"Old man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

"The Old Man and the Sea" is one of Hemingway's best works of literature. The story takes place in the small village, Havana, Cuba, in late 1940s and is written in realistic tone. The protagonist of the book is an old fisherman,Santiago,which was down on his luck, but his strength of mind helps him with hooking the largest marlin in the water. The other character of the book is Manolin. This young boy is Sanitago's best and only friend. The old man, Santiago, has not caught any fish for eighty-four days and people start to talk about his bad luck. Man survives only thanks to Manolin's help. He steals or begs for money to buy food and other supplies for Santiago.
The main theme of story is accomplishment. The main part of the story describes fight between lonely fisherman Santiago and a marlin. This fights is Santiego's important test of his skills. Hemingway describes the fights as a symbol of man's strength and pride. Hemingway wants to tell us that the man always has to be prepared to fight. The honor of the man should order to fight to the end and not give up, even thought the mind telling him that struggle is absurd. Giving up on the fights would be a defeat. The real meaning of the wining is shown in the quote from book "You did kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food,he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?" This quote shows that Santiago killed the marlin not for food or any oher material goods; he did it to prove for himself that he is still able to do so. His bad luck ended with his success over the dead marlin. The second main theme of this book is Santiego's friendship with a young boy named Manolin. Boy proves his true attachment with his actions not words. Boy doesn't leave him even then when his parents told him to do this, because of Santiego's bad luck in fishing. Boy trusts Santiago and treats him as his leader. Hemingway wants us to see how important in one's life is friendship.
The story relates to people's every day life. It does not necessary mean that everyone have to fight with strong marlin. It's just a metaphor for people's problem's. We just like Santiago, have to accept our rivals strength and power. And just like the patagonist of The Old Man and the Sea, we can not give up; we have to fight to the end of our strength.
I really enjoy this book. Santiago impressed me with his strength. He never even thought of withdrawing from the fight. The story had huge impact on my life . I've learned that I cannot give up on anything. I have also learned that people shouldn't struggle for any material reasons, but for one's personal feelings and to prove oneself that he or she still is able to defeat he or she rival. I would definitely recommend this book to read for everyone.