Catcher in the Rye: Causes, gains, and losses with the Conflict

There is one main conflict in Catcher in the Rye and that is the conflict of Holden becoming mentally unfit.  He fights himself throughout the novel because of many unknown factors to him.  Things like communicating well socially, sexuality, and not knowing where his life is leading make Holden struggle mentally.  He seeks guidance  in all the wrong places from all the wrong people. This conflict is internal because it is Holden struggling with himself.  There are many causes to the gains and losses in the conflict that go on during the novel.  Some causes for the losses in the novel are easy to spot. One cause that leads to a loss in the conflict is when Holden gets kicked out of school.  This caused Holden to venture into the city, and discover all these demons that lurked inside of him.  This is considered a loss to the conflict because it is a loss to the character.  He losses his sense of sanity when going into the city because his loneliness makes him think too much.

A more simple way of look at a loss in the conflict is to look at a smaller conflict.  A smaller conflict in the novel was Holden getting kicked out of school.  This was caused by him not studying in school.  This is a loss to the conflict because it is a loss to the character.  He loses his chance at getting an education and also this is what leads to his mental breakdown.  This is obviously a cause to a huge loss to the conflict.

A cause for a gain in the conflict is a lot harder to find.  One gain I could spot was when Holden went home and spoke to Phoebe.  This was a cause that made him gain a person he could relate to.  This was also a gain because it held off the mental breakdown Holden would soon have.  This was a gain because it helped Holden get a grip, if only for a moment.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.

Catcher in the Rye: Authors Value and Attitude, perspective

Catcher in the Rye is a very strange novel.  The author, J.D. Salinger, made his values very clear in this novel.  Salinger obviously values exposure of phonies. Salinger makes that clear because the main character  Holden has such a hate for them.  Holden talks about how he hate the movies because they are so phony and superficial.  He hates people that are superficial like Stradlater and Sally Hayes.  He hates them because they value looking good and they do not seem to care about much else.  The way Holden gets in spats with those two characters also contributes to the value of being genuine instead of phony.  Another value that the reader can spot is childhood innocence.  Holden grew very happy when thinking of his childhood: with Allie, Phoebe, and many memories he talked about.   He also felt so happy when watching Phoebe ride the carousel. This shows that Salinger values the innocence of children before they turn into a superficial adult.

Salinger's attitude when writing this novel seems very depressed and somewhat hostile.  Salinger set the mood of the novel with his attitude, and I thought it was very depressing.  When reading this novel it made me feel somewhat sad.  The way Holden had no one to relate to saddened me and probably many other readers.  Salinger was also hostile with his attitude because of the way he made Holden seem suicidal during the story.  Holden was never happy, and when he was not depressed he seemed angry.  However, the attitude was appropriate because the story was not a very happy tale either.

The perspective from which this book is written is first person from Holden Caulfield's point of view.  The reader can figure this out because it seems like Holden is talking directly to the audience, which can only be described as first person.  Holden talks straight to the audience about events that led up to his mental breakdown and why he is currently in a"rest home".

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Symbolism

There were many symbols in this novel.  Symbols are important to find in a novel to understand the authors reason for writing it.  Some symbols are hidden more than others, but the reader can see many when re-reading the novel.  A symbol that stood out to me was the ocean.  Many readers may not notice, but I think that the ocean represents the old man's life.  The powerful and uncooperative sea does not always cooperate with the old man, as does life.  Life does not always go your way, but you keep "sailing" anyway.  The sea makes things hard for the old man with all the obstacles he had to overcome.  The main hint at this symbol is Santiago's constant think of fighting until death shows that the ocean is like life.  I think that the ocean represents life and its many hardships.

Another nice symbol that cannot be ignored is the marlin.  The marlin represents the mystery in life.  Santiago hooks it and does not know what it is until it jumps.  He knows that it is mysterious and strong, but for quite a while he does not know what is on the end of the line.  When the marlin jumps, the symbol changes to Santiago's equal.  The fish is never ever looked down upon in any way by the old man.  The symbolism of the fish is one of the strongest.

