The Old Man and the Sea: Time Period-Significance

Fishing was a common career and a way of lie for many families that lived on the coast. It was how they made their living. Set in the 1940's, The Old Man and the Sea discusses a fisherman and the struggles he faces to survive. For Santiago to go eighty-four days without catching a single fish, it would be hard to live. His pay would be very low and his diet would be lacking.

The novel is set at the end of the Great Depression, which is remembered as a time of great celebration and a growth in prosperity. However, I found The Old Man and the Sea to have a dispirited attitude because most of the fisherman and characters in the novel were still struggling to make a living. I created a comparison to help me understand the situation better: Similar to the recession today, some communities are struggling more than others. Judging by the behavior of this novel, the joyous reaction to the end of the depression had yet to reach the coast of Cuba.

One overall theme I found in the novel that holds true to that of the time period is the amount of pride each character had in their jobs. The fisherman took pride in their catch and worked hard every day to improve their fishing skills. Although he didn't have the best luck catching fish, the old man put all his skill and knowledge in every line he threw out into the water. When he encountered his greatest catch yet, Santiago used his knowledge of the trade to figure out the type of fish. "But when he comes to feed, truly hungry, purple stripes show on his sides as on a marlin (Hemingway 72)." The old man was able to identify the marlin just by the shade of its fin. It is obvious that the old man studied his trade and knew what he was doing. It's that type of pride that was not only represented in the novel The Old Man and the Sea, but also in the Americans after the Great Depression.

[Bibliography]

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.