The Old Man and The Sea - 6

6) Why do we still read this book?  What is so timeless about its message and characters?  What can we learn from reading this novel?

The Old Man and The Sea is a book that talks about many different life lessons that are still valued today.  The story is timeless in a number of ways, from it's characters to its themes and symbols.  The tale may be straightforward, but the lessons behind it are still extremely thought-provoking.  Each character is unique, but the old man's values deserve respect and contemplation.  He knows what he wants, and he does not feel that he needs approval from anyone but himself.  While he is still looked down upon, he is able to make friends with Manolin, who agrees with the old man's thoughts and ideas (Hemingway 5).  
I think this is important and significant to people today because we could all learn a lot about what we really want.  The old man wanted to catch that fish, not for the food really, but because he had passion for that challenge.  We should all stop worrying about the thoughts of others and focus our time on capturing the things that we really want.  If its what we believe, we should try to get it, the "norm" does not matter.
Another lesson I took from this book is that sometimes you try extremely hard for something you do want, and you still do not get what you were trying for.  Even when that happened to Santiago, he still planned to go out fishing again with Manolin soon after (Hemingway 126).  He did not let that discourage him.  Three days of struggle and pain, three days with hardly any food, three days alone at sea.  This was not even worth it, because the whole fish never mad it back to shore.  The man could have let this hurt him, he could have let this discourage him and he could have stopped, but he did not.  He planned on continuing his challenge and his passion.  I think we can all learn something from that.  Sometimes, we do not get what we worked for.  Sometimes it just does not work out, but we should not lose enthusiasm. We should continue to work for what we have passion for, whatever that may be. If we have true friends who will support us, we can devote our time to what we really want.  

Hemingway, E. The Old Man and The Sea. New York, NY: Scribner, 1980