•Contrasts and Contradictions:
When a character does something
that contrasts with what you would expect or
contradicts his earlier
acts or statement, STOP and ask “Why is the character doing
that?”
•Aha Moment:
When a character realizes, understands, or finally
figures out something, STOP
and ask yourself “How might this
change things?”
•Tough Question:
When a character asks herself a very difficult
question, STOP and ask yourself
“What does this question make me
wonder about?”
•Words of the Wiser:
When a character (probably older and wiser)
takes the main character aside and
offers serious advice, STOP and
ask, “What’s the life lesson and how might it
affect the character?”
•Again and Again:
When you notice a word, phrase, or situation
mentioned over and over, STOP and
ask yourself, “Why does this
keep happening?”
•Memory Moment:
When the author interrupts the action to tell
you about a memory, STOP and ask
yourself, “Why might this
memory be important?”
I notice that the majority of my notes fit into not one, but many categories. The saying that Santiago loves the fish enough to kill it, it is a contradiction because usually one does not kill what they love. It's also a hard question, as why would you kill something that you love anyways? A common thing that also comes up is the memories of Santiago in Africa as a boy seeing lions on the beach as well as baseball. It also fits into an again and again category as it is brought up often throughout the book. I think the most significant observation to me in the book was how Santiago and the boy bonded. He was kind of a father figure to the boy and yet enjoyed a degree of isolation. He wasn't social and liked being alone, but was very close to the boy. It seems like another contrast and contradiction. I think that he saw the fish almost as an equal,as worthy opponent. The part that interested me about it was that he didn't see other species of fish in that light and hated jellyfish.
ReplyDeleteIn my signpost notes for Old Man by Ernest Hemingway, a particular re-occurrence in them is Santiago’s wiseness. It’s continuously brought up throughout the book that Santiago is able to come up with solutions to hard problems that he is facing. He often knows what to do when faced with great danger or a big issue, and his quick-wit and hardworking hands help him come up with a solution in no time. Something else I noticed is how he is a very caring man. He cares for Manolin, the boy who left him for another boat, he also cares for the creatures of the ocean, (except jellyfish of course). He shows his respect for the animals and the boy and never once has a negative attitude toward either sides of the ocean. His constant kindness and advice to these people/animals show a lot about his personality, a sweet old man. An observation that I made that I feel is very important is how persistent Santiago actually is. He is a pusher with everything he does. When Martin gave he and the boy forks and knives, he was almost obsessed with figuring out a way to pay him back for his kind gift. When the marlin was dragging Santiago out deep into the ocean, all he did was let it, allowing the rope to basically rip through his hands and cut deeper with every mile they covered, never stopping or letting go. His persistence shows a lot about his personality and how he wouldn't give up no matter how tough things got. It’s like the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. I think of Santiago when I hear this now. His persistence, of course, I put under “again and again” because it was shown many times throughout the novella, proving to be a very big part of Santiago’s character.
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ReplyDeleteI took down a few signpost notes on,”The man and the sea”, and one of the many observations I noticed was that Santiago loves to talk to himself. I Wrote this observation under again and again because he does it repeatedly, and consistently, throughout the book. He seems to talk to himself more than ever, at the end of the book. This is the time where Santiago is struggling to stand on his last leg in an attempt to finally kill this giant fish. He is in all types of unbearable pain. He tells himself over and over again that he just needs to hold out a little longer, for soon he will have caught the fish. Another observation I made is a quote that I put under tough questions. The quote reads,” Why kill something when you love it?”. This is the point where Santiago admires the fishes determination and strength. He respects the fish for those reasons. He then decides whether or not to kill the fish. He thinks why kill it when we are equally matched? Finally, Santiago says, in another quote I wrote down under tough questions,” It is not a sin to kill something you love”. This is where you really see the relationship Santiago has developed with this massive fish in just a few short days. I thought these observations were some of the most meaningful in the book.
While reading “The Old Man and the Sea” I was able to point out many significant events in my signpost notes. Something I noticed was how strong of a connection Santiago and the boy had. For an “again and again moment” I wrote down how Santiago continues to wish that the boy was on the boat with him. I also put down how he continues to talk to animals (such as the fish and birds). I believe he continues to do this so he is distracted by the fact the boy is not with him, because he makes a reference to the boy not being there when he encounters a new problem or issue. Also, the Old Man tends to dream when on the boat. This can either be a “memory moment” or an “again and again moment” because Santiago continues to dream about seeing the sea lions on the beach in Africa along with one of his favorite topics, baseball. Lastly, as Santiago struggles to kill the huge fish he shows respect for the fish. He not only thinks about his cramped and cut hand, but he wonders if the fish is as desperate as he is. Both him in the fish are using all their power to fight with one another (the fish swims against the current, as santiago holds on without giving up, even though he is in pain). I found this part meaningfully because Santiago begins to think about not killing the fish because he loves it, however he enters another tough question when he says, “It is not a sin to kill something you love” which contradicts what he began to think about the fish.
