Tuesday, January 15, 2013

"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

The story is about an old Cuban fisherman and his battle against a marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. The old man’s name is Santiago and his only friend is a young boy called Manolin, who also lives in the small fishing village near Havanna, Cuba. The boy used to go fishing with the old man until his parents stopped him because Santiago was regarded as "unlucky". Having not caught a fish for the last 84 days, Santiago sets out alone one morning… He catches a fish on his hook and the fish pulls him far out to sea. The old when the fish grows weak and slows its pace Satiago says,"Man is not much besides the great birds and beasts. Still I would rather be that beast down there in the darkness of the sea. Unless sharks come. If sharks come, God pity him and me." 
By saying this the old man reveals that he is afraid of sharks.

This is a good example of an instance in literature where sharks are portrayed as vicious. Hemingway does not explicitly describe the reason Santiago fears sharks but he eludes to the fact that Sharks are fish to be afraid of more than any other creature  


Poem 2

The Shark
Large
Beautiful
Smooth Skin
Beautiful Creature
Vicious
Teeth! 

Shark Fact #16

Tiger sharks, great white sharks and bull sharks are behind most shark attacks on humans. These species live almost everywhere, are large enough that their prey is human size, are powerful enough to inflict a fatal bite and are at the top of the food chain, so they aren't afraid to attack


Bad Poem

The Hunt 




The Great White Shark 
Roams 
free
In the ocean 
He seeks his next
 victim
Waiting to show His Teeth 
Attack!