Reading materials (Sources to be cited and used throughout the essay):
- Primary Reading: The Old Man and the Sea (entire book).
- Secondary Reading: “Hemingway Introduction” by Margaret Anne O’Connor
- Critical Secondary Reading: “Sparring in the dark – Hemingway” (use this source to provide added interpretation of one of the primary reading. Quote, summarize, and paraphrase. Respond critically to the writer’s ideas.)
Writing prompt:
Write about the fishing itself. Why does Hemingway spend so much time describing the physical details of the fishing—from the line, to the bait, to the fish in the water? What do you make of the times in the novel that Santiago talks to the fish? Are the fish symbolic of something greater, are they simply fish, or are they both? Be sure to spend time thinking specifically about the big fish that the old man reels in at the near the end of the novel. Make sure to use each of the three sources multiple times (at least 3 different points from each source).
Sample Solution
