Teetering Towers
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In this vivid and provocative novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway brilliantly captures the story of an old fisherman, Santiago, whose unfortunate luck leads to a very valuable realization. After eighty-four days without a catch, his abortive efforts had exhausted all but his spirit, his eyes bespeaking its true nature, undefeated and determined. With the eighty-fifth day upon the horizon, his soul lay true to the occasion, as the old man "left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean," embarking upon an age-old journey for self-fulfillment.
Though surrounded by a seemingly endless expanse of deep, dark water "he knew no man was ever alone on the sea." Philosophizing about the sea he began preparing his hooks and casting lines. "He always thought of the sea as la mar, which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. The ocean can be so cruel. She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel." Santiago "always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them...