Old Man and the Sea Question 6

Question six asks "Why do we still read this book and what is so timeless about its message and characters? Also what can we learn from reading this novel?". I am going to answer this question from the book Old Man and the Sea. With a book of such fame many do ask this question of why? What makes it so great? There are multiple answers to this question. First answer being simply the story line! A story of an old man fighting fish and sharks out on the sea against all odds and winning gives a huge amount of interest to many readers. The message of overcoming hardships that most would have thought would end in failure is a very interesting and exciting concept. Specifically when the old man, Santiago, is out on the boat with no weapons left yet still fights off the sharks as best he can shows great strength. (Hemingway) This strength is more mental than physical for Santiago making him have a very heroic personality. Books about heroic acts and overcoming obstacles have timeless messages of never giving up, making Old Man and the Sea a very timeless book because of the messages it gives. Santiago El Cameon, aka the old man, is known as the hero of the book. That makes the young boy, Manolin, a sidekick in a way because he is Santiago's help. A character who sticks his neck out to help others becomes very popular to readers. Having popular characters causes many to read books and then to keep reading them because of their importance and good impressions they give on the reader. Having both good messages and popular characters can make a book timeless to any reader because if although setting may change, lessons and people can stay constant (or timeless). One can be taught many things from the such as hard work, help, and confidence. Hard work is taught when throughout the book we see the town working to fish and make money so they can live and ultimately with hard work they do. Also it is shown when the old man works hard to fish and because he didn't give up, in the end catches the biggest fish ever seen by the villagers. The lesson of helping others is shown through the young boy when he helps the old man with everything and is recognized from some the villagers and the old man in a very good light. He also feels better with himself for helping the old man. Confidence is shown through Santiago when he has the confidence to set out on the fishing trip alone and go farther than any other fishing boat was going. (Hemingway)

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.