Author's engaging Techniques

Ernest Hemingway uses many techniques in Old Man and the Sea to engage the reader and keep them interested in his book. Even though it is required that I complete the book, I did not find it difficult to keep reading it like I do with others. The suspense that is present in the book is great especially when the old man is at sea fighting the spectacular fish at the other end of the line and the reader is not sure who will come out of the battle victorious(Hemingway, 35), or if the old man will even survive so long at sea without many of the needed nutrients to stay alive.

Symbolism is another of Hemingway's technique evident in this book. The marlin that Santiago is fighting can be interpreted as the perfect enemy or opponent. Santiago knows that he is lucky to be pitted against such an amazing creature and this current struggle in his life makes him think about everything he knows and believes in. Hemingway is able to keep the reader interested because of his symbolism. The story that he has created makes the reader think about things that not all books do. The book makes you look deeper into just the surface of what is being said, like a hidden meaning in everything.

Although this book does not contain any comedy it does contain a small amount of mystery. The reader wonders if the old man eats any other time then when the boy gives him some food and we are lead to believe that he doesn't, but then how does he survive? The reader is also left in mystery when the old man hooks the fish because we do not know what kind of fish he has hooked, which also could be suspenseful. There is also some mystery in the fact that Hemingway does not ever tell the reader what body of water the old man is fishing in even though that is something the reader may like to know.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.