One last symbol is the symbol of the lions.  Santiago often thinks of these lions who remind him of the boy.  He dreams about the lions very much as well.  These lions represent the youth and innocence in life.  They also represent Santiago's enormous respect and love for the boy.  The way the boy is related to one of the old man's best memories is thought of as an honor to the boy.  This symbol is largely important in the novel even though it is not though of very often when reading the book.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Author's Tone and Voice

The tone of Ernest Hemingway in this novel was quite easy to understand.  He was pretty much straight to the point, yet he had some sympathetic emotion toward the old man.  Hemingway stated the old man's emotions and thoughts, so it made the tone very factual.  On the other hand, it seemed as if Hemingway wrote in a way that was sympathetic toward the old man.  Hemingway basically wrote in a way that made the reader consider that maybe Hemingway wrote about an experience that related to the old man's in some way.  The reader can easily tell that Hemingway was sympathetic to the old man because he used no humor in the novel.  There was no comedy because the author wanted the old man's struggle to be serious.  Everything Hemingway mentioned was serious and had no hints of being any other way.  This contributed to the tone a lot.  Those were the only big hints I picked up from Hemingway when reading the novel.

Hemingway's voice in this novel is fantastic!  He uses words similar to a fable to make reading it more interesting.  The way Hemingway skillfully uses these words makes it unlike a regular novel, and so that interests the reader very much.  This contributes largely to his voice because it is a personal writing style, so the voice is strengthened by this.  Another big contributing factor to Hemingway's voice is how he had the old man talk to himself.  This made the novel seem less boring because the characters were still talking although there was only one.  This made small descriptions more interesting and important to read because that was not the only thing you get to read.  The reader may not notice that the way Hemingway broke up the writing with the old man's speeches made each part a little more interesting.  The voice Hemingway contributed to the novel is obviously a factor that made it so popular.  Hemingway's strong voice in this novel was nothing short of excellent.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Main Theme

The main theme in this novel is finding honor within defeat.  It can be described as bittersweet.  You lose, but you gain something that in return my be better than what you wanted in the first place.  The old man wanted to set out to catch a great fish and he did that.  He thought he had won, but the sharks soon came and defeated him although he thought his struggle was over.  Initially, the reader might have thought that this was just a depressing little book about an old man who had everything for a little while and then lost it.  It was in fact, about an old man who found honor in this great defeat.  He found other gains from losing it all.  He found perseverance, he found experience, and he found understanding.   He gained more insight on the world than he had to begin with.  When he started this journey, he did not have the same outlook on life as when he ended.  He ended with the honor of respecting his opponent, the marlin.  He ended with the experience of knowing he could catch any fish as long as he was willing to commit to catching it.  He ended with the understanding that things may not go your way all the time, but you can still gain from the experience.  He also gained personal respect from others because they saw what a great catch he had lost, and what a toll it took on the unlucky old man.  The old man gained so many things from this defeat, that it seemed like a good thing at the end.  Even though he was disappointed, he still would have much to look forward to.  He also ended his streak of eighty-four no fish days.  Obviously, the reader can see the old man Santiago gained more than he had lost.  Therefore, the theme was well seen through the pages of this book.  Hemingway did a wonderful job making sure the reader understood the main theme of the novel.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Character Descriptions

The old man, Santiago, is a very determined man.   He is a very old Cuban fisherman with eighty-four days of bad luck when fishing. He has been knocked down many times, but he never gives up.  He never loses hope and focuses on what he wants, then will do anything to get it!  He knows that his name is not respected very much around his village anymore, but he does not mind what others think of him. He knows what he is, so he will not let the others change that.  He is also a very humble old man.  He does not like to be in debt to people.  One example of that is when the boy asks to buy him some beer.  At first the old man rejects his offer, but then he accepts when the boy persists.  He only agreed after the boy told him it was a gift from a shop keeper.  While I do not think this is true, the man still seems reluctant to accept help.  He says that he will give the shop keeper the belly meat of a fish in return.  This shows his pride in himself and his talents, and it shows that he believes his bad luck will be over.

The marlin may not seem like an important character, but it is the second most important character in the book! The marlin is strong and graceful.  It seems like it is supposed to be the bad guy in the book, but it is portrayed as Santiago's equal opponent.  The marlin teaches Santiago more about himself than he knew.  The marlin gave the old man a new perspective on life.  It represents the ending of Santiago's bad luck and the beginning of a new battle.  The marlin symbolizes a part of Santiago, and when the fish is destroyed by the sharks, the old man feels destroyed as well.

