THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (EARNEST HEMINGWAY)
1 message
Rajesh Arora <> Thu, 12 Dec 2024 at 21:53
To: Suresh Mehra <>
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
SOME IMPORTANT SHORT QUESTIONS FROM THE NOVEL
1. What was the name of the old man? What was he called and why?
A. The name of the old man was Santiago who was a fisherman by profession. The other fishermen called
him `salao' which is the worst form of unlucky. The old man was considered as unlucky because he had
gone eighty-four days in the Gulf Stream without taking a fish.
2. For how many days had the boy stayed with the old man? Where had he gone after that and why?
A. The boy, Manolin, had stayed with the old man for the first forty days of his adventure in the Gulf-
stream. But when the old man failed to catch any fish during this period, the boy's parents felt that the old
man was too unlucky to catch any fish and they ordered the boy to leave the old man and go in another
boat.
3. How was the sail of the old man's boat a symbol of permanent defeat? What does `defeat' represent
here?
A. The sail of the old man's boat was patched with flour sacks and when it furled, it looked like the flag of
permanent defeat. The `defeat' here represents the old man's inability to catch the fish for eighty four
days.
4. What were the boy's feelings for the old man when he was in another boat?
A. When the boy was ordered by his parents to leave the old man's boat and go in another one, he had to
obey them, though unwillingly. Even in another boat, he would feel sad to see the old man unable to catch
any fish and he would go down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and so on.
5. What do you know about the appearance of the old man?
A. The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. His cheeks had scars
which were caused by too much of the exposure to the sun in the tropic sea. His hands were also scarred
caused by handling heavy fish on the cords. Everything about him was old except his eyes which were the
same colour as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
6. What sort of relation is enjoyed by the old man and the boy?
A. The old man and the boy enjoyed a deep understanding for each other. The old man had taught the boy
to fish and the boy loved him. Though the boy was forced to go in another boat, yet he was worried about
the old man and even wanted to help him in one or the other way. He revealed his desire to the old man
that he wanted to come to his boat and even told him that he had saved some money but the old man,
who could understand the boy's difficulty, insisted that instead of coming to him, he should stay in the
other boat. The boy was also a source of inspiration for the old man as he reminded the old man of the
eighty seven days without fish and then they caught big ones every day for three weeks.
7. What was Santiago treated by the other fishermen when he went to the Terrace? What was Santiago's
reaction to their behaviour?
A. When Santiago went to the Terrace to sit there between the fishermen; he was not received with a very
kind attitude. Some fishermen made fun of him while others felt pity for him though they did not show it.
The old man, of course, stayed indifferent to their attitude and showed no sign of anger. It shows that
Santiago had patience which helped him keep his cool and not to get angry.
8. What kind of fish had been caught by the other fishermen? What had they done with their catch?
A. The fishermen had caught either marlin or sharks. Those who had caught marlin had already butchered
them out and carried them to the fish house where they waited for the ice truck to carry them to the
market in Havana. Those who had caught sharks had taken them to the shark factory where their fins
were cut off and their hides skinned out and their flesh cut into stripes for salting.
9. How old was the boy when the old man had first taken him in a boat? Describe that first experience
briefly.
A. The boy was five years old when the old man first took him in a boat. The old man brought a fish which
was still alive and which tried to attack their boat to tear it into pieces and in that attack the boy was
, nearly killed but the old man faced the attack bravely and killed the fish to save not only his boat and his
life but also the life of the boy.
10. How many baits did the boy intend to bring for the old man? How many did the old man want him to
bring? What does it show about him?
A. The boy asked the old man if he could bring for him four fresh baits. But the old man replied that he did
not need four and the boy should bring him just one which shows that inspite of going without fish for so
many days, the old mans had not accepted his defeat and he was still hopeful and even confident that
one bait was enough for him to catch a good fish.
11. Do you think that the old man was polite and humble?
A. Yes, the old man was polite and humble, particularly with the boy, Manolin as when the boy bought him
two baits, the old man in a very polite manner thanked him for doing him that favour.
