Jan 1, 2010

The Old Man and the Sea | Overview

Initially appearing in a special November, 1951 issue of Life Magazine, The Old Man and the Sea was published in book form in 1952. It encompasses the exploits of its title character, the old Cuban fisherman Santiago over the course of three days. While Santiago is not the novel’s narrator, the tale is related from his perspective and through his consciousness.

At the novel’s start, we are told that impoverished, aged, but admirable fisherman Santiago’s luck had gone bad, that he had not caught a marlin or even a single fish for eighty-four days. So...