Old Man in the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Old Man and the Sea

Blog Responses by: Christine Glidden

Pages (1-26) Day 1

In the novel Old Man in the Sea, Ernest Hemingway establishes the plot line early on when he describes the old man and boy’s individualistic relationship. On page 10, Hemingway describes the Old Man  “everything about him was old except his eyes and the were the same colors the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” Hemingway’s descriptive diction defines his style of writing in the novel early on, which helps the reader to clearly interpret the main characters' both physical and intellectual characteristics. Strategically, Hemingway indirectly identifies the main characters with the text so that the reader is able to develop their own imaginative stance of the relationship between the boy and the Old Man as well as their own experiences. The boy’s patience, uniquely is complemented by the Old Man and is refreshed as he listens to the same stories about his baseball idol Joe DiMaggio.

Pages (26-51) Day 2

After the character and plot introductions, the Old Man( Santiago) wakes up the morning to wake up the young boy (Manolin). After drinking coffee out of condensed milk cans, both of the characters disperse and wish each other luck. The old man rows far away from shore. Early on, Hemingway establishes the boat adventure as an allegory. Small frail birds try to catch flying fish, and instantly the old man has sympathy for the fish, almost to the point of considering him a friend. Symbols begin to unravel in the story early on such as the bird, which represents his sympathy for hard situations in life.The old man drops baited fish on fishing lines, and the sun comes up simultaneously. As Santiago drifts away from shore, he sees dolphins and frail birds. Although he loves the sea, he thinks of the sea as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control. Everything the Old Man sees is not out of the ordinary, in fact Hemingway picked meticulously to find the right animals to portray the Old Man's life story through these symbolic animals. The Old Man  strives to catch a fish as the fish pulls him so far that “beyond all people in the world” to find him, which was a much longer trip than anticipated. Santiago wishes the fish will jump to make it easier to pull out, so that life would not be so hard for him.

Pages(51-76) Day 3

A small bird lands on the old man’s head and then rests on the line that links the old man to the big fish. The old man tells the bird to stay and rest up before heading toward shore. Just then the fish surges and nearly pulls Santiago overboard. To keep his strength, the old man makes himself ear the tuna he had caught the day before. Santiago is angered from the weakness of his body. From the weakness in his body, the cramp in his hand began to ease, but then Santiago thinks of himself completely alone. Suddenly, the fish leaps into the air and it is the largest fish he had ever seen. Santiago describes the fish as “great” and promises never to let the fish earn its own strength. He says the 10 Hail Marys and 10 our fathers in correspondence. Santiago’s struggle with the marlin wears on. His thoughts immediately approach the Great DiMaggio. He wonders if the Great DiMaggio would stay with the marlin. To keep confidence, Santiago refers to an old arm-wresting match “the great negro from Cienfuegos” earning the title of “The Champion.” As the night was ending, a dolphin takes the second bait Santiago had dropped. The stars come out. Santiago considers the stats his friends, as he does the great marlin. Santiago was exhausted, so he decided to rest.

Pages (76-101) Day 4

Suddenly, the Old Man is woken up by the marlin jerking the line. The fish jumps out of the water and Santiago is thrown into the dolphin meat. The line feeds out fast, and the old man brakes against it with his back and hands. The old man wipes the crushed dolphin meat off his face, fearing that he may become sick. Looking at his hurt hands, he reflects, “pain does not matter to a man.” To regain strength, he eats two second flying fish. The marlin continues to circle and slowly pull the line in. The old man believes that the fish are killing him, so he says “I do not care who kills who.” He thinks of all the money he will able to make with such a large fish. Santiago heads for land. The old man’s wounds remind him of fish. Santiago heads for land. The old man’s wounds remind him that his battle with the marlin was real and not a dream. On the way home, a mako shark arrives having smelt the blood of the fish. The shark lashes on the water, and eventually, sinks, taking the harpoon and the old man’s rope with it. The shark had taken 40 pounds of meat, so fresh blood spills in the water, inevitably drawing more sharks to attack. Soon Santiago realizes that his struggle for the marlin was for nothing. Then, he muses, “ a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” He tries to be hopeful, while thinking of the Great DiMaggio. He also reminds himself that he didn’t kill the marlin simply for food, that he killed it out of pride and love. A couple of hours later, two sharks arrive and Santiago kills them with a knife. After, he apologizes to the dead marlin for having gone out so far. Another shark arrives and Santiago kills it only to lose his knife in the process.

