Response to All of You So Far

Ben,
What you noticed in the text about the critique of the American dream is a huge idea.  Great connections. Literary critics have also noted that Santiago is a Christ figure-the crown of thorns, the wounds on his hands, the falling while carrying the mast, the position in his defeat at the end--and from this we see Hemingway's argument that religion, too, is a source of false hope.
Will,
You hit on some of the same ideas, but you also noticed the theme of romantic love.  Like those men in the stories we read, Santiago has lost his wife.
Becca,
Your post about the illusions they act out illuminates another element of this text.  They kid themselves about many things, partly out of pride
Your post got me thinking about issues for the research paper:
Environmental issues--preservation and conservation of species
Issues related to work--the working poor and the difficulty of attaining the dream
Issues related to class--I think I read once that no one identifies as poor.  Most people see themselves as middle class.  Has that become an illusion in our culture?
Hemingway's life--argument about love based on Hemingway's relationships

1.                 What I liked right from the beginning of book was that there was already a central theme present. I noticed that right off the bat there was a central theme of false illusion. I noticed this when the old man and the boy were talking about how they would do something or eat something but in reality they both know it’s not there to eat or to do. They’ve created an alternate reality for themselves and it caught my attention because I think that relates to even society in present time but through social networks where someone would post only the good things that happen to them or brag about a lot of things to create this false image and separate reality. I don’t like the vibes I’m getting from the old man, this is completely opinionated but no matter what the old man says or does, I don’t find myself feeling bad that he’s so poor because I’m too creeped out. The book makes me wonder what the message truly is about. At first I thought it was about how the American Dream was a false illusion but as the book progressed I thought it might be saying a message as to how we work so hard for nothing. The end result of all of our hard work isn’t as rewarding as we thought. There is this old man who does everything he was told to do, everything that would supposedly promise a good life, and works so hard and goes through so much just for one fish that won’t even last him a week. I think a theme could be that we work so hard and put ourselves through so much, and for what exactly? This book addresses the American Dream closer than any of the other themes in that it’s all false and not what it’s cracked up to be.  I could potentially research more about the false illusion of the American Dream based off of this text.

Old Man and the Sea Response

        My favorite part of this book is when he travels back to the town with the fish on the side of the boat. I think it's the most important event because he starts to regret killing the fish as the sharks keep attacking. He tries extremely hard to save the fishes body, but despite his best efforts, the sharks still end up eating the whole body of the fish. It is very exciting when the sharks begin to attack because the old man needs to make improvised weapons to repel the sharks, including a knife on an oar, the tiller of the boat, and the fish bat. It is an important scene, because the man realizes that he made a mistake in killing the fish since it became worthless as the sharks devoured the remaining parts of the fish. In other words it makes the fish a false hope for the man, considering he was chasing it for so long and he just wanted to capture it, but when he does it goes away.

         I think the main theme of the book is the American Dream/possessions. The man chases the fish because when he catches it he wants to become a successful fisher therefore completing the American dream. Starting at the end of the chase and throughout the way back, he realizes the fish was a living thing and he says it was his brother, which shows him understand that living things are always greater than material possessions. This is why he has great regret in killing the fish after he does. When he finally returns to the town, instead of using the fish skeleton to gain money, he instead stays in his home and just hangs out with the boy. So again, he realizes he enjoys being with living things rather then gaining material possessions.

False hope in the american dream, the sea, and women.

Will Barker
To me this book is about false hope and the falsity of the american dream. I am only about halfway through the book but it seems to me that Hemingway is critiquing the American Dream or just any dream of success. The old man thinks that he is going to be lucky and catch a fish but really it is all false hope. Also the ocean represents false hope in itself and in romantic love. The old man compares the sea to a woman, the sea is kind of this mysterious thing that can draw you in just like romantic love can, and in the end both will deceive you.

The Assignment and the How-To

Hi Everyone,
In order to post, you need to click that Blogger logo in the upper left corner.  See it? The orange box with the squiggly thing in it?  Then, click on the pencil next to your blog title.  That will allow you to write your post.  When you are done, click "Publish."

Here's Your Assignment:

One thing that we have said repeatedly in our class is that American literature is an ongoing conversation about a few central topics.  These topics are ingrained in our national narrative, the story of who we are as people.  This week, you will begin thinking about topics that connect to this American narrative, and these topics will become the focus of your research after winter break.

To get you started generating topics for research, use your lit circle books.  I'd like two written responses from you this week, both posted to your group blog.  I also expect you to read and respond to each others' posts.  If you were to type your response in Word first, it would be about a page.  DO NOT JUST ANSWER A LIST OF MY QUESTIONS.  Instead, generate two or three paragraphs on the questions that interest you most.  The questions to consider:

• What do you like best about your book?  What do you like least?
• What was the most powerful part of the text?  The most exciting?
• Which of our central questions (American dream/possessions, nature, race and equality, individual power, etc.) does your text address most thoroughly?
• What questions does this book raise for you?  What does it make you wonder?
• What are some topics that you could research (based on your book)?
• What place do you think your text has in the body of American literature?
• How does the text "talk back" to some of the authors we've already read?
• What do you know about the author of your book?  Are you curious to know more about the author's story?