The boy, Manolin, is a strong and loyal friend to the old man.  He seems almost like a son the way he cares for the old man.  In my opinion, the boy was a symbol to the old man as well.  The boy symbolized that the old man still had something to look forward to when he came home empty handed, and that was the boy.  The boy was missed during the old man's whole fishing trip.  The boy was also a very important character in the novel.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

The Old Man and the Sea: Reflection of history, relationships between charaters

This is a tough topic to touch on with the novel Old Man and the Sea because the old man did not come in contact with very many people in the duration of this novel.  However, there of some examples the reader can find if the reader searches very hard to find them.

One example that is a little more obvious than others is the parents of the boy and their opinion of Santiago.  They think he is bad luck and the boy should stay very far away from him.  This shows a time in history, that really can relate to any time period in my opinion, where people valued the success of a person way more than the influence they had on someone.  Although Santiago was a very wise old man who had a lot of knowledge to offer the boy, the parents would prefer someone who had immediate success. However, it is not an unusual happening to see in any time period.

Another example of a relationship is between teacher and student.  The old man and the boy had this relationship because the old man was trying to teach the boy valuable lessons on fishing and other skills because he cared for him.  This relationship almost reached father-son type of thing.  They cared for each other very much.  The reader can tell because of the boys insisting to buy the old man a beer and even a meal.  The reader can also see it through the old man's constant wishing the boy was fishing on his boat with him.  A last time the reader can notice the bond between them is when the boy takes care of the old man when he returns from his long and tiring journey.  The boy even gets emotional at this time.  This reflects history in a small way.  It shows that two people can care about each other not because they are related through blood, but related through experiences.  This can relate to any time period, but the more specific way it relates to this one is the way they both have to work so hard and work with each other.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: What keeps you reading

The Old Man and the Sea is not very captivating until the old man faces his long fought battle with the marlin.  The beginning is kind of slow and the reader begins to wonder why they have to read it until they get to the good part of the conflict.  However, once the old man starts trying to reel in the fish, things get interesting.  The suspense of not knowing what will happen next keeps the reader glued to the pages.  It is also annoying when the reader reaches this point because the book is not separated into chapters, so you cannot find a good part to stop.  Small set backs during the struggle made it even more suspenseful.  His hand was not cooperating, he needed to eat, and his lack of water all contributed to the suspenseful battle.  Therefore, Hemingway did a wonderful job keeping the readers hooked with the suspense of this battle between man and fish.  When the fight was over, Hemingway still kept readers hooked by having the unfortunate old man's catch get attacked by numerous sharks.  This was another suspenseful section of the book because the reader did not expect that to happen.  Personally, I expected him to go home and gain respect and catch several other fish and live happily ever after.  When the sharks attacked it was a great way to keep the reader interested! Now the reader had to finish out the novel to see how the old man's disappointing journey would end.  

Another suspenseful detail was the way the old man always mentioned the boy.  Numerous times the old man would say something about the boy.  I believe this was another way Hemingway kept readers focused on the book because you must know what will happen with the fate of the old man and the boy.  Either they will meet again and maybe even fish together once more.  Or the more depressing thought that occurred to the reader was that the old man and the boy will never see each other ever again.  That was probably one of the biggest mysteries that the book had was, what will become of the boy?

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Why still read it?

There are countless reasons to read a book. Entertainment, morals, lessons, and many other reasons.  After a few reads you might have trouble relating to the book because it is out of date.  However, the Old Man and the Sea is not like that.  It was written over fifty years ago, but current day readers can find meaning within the pages! A single timeless value the reader can take away from this novel is a admirable quality of the old man's, perseverance.  Perseverance is a great value because never giving up is so important.  The old man's spirit is a value that lives with each generation because if people would quit instead of keep pushing on, the world would be very different than it is today.  This value is timeless and the continuous reading of the novel will keep it living on for the many future years.

