Old Man and the Sea

In the novel Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the setting is not directly said. Based on some of the language in the context that is used, the reader can assume the story is taking place in some Latin American country. Though the reader does not know for sure, they can probably guess it is somewhere in Mexico. We can assume this because American Major League Baseball is a reoccurring subject, and Mexico would most likely be the closes associated. The reader can also assume this plot is taking place in the past, but because it is about fishing and the fishing business I feel like that could be at any time. It is in a small fishing community, whose lifestyle rarely changes dramatically. In many ways, this novel definitely reflects what was going on during this time period. Like I mentioned before, the fishing business in small communities hardly ever changes because they are secluded and it works within itself. This is displayed in the novel when it is describing how all of the fishermen fish in the same area every day, and how they all locally know each other. The author also gives the reader a very good description of the boats, and every important fishing piece on it. The fishermen are driven to catch more fish because that would mean they would earn more money from the market, where their fish are sold. The fishermen are also driven so they can have bragging rights, or an upper hand against the others around them. In some ways, this novel does not reflect this time period very well...or real life very well. I would not disagree with the fact that there are giant fish in the ocean. I want to be a marine biologist someday, so I'm not completely ignorant to what is under water. I just can not seem to grasp the idea of a giant fish pulling a man out into the ocean for days straight in the same direction. Some fish migrate, so obviously they have a route of where they're going. There is no way a fish calmly took hold of a hook and calmly began swimming in a specific direction with a massive weight pulling on it's mouth. It just seems so unreal.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995.