carefully and make mind to realize it. From fighting with the huge marlin to driving away the fierce shark. It is only when the condition is so bad can show a person’s skill of braveness and persistence. Even thought he is so tired, he brings the big skeleton of the fish back to the bank. “ He saw the white naked line of his backbone and the dark mass of the head with the projecting bill and all the nakeness between.” Maybe, Santiago gets nothing, but he has tasted the victory in fighting process. The tough guy image of the old fisherman is more obvious and outstanding. It reprensents a spirit that is struggle, pride, never given up, confident. When reading the big fish’s smell of blood is smelled by one crowd of shark fish, struggled swims snatches the food. Old person’s left hand happen to in the convulsions. He only could use the right hand, with wooden stick. The mouth and so on all was allowed to use for the weapon self-defense which attacked，and finally expelled this crowd of shark fish. But the big fish’s meat was already eaten up . But the old man also charmingly criticized himself the left hand " this work time actually was resting ". I was so admire the old man’s optimistic spirit. In the life, some losses are inevitable, we should treat by the optimistic manner. This book gives me courage of conquering all kinds of difficulties .And I have the belief that the most beautiful thing is the process that we make our best to achieve our dream, and never giving up . While it is certainly true that Santiago’s eighty-four-day run of bad luck is an affront to his pride as a masterful fisherman, and that his attempt to bear out his skills by sailing far into the gulf waters leads to disaster, Hemingway does not condemn his protagonist for being full of pride. On the contrary, Santiago stands as proof that pride motivates men to greatness. Because the old man acknowledges that he killed the mighty marlin largely out of pride, and because his capture of the marlin leads in turn to his heroic transcendence of defeat, pride becomes the source of Santiago’s greatest strength. Without a ferocious sense of pride, that battle would never have been fought, or more likely, it would have been abandoned before the end. Santiago’s pride also motivates his desire to transcend the destructive forces of nature. Throughout the novel, no matter how horrible his circumstances become, the old man exhibits an unflagging determination to catch the marlin and bring it to shore. When the first shark arrives, Santiago’s resolve is mentioned twice in the space of just a few paragraphs. Even if the old man had returned with the marlin intact, his moment of glory, 2

like the marlin’s meat, would have been short-lived. The glory and honor Santiago acquires comes not from his battle itself but from his pride and determination to fight.

As the novel begins, Santiago definitely and finally failed. However, he kept self-composed and had confidence in his dignity. So even having got nothing in the first 84 days, he continued to go out to fish. Santiago decide to sailing out further than any fisherman had before testified his confidence to the depth. It also shows his confidence to change his bad luck, because he clearly knew what he was born for. Yes, he was born for the conquering of the sea. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated. We all know that the windows of one’s soul. It means the old man’s heart or soul is convincible. In order to protect his dignity, he finally summarized the famous motto “ Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated”. This is obviously the declaration to the difficulties and adversities. It encourages human to fight for dignity. Santiago dreams his pleasant dream of the lions at play on the beaches of Africa three times. The first time is the night before he departs on his three-day fishing expedition, the second occurs when he sleeps on the boat for a few hours in the middle of his struggle with the marlin, and the third takes place at the very end of the book. In fact, the sober promise of the triumph and regeneration with which the novella closes is supported by the final image of the lions. Because Santiago associates the lions with his youth, the dream suggests the circular nature of life. Additionally, because Santiago imagines the lions, fierce predators, playing, his dream suggests a harmony between the opposing forces—life and death, love and hate, destruction and regeneration—of nature.

I also appreciate the relationship between the old man and the boy. The old man was in bad luck and the boy had got good fishes after he left the old man. Santiago didn’t feel jealous but happy for him. When talking with the boy who was not willing to leave, the man said, “ I know you did not leave me because you doubted” and he felt it was quited normal, though he would be lonely without the boy. When the boy asked if he could offer the old man a beer on the terrace and then took the stuff home, the old man said, “ why not”. Between fisherment, all these details show that Santiago was reasonable, sensible, kind with open mind. The old man’s grace lies in his gender feeling. Some details in how the old man woke the boy: he took hold of one foot gently and held it until the boy woke up. When the boy was still sleepy, the old man put his arm across his shoulders and said, “ I am sorry”. Just like someone said, heartlessness doesn’t make the hero, pity for 3

children makes more the man. With confident attitude towards life, the old man took thing philosophically. In fact the boy could come back to him and he needed the boy, but when the boy wanted to be back, the old man refused because it was the boy’s parents who made him leave and he could not make the boy awkward and unlucky with him. And boy, who also much care about the old man. The boy looked after the man and accompanied with him. They had a great time when they get together. Although his parents forced him to another fish boat, he still continued take the old man as his mentor.

The old fisher man’s tragic life reflected Ernest Hemingway’s experience. He has taken part in two world wars and spanic war. He and the people had not relief from the evil dream of the war. Despairing, failing had been always around them. The society is full of chaos and decay after war. These helped Hemingway to show the character of Santiago.

In addition, by describing the experience of Santiago, Hemingway successed in reaching his goal to convey the main theme of the story. Courage, confidence, as well as never giving up are ways leadings to success. In other words, a man can be destroyed but not be defeated. Both readers and critics give the work------the Old Man and the Sea so high comment just because of the meanings and influences of the book. It tells us that a man should face and overcome difficulties in life with courage, confidence, and the spirit of never giving up.

4