The Old Man and the Sea Summary 

An epic battle between an old fisherman and a giant marlin, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway, a fictional adventure novella, published by Simon & Schuster, copyright 1980, recounts this battle.

Taking place in a village near the town of Havana, Cuba, the setting moves quickly to the Gulf stream. The old man describes Joe DiMaggio, a player for the Yankees as his hero and follows his games. DiMaggio played from 1936 to 1951, the time of the story.

The old man is one the main characters and he is a very experienced fisherman. He is very strong and was known to be the best arm wrestler in that Cuban port, once beating another man in a match that went from Sunday to Monday. He is also seen talking to himself, his hands, and the marlin he is trying to catch.

The marlin is the other main character. When measured it was 18 feet long, bigger than the old man’s boat. It is the biggest fish he has ever seen and is able to fight the old man for three days, dragging him and his boat far out to sea.

Eighty-five days the old man has gone without a catch. He is coming close to his old record of eighty-seven days. So, he decides to rake his boat far into the sea in hopes of a great catch. He sets the bat and a huge marlin comes. He is unable to pill it in and instead lets the fish pull him and his boat hoping to wear it down. They fight for three days until, finally, as the fish starts circling his boat, the old man is barely able to harpoon the marlin in its heart before nearly passing out. Because of the size of the marlin, the old man is unable to haul it on to his boat. He, instead, has to tie it to the side of his boat and bring it back that way. But, on the way back, sharks start attacking and eating his marlin. He is able to kill many, but eventually they eat all of the marlin before he is able to bring it back. He is left with the head and bones of the great marlin.

All-in-all, i thought this book was good, especially towards the end, after the old man has caught the marlin and you are unsure if he is going to make it back with it intact or not.