Pages (101-126) Day 5

Early in the morning, Manolin comes to the old man’s shack, and sees the injured Old Man, which brings him to tears, making him realize the importance of his elderly friend. Fishermen have gathered around Santiago’s boat to see a large fish. The Old Man wakes up, and Manolin insists that he must fish with him, despite what his parents say. Manolin explains that there had been a search for him with coast guards and planes. The old man goes back to sleep to dream of lions. That afternoon two tourists at the terrace café mistake the great skeleton of the fish for a shark realizing what kind of fish the old man found.

What makes this book a classic?

Often in many classics, the initial meaning is not the true meaning of the book. This is true for the novel, “Old Man in the Sea.” Although the novel explains a long fishing trip, the true meaning of the novel is that even after working so hard to get something, sometimes it can be taken away from you so quickly. This book is an allegory of the Old Man's life that allows the readers to learn life lessons indirectly, which is used through Hemingway’s fish and shark analogy. This novel has stayed undeniably popular for so long for it’s interesting dictions choices and unique underlying plotline.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

By: Stephen Chbosky

Response By: Christine Glidden

Life is like a puzzle. There are smooth pieces that represent the easy times in life and there are rugged pieces that reflect the difficult aspects of life. There are times in life, when you can’t put the pieces together because you question who you are. Everyone is incomparable; some have more rugged edges than others because of scarring events or where they came from. “We can’t choose where we come from, but we can choose where we go from there.” Stephen Chbosky portrays his artistic perspective on life, through the novel “Perks of Being A Wallflower” to open the eyes of young readers to understand the components of life that make up personal identity through realistic fiction.

Chbosky uses the emotional appeal “pathos” to show the eminent view of pain and its influence on a person’s life. Through Charlie, the main character, Chbosky displays a ray of events that affected his interactions with people. Uniquely, Chbosky portrays Charlie’s lack of confidence through personal journal entries. This stylistic choice is very exclusive to the novel. For example Charlie writes,“ Please don’t try to figure out who I am, and I really don’t want you to do that.” By using this journalistic setup, the reader is able to understand the mechanics of Charlie’s paranoia and personal emotions.“ This evokes a reoccurring theme of Charlie’s loss of identity. Through his journals, he finally is able to feel that he is worthy again and isn’t alone in life.For instance,” So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe me that things are good with me, and even when they’re not not, they will be soon enough.” Charlie begins to finally question, experiment and discover the components of life that are not easily shown on the surface. Charlie was faced with scarring events such as his best friend killing himself and his Aunt Helen sexually molesting him at a young age. Through the journal entries, Charlie is able to establish his identity through recognizing these events, but not letting theme define who he is. 

The novel does contain frequent references to gloomy events, but it makes many positive events heartwarming causing the juxtaposition effect. Chbosky  changes the tone of the novel from gloomy to blissful to show how someone’s life can be both happy and sad. The change of tone also plays a role in the theme. Charlie’s struggle with “loss” allows him to discover himself. Chbosky says,“ Things Change. and Friends Leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” This quote is fitting because Charlie’s style of writing becomes more mature as the novel goes on. Charlie’s attitude not only changes from beginning to end, but also his sophisticated approach towards life is changed through writing.Adversely, Chbosky’s strength is his ability to unwind specific details regarding Charlie, and to eventually make all the puzzle pieces come together.

In order to separate the negative events from the positive, the author uses dynamic characters. By using a dynamic character like Charlie, the author is able to change him in the course of the story. He uses situational irony to contradict the event that is expected. The plot of the story, leads the audience to expect a particular resolution, but instead a different perspective is presented. For example Charlie loses all of his friends based off of one untrustworthy act. This was a minor setback for Charlie’s life, but after apologizing after several weeks, he recognized the importance of friends that he would never take for granted ever again. Based on the events that occurred in Charlie’s life, one can infer that the ending would be negative, but that was not the case. Incidentally, Charlie realized that loss is a part of life, but it doesn’t define your life.

Chbosky uses stylistic choices to portray various themes throughout the novel. These themes are depicted through emotional journal entries, tone shifts and plot development. Chbosky influences teenagers to look beyond the surface and establish themselves.

Although some critics may respond to the book as intermittent and boring, the novel validates a teenager’s questioning on a day to day basis. The novel acts as a scope for not only Charlie, but the reader to discover his or her identity through personal doubt. Once  you know what you are not, you can discover what you are.“ The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” portrays an unforgettable message that will touch young teenagers forever.

