Old Man and the Sea, The, is a short novel by the American author Ernest Hemingway. The book was published in 1952 and won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The book was Hemingway’s final major work of fiction and was his first important work in 10 years.
The Old Man and the Sea tells about an elderly Cuban fisherman named Santiago who has not caught a fish in 84 days. Finally, on the 85th day, he harpoons a huge marlin and battles for two days to bring the fish alongside his small boat. However, on the voyage back to the harbor, sharks attack the marlin tied to the side of the boat and eat everything but the head. Santiago returns to the harbor, exhausted but with a feeling of triumph as the fishermen on shore marvel at the size of the marlin’s skeleton.
Many critics have seen The Old Man and the Sea as a symbolic tale of humanity’s struggle with nature. The novel is written in Hemingway’s distinctive plain, forceful prose style. The book was made into a motion picture in 1958 with Spencer Tracy starring as Santiago.
See also Hemingway, Ernest.
