Page 15 summary and the other books
I am summarizing page 15 and the
first five sentences of page 16 of the book an Old Man and the Sea. These two
pages are based on the concepts of youth, old age and poverty. The theme of
youth is brought out by the boy whose young age enables him to lender his held
to the old man. Old age is brought out by the old man regardless of the fact
that he believes he can handle himself well through all fishing situations.
Poverty is evidenced by the fact that no one would be willing to steal from the
old man, because he is so poor that he has to rely on his neighbors for his
needs. This paper therefore deals with a summary of the above pages as well as
a synthesis of other works of literature that embody the same themes.
According to page
15, the boy is willing to help the old man even though he is no longer fishing
with him. At the beginning the boy assures the old man he would pretend to see
something that his almost blind captain can’t see the following say so that
they can go further to sea to help the old man. The old man believes that the
Captain should not have a problem with his eyes as he did not go turtle-ing
which weakens eyesight. In reply to the boy’s question of how his eye site
survived turtle-ing in the Mosquito Coast, the old man says he must be a
strange man. The second part of page 15 deals with the strengths of the man as
he can handle a big fish alone regardless of his age. In this part, the man
says he can handle a big fish and if not he can use a few tricks to do so in answer
to the boy’s question of whether he can handle the same. He asserts, “I think
so, And there are many tricks” (Hemingway, 2004.
p15).
The boy and the old man then collect the
fishing gear and head to the man’s shack. The boy carries the wooden box with
the shaft, harpoon, gaff and brown lines, while the old man carries the mast
alone. The first five lines of page 16 confirm that the old man had faith in
his neighbors as they provided for his needs. According to the lines, though
the old man knew that no one could steal from him, he had to take the heavy
lines and sail with him because they could easily be destroyed by the dew and
he also did not want anyone to fall into the temptation of stealing from him
regardless of his poverty.
While I only
summarized the topic of the sea, old age
and poverty above, I expanded on the concepts/ ideas with some additional
research. I found the book Typhoon by
Joseph Conrad can be linked this because if focuses on the experience of a
seaman who sails a steamer through a typhoon. In this book, the seaman though
is faced by many obstacles in his way, believes in his ability to sail the
steamer through the typhoon. This Captain can be likened to the old man who
regardless of the many obstacles brought about by his old age, believes that he
can handle a big fish, if need be with the tricks he possesses. Furthermore, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad can
also be linked to this as it deals with the maturity that Marlow gains as he
ages in his sea expedition. Though many believe that he is not worthy to steer
his ship to safety he manages to dispel their anxiety by steering the ship to
safety. Inherently, the article Sharks
Absent, Swimmer, 64, Strokes from Cuba to Florida that describes the
swimming journey of a 64 year old woman across the sea from Cuba to Florida can
be linked to the subject of the summary. This is because the woman, regardless
of her age believes that she can make the swimming journey and finally does so
though she was faced by a variety of obstacles on her way. Another online
resource that can be linked to the same subject of endurance regardless of old
age and obstacles encompasses Carried to
sea: Old Man Endurance Sustains Grandson for an Hour. Just like the Old man
in the summary, the 67 year old man in this article endures the obstacles posed
by the sea with an attempt to save his grandson from drowning though the
grandson was reported dead after the ordeal. The old man even persevered enough
to swim to shore after the boy was rescued.
This paper begins
with an introduction of the themes of sea, old age and youth. The summary of
the page fifteen and the first five lines of page sixteen as provide in the
paper emphasize on the above themes and how the Old man regardless of his age
and the young age of the boy, he assures that he is capable of overcoming the
obstacles on his way using the tricks he has acquired in his fishing career.
This old man can be likened to Marlow in Heart
of Darkness and the sea man in Typhoon
who are unwilling to let their old age come between them and their triumphs in
sea. In conclusion, the themes found in Old man and the Sea can also be likened
to similar themes in Typhoon and Heart of Darkness.
References:
Alvarez, L. (2013, September 2).
Sharks Absent, Swimmer, 64, Strokes from Cuba to Florida The New
York Times, pp.1A
Conrad,
J. (1975). Heart of darkness.
Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Conrad,
J. (1919). Typhoon.
Auckland: Floating Press.
Hemingway,
E. (1952). The Old Man and the
Sea. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
The
Sydney Morning Herald. (1933, December 21). Carried to sea: Old Man Endurance Sustains Grandson
for an Hour. The Sydney Morning Herald,
pp 1A
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