The Old Man and the Sea - Question 7

What techniques does the author use to engage the audience and make the story effective?

Ernest Hemingway's book The Old Man and the Sea won many awards, and even helped him win the Nobel Prize. However, i found the book to be written very simply and short. His writing style may have been simple, but it was very effective. Hemingway Incorporated many different themes into this story. That allowed different readers to interpret the story differently. I chose to interpret that the old man succeeded in his goals, while other people may disagree and say that he failed. The fact that the book's meaning is up for debate leads people to read it, which is a pretty effective method, in my opinion. I mean, it must have impressed someone to make it onto a high school summer English reading list.

Hemingway used a unique writing style when he wrote the book. The tone of the story really was not humorous at all. I may have found some aspects of the story slightly funny, like how serious he was taking the whole fishing trip thing, but the entire thing was taken very seriously. I also noticed that Hemingway chose to write with short sentences that stated the old man's emotions, which really gave me a clear idea of how the old man was feeling and his reactions. The fact that only a few characters makes the book's message effective. If there aren't as many people to worry about, it's easier to obtain a deeper understanding of the book's meaning, in my opinion.

Hemingway's writing style would be found very favorable by teenage students doing summer work. As you probably could tell, 9 out of 10 students in our class probably read The Old Man and the Sea first because it was the shortest of all the book options. Also, since he wrote in simple, declarative sentences, it was much easier to read than other books such as Great Expectations. Also, this book teaches us all how to catch a huge fish, so everyone should read it just for that purpose, if nothing else.

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