Inside Ballet Technique

separating anatomical fact from fiction in the ballet class

Valerie Grieg

Outside Reading Post 3rd Quarter

Speaker: The speaker of Inside Ballet Technique is Valerie Grieg. In the novel, Valerie Grieg strives to separate the anatomical fact from fiction in the ballet class. Uniquely, Grieg speaks to the audience in a genuine way. When speaking to her ballet dancers, she gives background information regarding the anatomy of the body. From anatomical knowledge, the author is able to relate each part of the body to its usage in dance. Through the publication, the author is able to not only emphasize the physical importance of dancers, but also their mental capacity.

The Audience: The audience is dancers. Many of the references are mainly based off of ballet requisitions but also are applicable to jazz and modern dancers. In a unique way, Grieg makes references to dance teachers and their corrections. These corrections are to be taken figuratively and not literally. Grieg guides the common dancer to differentiate between literal and figurative corrections.

Purpose: The purpose is to make dancers aware of the connection between the nervous system and muscular system. Every system influences one another. This theory is clearly shown when teachers tell their students “when you think you can’t, you wont.” It is a scientific fact that when you brain has positive thoughts your body will follow. The nervous system is with out a doubt the most important form in the body.

Subject: The book Inside Ballet Technique is divided into the main sectors of the body. Some of the contents include muscle understanding, the spinal column, the control center, turn-out and the feet. A human body includes 700 muscles, however these 700 muscles are often used the wrong way. Valerie Grieg encourages dancers to ask questions and develop their own understanding of their own body’s limitations.

Rating System: For any dancer, I would highly recommend this book. After reading this highly specific dance novel, I have a better understanding of the body and how each part collaborates to make the whole body move.

Outside Reading Book-2nd Quarter

I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced

“I am a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

Speaker: In the novel, Nujood the 10 year old girl is the main speaker in the novel. This serves as a way to show her problems in a unique way. Thus, using her innocence makes the whole situation so much more dramatic.

Occasion: Nujood wrote this book in order to share her story and touch others. Although difficult at first, Nujood used this novel to essentially galvanize her audience and inspire other girls to stand up to their husbands. 

Audience: Unwittingly, Nujood did not advertise the novel toward a certain audience. The subjects that are discussed are vulgar, including rape and overall mistreatment of women. Despite the seriousness of these subjects, Nujood describes her experiences in a naive way, fundamentally balancing out the two subjects.

Purpose: Nujood Ali’s childhood came to an end in 2008, when she was married off. Sick of harrowing directness, Nujood obtained her freedom by escaping. In this inspiring novel, Nujood Ali discusses Yemeni customs and how her her own family contributed to her experience. By the end, Nujood describes her unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage.

Subject: Anguished to say the least, Nujood an innocent 10 year old was put into a marriage that she did not want to take part in. Forcibly, Nujood was put into a situation that she could not escape from. Nujood’s marriage was violated when her husband stringently forced her into having sex, isolating her from her family, and beating her. One day, while visiting her family she is asked to get bread from the market. Confidently, she had to go to the courthouse to fight her case. Later that week, she meets a women named Shada who led her to the right road. After winning the case, Nujood is able to inspire young girls to go against their partners and to not settle for what they do not deserve. She continues her life in school, and dreams of a her future. Changing her family traditions, she was able to fight for what she believed in.

Rating System: This novel is a powerful autobiography. None the less, it is the most heartbreaking novel, yet considerably heartwarming at the same time. I would recommend this book to all because it really shows the importance of courage and bravery. 

Favorite Song

The Way I Am- Ingrid Michelson

 

In Ingrid Michelson's classic The Way I Am, she approaches her audience in a playful way. The song is very cheerful and makes you smile. In addition to its lighthearted tone, the song can be interpreted as  a way of explaining your love for someone. Loving someone unconditionally.... anything is possible. 

Ingrid says, "If you were falling then I would catch you"this is far more than the the literal explanation; it has an underlying metaphor that illustrates appreciation for your friend, family member or even your companion. Instrumentally the song is relatively simple, but that is what makes the song so great. Being able to make your audience react without a giant climax is refreshing because 21st century music is very bold and sometimes somewhat vulgar. This song highlighted simplicity as a musical vitality and importance in soulful singers. Ingrid Michelson's songs have become very popular to a variety of ages and still acts as a reference to many Indie artists today.

LIFE.....

In life, we always tend to recognize the negative rather than positive in life. Why are humans made wanting more and never acknowledging what we do have rather than what we do not. Everyday we question ourselves, never really able to be ourselves because we our constantly wanting to serve others and get approval. The truth is.... that we need to live life not care what other people think, say what you are feeling, and do what you love, and be with people who love you for who you are."Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. "