ReplyDeleteA very distinct pattern throughout my signposts was Santiago’s reverence for the environment he’s in as well as the things that inhabit it. For him, nature is almost like a partnership where the sea is his home and the flying fish are his friends. And unlike others, Santiago does not fish for an income. In fact, it is made very clear that with his current occupation Santiago is extremely poor. He solely takes what he needs to live, and then questions if he is right in taking what he sees as: another precious life. The fact that this thought even crosses his mind displays that his admiration for nature is so great that he wonders if his survival is a worthy enough cause to kill. Santiago’s rare appreciation comes from his understanding that, without the nature from which he takes, he could not survive. In a sense he is just another being fighting for survival in nature. But at the same time he recognizes that he comes from the world of humans in which there is baseball, travels, and arm wrestling.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Old Man and the Sea, my whole again and again column was completely filled up. Santiago constantly brings up the boy, his physical ailments, and his dreams of the lions of Africa. I believe that these repetitions can only point to one thing- Santiago is having a midlife crisis. Or rather, in his case, an end of life crisis. Santiago knows it is nearly impossible to catch a marlin of that size alone, but yet he does so anyway. His whole fishing experience seems to be in defiance of his own physical and mental limitations. Perhaps the only reason Santiago brings up his wrestling days and the African dreams are to remind himself that he was once young and strong. In the back of his mind, Santiago can’t get over the fact that he is slowly fading and fishes for the Marlin to prove to himself that he isn’t aging. Hemingway even titles the book “The Old Man and the Sea” instead of a title like “ Santiago and the Sea”. In the end, the Old Man comes back with nothing, but gains the one thing he has wanted all along-the boy. The only person in the book who seems to care for Santiago is the boy, and Santiago loved him like a son. The book ends with the old man being cared for by the boy and dreaming of Africa. It would seem that losing a giant fish did nothing to deter Santiago of longing for his youth. So basically, after a whole book, Santiago didn’t develop at all and the only thing that changed was that he gets to go fishing with the boy again.
ReplyDeleteIn my signposts notes for The Old Man and the Sea I found a few connections between my observations. A tough question that I have down is “Why does the old man only dream about the lions?” I came to the conclusion that he dreams about them because he remembers this time of his life, when he observed the lions, as a pleasure with no negative memories attached to it and he becomes happy when he dreams about them. He removed all the pictures of his wife that died because it makes him sad so he doesn’t want to think of the memories he’s had with her. Because of all the memories of the lions are good, he can dream of them and remember his youth when he had no fear, guilt, or sorrow. Why does the old man continue to fight off the sharks from stealing his fish even though he knows the battle is useless? I think it’s because he needs to be determined and prove himself. Santiago finds the marlin worthy of a fight.
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ReplyDeleteSignposts helped a lot to bring out the important pieces of the book Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. While reading it, the story can seem like it is the same recurring things repeating over and over, although working in the way of a cycle. The repeated statements and habits of the old man while he was fishing can actually speak for what the book’s most valuable themes are. Some examples of these habits are personifying what he appreciated around him, bringing up Manolin, waiting for fish, and talking to himself or parts of him, such as his hands. It is interesting to see what he says as he talks to himself over and over, and for which reasons. These things can be assumed to come from loneliness, along with the emotions that go with being lonely, such as worriedness, sadness, and even a disconnection from reality. There are patterns of these habits, and all of the causes of the repetition connect to each other. The restating and cycles are valuable in the context of the story, as nature is also a recurring theme in the book, and cycles in all parts of nature happen constantly. Life is the overall product of nature, and although the old man speaks of pain most of the time, and sometimes death, the pieces of his story are all connected to life. Nature has a whole variety of cycles; rainfall, climate change, and of course the stages of life and eventually death, which is something that this book includes many times. I think the tough questions in this book stood out to represent all of these things throughout the story, as he questions himself when he talks about the lives of the fish he kills for his own benefits. Nature was an important theme of this book, as well as life and death. A good symbol of how the book evolved through these cycles from beginning to end are the quotes: “Why kill something if you love it?” from the beginning and “It is not a sin to kill it if you love it” taken from closer to the end of the story.
ReplyDeleteIn the novella, “The Old Man and The Sea” by Ernest Hemingway I noticed there are many important recurring patterns when taking signpost notes. I believe one of the most important recurring notes I took all connected to Santiago’s determination to keep fishing. He had been fishing for 84 days and hadn’t caught a single thing, but kept going and never gave up. Santiago had persistence and his spirit never died. Most importantly santiago never accepted defeat. He kept going. Sailing further and further into the ocean to continue his journey to catch a fish, and when he finally does he tries his best to get that fish into his boat. He did everything he could to get that fish on his boat, even when sharks attacked. He used a club, harpoon and even a knife to fight the sharks but the sharks won. Unfortunately the old man never got the fish he deserved but he came home with the remains, an eighteen foot skeleton. With an optimistic point of view he believes he was not defeated, he just went out too far into the ocean.
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