Another timeless lesson in this novel is the readers ability to relate to Santiago.  The reader can relate to the old man in many ways.  The poor old man knows what it is like to feel discouraged.  Many readers can relate to the sadness and the hopeless feeling that the old man knew.  Readers can also find similarities when he caught the fish.  The excitement, the accomplishment, and the hopefulness were a few of the feelings that the reader can share with the old man.  The reality of his emotions in  the book just make it easier for the readers to relate, so that makes it timeless.

A last timeless lesson is the story of an underdog.  Everyone loves a "Cinderella" type story.  The old man had not caught a fish and so long, and nobody expected him to.  However, he stayed until his goal was accomplished.  That simple message is so timeless that even if you are not in a good situation and you do not have many people rooting for you, you can still be very successful.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Social, behavioral, and historical references

This novel has a few references to the time period it was written in.  One reoccurring reference that the reader can see numerous times in the novel is the old man's interest in baseball.  More specifically, the references to the famed Joe DiMaggio.  This baseball player for the New York Yankees was a hero to many baseballs fans at this time.  The old man would ask the boy of baseball whenever he wanted to talk about something other than fishing.  Also, he would think about baseball when lonely on his boat or when he was bored.  This reference to that time period shows that baseball was a fun thing to talk about because that was one of their few forms of entertainment.  DiMaggio also symbolizes Santiago's hero.  However, Santiago still feels like he can relate to his hero, because their back round of being a fisherman's son is similar.  This is a reference to the time period.  Another historical reference is that the old man was not used to people having motors on their boats.  This part was at the beginning, and the old man was thought of as old since he did not have a motor on his boat.  This shows that this time period was beginning to change with new technologies.

A social issue in this novel was the fact that the old man was looked down upon because he was down on his luck when catching fish.  Many villagers did not think much  of him because he could not catch a break.  This was mainly seen when the boy's parents would not let him fish with Santiago.  That shows that many people determined their opinion of a  person by  their success.  That can be related to our time period too.  However, when the old man came back from his fight with the marlin and the villager's saw the skeleton of the great fish, people thought he was respectable again.  This shows that social issues have not changed much when dealing with peers opinions.  This can also be thought of as a behavioral issue.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Hero of the Novel

The hero in the novel Old Man and the Sea is obviously the old man.  He shows many heroic like traits when struggling to catch this fish.  He shows perseverance, hope, and grace.  These traits are heroic because if a person possesses these certain qualities, that person is great.  The old man shows perseverance when he kept on battling the marlin and decided to never give up until one killed the other.  He also showed hope because he knew he could get this fish and that it would change his life around.  He hoped to catch a fish, and he did.  Finally, he showed grace.  It is important for a person to have grace, especially if the person is thought of as heroic because it shows that the old man is not ungrateful for his gifts.  It also shows he does not boast for his talents.  He showed grace when he declared his respect for his opponent, the marlin.

The old man accomplished a lot during this novel.  He accomplished much more than just catching a fish in my opinion.  He gained respect for living creatures.  He gained this when battling the fish.  He knew that this was not an ordinary fish, and he learned to respect it.  He also gained knowledge.  He now understands things much more.  He understands that you can seemingly lose everything and people will still respect you.  Also, he caught the best catch of his life.  He got a lot from this marlin although he did not get to shore with it.  He knows now what he is capable of.

The old man is portrayed as a man passed his prime.  He is still very strong and respected, but he is losing a battle to the sea until he catches his prize.  At first, the reader feels sorry for the old man, but once his qualities come out, the reader starts to respect him.  He might be representing the idea of endurance.  Although he is old and frail, he keeps up with the others, and even surpasses them with his prized catch.  He also symbolizes courage.  He knows he might be facing his last days fighting with this fish, but it does not scare him.  In fact, it makes him want to catch the fish even more.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Universal Theme and Human Nature

The Old Man and the Sea  had many hints of human nature.  Human nature is basically the way a human thinks, feels, and acts naturally.  Hemingway incorporated human nature heavily in this novel.   Some qualities the reader can find were perseverance, strength, and a touch of insanity.  The first of the qualities is perseverance.  Perseverance is basically never giving up.  The way the old man acted by never giving up is part of his human nature.  The determination to catch this fish no matter how dangerous it could be.  It was very dumb for the man to decide to fight this fish until one of them died, and that can be identified as human nature.  Although the old man persevered, it was a bad decision because he could have died of exhaustion or starvation.

