Fishing in the 50s

Fishing. That’s one word to describe the main topic in Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, the Old Man and the Sea. In this novel, there is an old man named Santiago who is a fisherman. He is determined to finally catch a fish, since he hasn’t in eighty-four days. He hooks a large fish and over a period of three days the fish pulls him along in his skiff. On the third day he drives a harpoon through the weakened fish’s chest. Sharks eventually eat his fish and the old man has hardly anything to show of this great marlin, but his skeleton.
The Old Man and the Sea is about fishing. Critics say that there is a hidden message, other than simply fishing. Hemingway says otherwise. He said that all the symbolism people say is s***. Well, if that is so, that fishing is just that. There is also the topic of baseball. That too relates to fishing in this book. The great DiMaggio’s father was a fisher. Almost the entire book relates to fishing in some way.

In Cuba, (where this book is based out of) fishing is one of the few ways that people earn a living. The people fish, and the amount of money depends on how big the fish is, how much meat is on the fish and how much the fish weighs. The restaurants buy the fish to sell to their customers. Almost everybody enjoys fishing, whether it is for leisure or employment.

Image taken from Xavier Guardans Photography

Home • Religion in Old Man and the Sea • Fishing in the 50s • World Politics
Life in Cuba • Baseball: The Great DiMaggio • Characters in the Story
About Ernest Hemingway • About this Site