“All the symbolism is shit”
One of the few silver linings to being kept in our homes, is that some people have more time to think, write and create. I received this nugget of a book review from Russell Kenery this week. It’s about a small volume we all know (and should have read!) but his observations have inspired me to re-visit the pages. And if you’re the sort of person who likes to chase rabbits down holes, then have a look at the free three part documentary on Hemmingway now airing on SBS on Demand.
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway’s stories often fixated on men confronting and overcoming the challenges of nature. His classic novel The Old Man and The Sea is about a fisherman’s epic battle with a blue marlin longer than his boat. The fisherman is tested to the limits as he works the line to bring the fish close enough to harpoon.
No, it’s not a fishing manual or boat survival handbook; it’s more a fable-like story. For the old man, fishing isn’t simply a contest; it has a philosophical meaning. When some suggested the story is a kind of allegory, Hemingway said, ‘There isn’t any symbolism, the sea is the sea, the old man is an old man, the sharks are all sharks, no better nor worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit.’ I’m no longer sure. Reading the story during this seesawing COVID pandemic, the themes of epic struggle, perseverance, friendship, being lucky and unlucky at the same time undoubtedly resonated with me.
Hemingway’s crystal clear, straightforward storytelling style is remarkable. Indeed, The Old Man and The Sea won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and was cited when Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. William Faulkner, also a Nobel Prize-winning American writer, caustically said at the time of Hemingway, ‘He’s never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.’ Hemingway responded, ‘Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?’
It’s a short read and best digested in one sitting. Do yourself a favour.
Hemmingway aboard his fishing boat PILAR