The second quality is strength.  The old man showed incredible strength when battling with the fish.  He never let go of the of the line.  He kept his muscles working at all times.  Not only did he have physical strength, he had emotional strength as well.  His emotional strength helped him to stay calm while catching this marlin.  He never let his emotions become too strong and distract him from what was important, which was catching the fish.  It takes a strong person to keep that calm when nothing is going their way.

A last quality was insanity.  The old man himself was not insane, but this battle made him temporarily insane.  The fact that he was alone, did not eat or drink much, and this battle was so long, made him slightly crazy.  He would talk to himself and the fish, although he knew that would not help either of them work with him.  He was not thinking completely clearly at times.  He would also talk to himself.  Many times he would say, "I wish the boy was with me".  While the old man was not full blown crazy, the loneliness, the lack of food and drink, and the length of his struggle made him that way temporarily.  This was brought on by human nature.

The last topic to explain is the universal theme in this novel.  Personally, I think that it is you can still be successful although you have been beaten.  Santiago lost his great fish, but he gained perspective and respect.  That might not have been what he was looking for, but he might have needed it.  Santiago found some greatness in defeat.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Gains, Losses, and Causes of the Conflict

The main conflict of this novel can be obviously be identified as the struggle the old man faces against nature however, there can be many observed conflicts that bring gains and the losses in the novel.  One example is when the old man's hand would not work.  This caused a loss to the old man because it made catching the fish harder to do and longer to do.  While that conflict was a smaller edition to the main conflict, it was still an important part of the novel because it shows that nature is not in the old man's favor.  Another smaller conflict I found was when the sharks kept attacking the old man's small boat in order to take a bite out of old man's catch.  This was a huge loss to the old man because he lost all of his hard work when the sharks ate his catch.  There were some gains in the novel as well.  The gains in this novel were harder to seek out because it had such a sad tone.  After searching very hard for a conflict that gave a gain to the old man, I realized that the very same conflict the old man faced against the marlin brought him some gains.  He gained respect for the marlin which made him more knowledgeable and wiser.  Although many readers may not recognize this gain, it is very important.  He may not have gotten the catch of his life to the shore.  The experience with catching the marlin made him a better person overall.  He gained incredible  knowledge and more perspective on life.  That is the main gain that the old man made during this short novel.  Another small gain you can see in the novel is at the end.  When the old man comes home, he is disappointed with the fate of his catch. However, the other fisherman that once thought the old man was past his prime, realized he was still a great fisherman when they saw the skeleton of the marlin.  This gain was minimal, but the old man gained his respect back from the other fisherman that did not think much of him.  Hence, those are the causes of the gains and losses during this novel.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Hemingway's Values and Attitude

Ernest Hemingway showed many of his values and attitude in this novel.  Hemingway shows that he values many things.  He obviously values loyalty and friendship.  The reader can gather this because the old man and the boy had such a good relationship.  The way the boy worries about him shows that their friendship is very important.  Also, the boy is always loyal to the old man and wants to keep fishing with him although the old man had not caught a fish for a long time.  The boy always insists to help the old man although the old man does not want it.  Another value that the reader can find is perseverance.  When the old man caught the fish on his line, he stayed awake night and day in order to catch this fish.  The old man said in the novel, "Fish, I'll stay with you until I am dead".  Hemingway obviously values the spirit of never giving up.

The attitude Hemingway wrote with during this book confused me.  At the beginning, it was  a hopeful attitude that began with the old man thinking he was going to catch a fish.  He was ready to go out to the sea and catch something.  The attitude soon changed when the old man actually got the fish on the line.  The attitude changed to a unsure when the old man could not catch the fish right away.  You can tell the old man was losing hope when his hand cramped up.  Hemingway did this to show the uncertainty the old man began to feel while catching the fish.  The attitude of the book also changed when he caught the fish.  It was a very comforting feeling knowing that the old man had finally caught something.  However, this attitude did not last long because a sad and hopeless feeling replaced it when the old man could not keep the sharks from taking bites out of his fish.  This was an emotional part of the novel because Hemingway made the attitude so depressing.  The old man had worked so hard but it was all for nothing.   The attitude in this novel was ever-changing, but it helped with the understanding of the novel.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.