The American writer, Earnest Hemingway, is one of the most famous writers. The Old Man and the Sea is the last great writing in his lifetime. The book first came out in 1952, and then Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in literature (文学) because of it two years later.
Readers who like the book speak highly about it. "Well, this story really catches me and lets me fall in love with it from the very first words." But people who don't enjoy it think it's a time-wasting book. They say something like, "This is the worst book ever!"
At first, Hemingway was planning to write the story into 1000 pages at least, but finally he decided to shorten it down into a book of fewer than 200 pages. He wanted the readers to have more imagination (想象力).
The book tells a story about Santiago, an old Cuban (古巴) fisherman. The old man doesn't catch any fish for 84 days. On the 85th day, just as he wishes, there comes up a very giant fish—twice as long as his boat. It's the biggest Marlin fish he's ever seen. He fights against the fish for days and nights on the sea with little food and water. However, the boat is followed by a school of sharks. Santiago doesn't give up and uses the tools at hand to fight with the sharks one by one. But sadly, the fish is eaten up by the sharks at last. He doesn't bring back a fish but only some fish bones (骨头).
Does it mean that the old man is really a loser? I don't think so. I believe everyone can learn something from him. You may think he is a great man. And maybe you will learn how to focus or how to face the truth. Everyone has dreams. If you find it difficult to make them come true, will you stop? No. You have to go on, just as what the old man does. So, no matter what difficulties you meet, keep trying like Santiago.
