Questions and answers to the story of E. Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea”


What moral features of a person are Hemingway’s poeticisms in the story “The Old Man and the Sea”? What is the main idea of ​​the story?

At the heart of the story is the author’s idea of ​​”tragic stoicism”: in the face of fate, bearing suffering and death, a person is obliged to maintain dignity and courage. The duel of the old fisherman with the treacherous forces of the ocean, both deadly and beautiful, leads to the conclusion about the invincible strength of the human spirit, that “a person can be destroyed, but he can not be defeated”.

Why did the boy always meet the old man and try to help him?

The boy was very fond of the old man who taught him how to fish. He sympathized with his poverty, his failures

and unswervingly believed that the old man was the best fisherman in the world. It was hard for the boy to watch the old man returning with nothing every day, and he went ashore to help him take the gear home. The boy brought a good dinner to feed his friend before the decisive exit to the sea, especially since his parents forbade him to accompany the old man. At dawn, the boy led the old man along the trail and put him in the boat, wishing him luck.

How do the old man and the boy behave in conversation? How does this characterize them both?

They treat each other with great respect and behave as equals. They are really comrades, although the boy always emphasizes that the old man taught him a lot that he is his teacher. And if the boy helps an old man, it’s a sincere gratitude, not charity. He not only does not offend the proud old man, but also supports him, believes in him, helps the old man live.

What does the old man think about the sea and his fishing luck? How does the old man Santiago talk to the fish? Why does the old man guard his fish from sharks until the last, although he realizes that this is vain labor?

The old man smiled for the first time in eighty-four days-he caught a huge fish. He spent so much energy on this fish! And now almost nothing left of it. The old man understands that there

is nothing to protect, he even turns to fish: “Polryby”, “The former fish.” However, he can not give up what was given him with such difficulty.

What did the old man dream about after returning home and why does the author finish his work with such words?

The old man often dreams about a dream about Africa, about his youth, about his previous travels. When he was not lucky for a long time, he seemed to call this dream, and this gave him strength. Especially liked the old man a dream about lions on a white sandy beach. When an old man, tired, with wounded hands, returns home – in front of us is a confident person who has proved to everyone and himself that it is too early to write off to the shore. He knows that now the boy will return to him, because his parents can no longer say that the old man’s boat is unhappy. He and the boy are planning how they will go out together into the sea, from which they will make a new knife and jail. When the old man finally falls asleep under the supervision of the boy, he again dreams of lions. And although he is still weak, we believe in him.
