Ernest Hemingway
A fisherman in Cuba and the “old man” from the title.
He has been unable to catch any fish in 84 days.
Despite being extremely poor and barely able to feed
himself, he refuses to give up. He loves baseball,
specifically Joe DiMaggio, and he gets baseball updates
from Perico, a bodega-owner who gives Santiago
newspapers.
A young adolescent who used to work for Santiago. He
sees to it that Santiago has food and is taking care of
himself. He was forced to stop working for Santiago
when his father ordered that he move to a more
profitable fishing boat. He is a sort of apprentice to
Santiago and enjoys learning from the old man.
The fish that Santiago finally hooks on the 85th day.
Santiago and the marlin engage in a tug-of-war for
three days and become connected as a result of the
physical trials they both endure. The marlin is
eventually eaten by sharks at which point Santiago
feels he has been destroyed and consumed by his
conditions as well.
 The Old Man and the Sea ein Stop-Motion-Film – 2012
(http://youtu.be/gP6xI54r_MA)
 Santiago, the old man, has been unable to catch
anything for 84 days and as a result is extremely poor.
 On the 85th day, Santiago is determined to catch a fish
and goes out to sea further than any of the other
fishermen.
 Santiago finally hooks a marlin, but is unable to reel in
the huge fish alone. He spends the next three days
holding onto the rope and fighting with the marlin. He
endures this with almost no food or sleep, and he
bonds with the fish who is in similar pain.
 After the third day, the fish is worn out enough that
Santiago is able to harpoon and kill it, but he can’t pull
it into the boat so he straps it to his skiff and heads
back to land.
 The blood attract sharks though, and after losing his
harpoon killing the first shark, Santiago proceeds to
try to beat away the animals, but eventually he has to
give up.
 The sharks eat the meat off of the fish, and when
Santiago gets back to shore, the only thing left is the
giant skeleton.
 At the end, Manolin reappears. He has been worried
about Santiago’s absence, but he finds Santiago at
home in bed.
 Manolin decides to defy his father’s orders and begin
once again fishing with Santiago in order to help the
old man.
 Finding Honor in Death and Defeat
 Overcoming Pride
 Continuing to Fight
 Santiago’s fight with the marlin
 Santiago’s status as outsider with the other villagers
 Manolin’s struggle with his father’s orders
 Hemingway’s final novel published within his lifetime
 Written in 1951, published in 1952 at which time both
the Cold War and the Korean War were going on
 Novel won Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize in 1953
 Hemingway initially intended Santiago’s story to relate
to the intimacy between mother and son
 Criticized for not being as realistic as his other works,
though Hemingway said that there was a fisherman
with a very similar experience to that of Santiago’s
 “…I guess the essential difference in the characters of Santiago
and Skiff is one of age. A beginning rather than an ending.
Santiago must come to terms with his age, his mortality, his
declining strength, and the disappointments of life — in essence
he’s a philosopher, commenting on the human condition. In
contrast, Skiff is a boy who is absolutely determined to save his
father and make them a family again…”
Rodman Philbrick, “An Interview with Rodman Philbrick”
 “If you hated Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, please
don’t shy away from Rodman Philbrick’s The Young Man and the
Sea. This contemporary novel pays homage to Heminway’s
classic, but it’s easier to read and considerably more exciting.”
Don Gallo, “Bold Books for Teenagers: Summer Reading 2005”
 “As [Hemingway] explains in a letter to Lillian Ross,“The Old Man was
born a catholic in the island of Lanza Rota [sic] in the Canary Islands”
(SL 807). This origin…makes Santiago an outsider in the Cuban fishing
village of Cojímar and is a principal motivation in his actions.
Santiago’s “eyes the same color as the sea” (10) mark his otherness in a
conspicuous and unchangeable way, setting him apart from the
impoverished mulatto fishing community, and linking him to
European exploitation of the island nation.”
Jeffrey Herlihy, “‘Eyes the Same Color as the Sea’: Santiago’s Expatriation
From Spain and Ethnic Otherness in Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea”
 “You might conclude from the novel's opening that the references first
to ‘permanent defeat’ and then to ‘undefeated’ bear witness to the
supposition that in his sentences Hemingway is not in control. But the
contradiction is deliberate and dramatizes that we are inclined to make
superficial judgments: we know less than we think we do. In miniature
it teaches us that the reality of an experience or the essence of a person
cannot be judged from surfaces.”
William Cain, “Death Sentences: Rereading The Old Man and the Sea”
 The Old Man and the Sea film – 1958
 The Old Man and the Sea play (adapted a couple of
times)
 The Old Man and the Sea TV miniseries – 1990
 The Old Man and the Sea animated short – 1999 (won
academy award for short film)
 The Old Man and the Sea ein Stop-Motion-Film – 2012
 Author is Rodman Philbrick
 Also writes mysteries and thrillers for adults
 Wrote Freak the Mighty (ALA Best Book for Young
Adults), Max the Mighty, The Fire Pony (Capital Choice
Award), The Last Book in the Universe (ALA Best Book
for Young Adults) among others
 Writes other YA books with his wife
 The Young Man and the Sea was named a Best Book of
the Year in 2004 by School Library Journal
 The book goes by what was supposed to be the original
title, Lobster Boy, in the British version
 Skiff Beaman (the young man) is the central character,
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and the story takes place in Spinney Cove
The Beamans are known as swampers and are seen as
second class citizens, mostly by Tyler Croft who bullies
Skiff
Skiff’s mom has died, and Skiff’s dad is a drunk
Their boat, the Mary Rose, sinks and in order to repair
the damage, Skiff decides to try catching lobster and
later a bluefin tuna to afford the repairs
While repairing the boat, Skiff gets help from Mr.
Woodwell, who acts as the old man character here
 Blasingame, James. “Interview with Rodman Philbrick.” Journal
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of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Mar. 2004: 518–519. Web. 8
April 2013.
---. “The Young Man and the Sea.” Journal of Adolescent and
Adult Literacy. Mar. 2004: 516–517. Web. 8 April 2013.
Cain, William E. “Death Sentences: Rereading The Old Man and
the Sea.” Sewanee Review Winter 2006: 112–125. Web. 2 April 2013.
Gallo, Don. “Bold Books for Teenagers: Summer Reading 2005.”
The English Journal Jul. 2005: 105–108. Web. 2 April 2013.
Herlihy, Jeffrey. “‘Eyes the Same Color as the Sea’: Santiago's
Expatriation from Spain and Ethnic Otherness in Hemingway's
The Old Man and the Sea” Spring 2009: 25–44. Web. 2 April 2013.