12. What made Santiago consider himself a strange old man?
A. Santiago considered himself a strange old man because he was conscious of the fact that physically,
he had grown old, but he had not gone old in his hopes and aspirations nor did he let his failure defeat
him in spirit. He was still confident that his experience would definitely help him to catch a truly big fish.
13. Describe the old man's shack (rough hut).
A. The shack was made of the tough bud-shields of the royal palm which are called `guano' and in it there
was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal. On the brown walls of the
flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy-fibred `guano' there was a picture in colour of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife.
14. What had Santiago done with the photograph of his wife? What does it show about him?
A. Once there had been a tinted (coloured) photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down
because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt. It
shows that he loved his wife too dearly and missed her.
15. What was the fiction that the old man and the boy went through everyday? Why did they do so?
A. Everyday the boy would ask the old man what he had to eat and the old man would give him the
answer that he had a pot of yellow rice with fish and he would further ask the boy if he wanted some. The
boy would further ask the old man if he would take the cast net to which the old man would agree readily.
But this conversation between the boy and the old man was pure fiction because the boy knew it very well
that the cast net had already been sold and even that there was no pot of yellow rice and fish but still they
had such conversation to keep up their hopes.
16. Which game was the boy interested in? What were his fears?
A. The boy was particularly interested in `Baseball'. He was afraid about the fate of Yankees that they
might not lose. He was particularly afraid of the teams like the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of
Cleveland and
also the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sox of Chicago. The old man tried to comfort the boy by saying
that the great DiMaggio would not let the Yankees lose the game.
17. Do you think that the old man was superstitious?
A. The old man was superstitious as he considers eighty-five a lucky number and hopes that after going
fishless for eighty four days, he would catch a very big fish on the eighty-fifth day. He even asked the boy
to buy a terminal of the lottery with the number eighty-five.
18. What did the old man think about borrowing money?
A. The old man did not believe in borrowing money because he felt that when a person gets into the habit
of borrowing, first he borrows and then he begs. So, what appears from his thinking is that he considered
borrowing one form of losing self-esteem.
19. Why did the boy consider the old man's shoulders strange?
A. To the boy, the old man had strange shoulders because inspite of being old, they were still very
powerful. Even the neck was still strong and the wrinkles did not show so much when the old man was
asleep.
20. Do you think the boy was really concerned about the old man?
A. There are a number of instances in the story to prove the boy's concern for the old man. Though he
was forced to leave the old man's boat, he was worried about him (old man) and wanted to do one or the
other work for him just to bring him some comfort. Then he also forced the old man to eat the supper
which he had brought saying that he (old man) would not fish without eating while he (the boy) was alive.
21. What had the boy brought for the old man in supper?
1 message
Rajesh Arora <> Thu, 12 Dec 2024 at 21:53
To: Suresh Mehra <>
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
SOME IMPORTANT SHORT QUESTIONS FROM THE NOVEL
1. What was the name of the old man? What was he called and why?
A. The name of the old man was Santiago who was a fisherman by profession. The other fishermen called
him `salao' which is the worst form of unlucky. The old man was considered as unlucky because he had
gone eighty-four days in the Gulf Stream without taking a fish.
2. For how many days had the boy stayed with the old man? Where had he gone after that and why?
A. The boy, Manolin, had stayed with the old man for the first forty days of his adventure in the Gulf-
stream. But when the old man failed to catch any fish during this period, the boy's parents felt that the old
man was too unlucky to catch any fish and they ordered the boy to leave the old man and go in another
boat.
3. How was the sail of the old man's boat a symbol of permanent defeat? What does `defeat' represent
here?
A. The sail of the old man's boat was patched with flour sacks and when it furled, it looked like the flag of
permanent defeat. The `defeat' here represents the old man's inability to catch the fish for eighty four
days.
4. What were the boy's feelings for the old man when he was in another boat?
A. When the boy was ordered by his parents to leave the old man's boat and go in another one, he had to
obey them, though unwillingly. Even in another boat, he would feel sad to see the old man unable to catch
any fish and he would go down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and so on.
5. What do you know about the appearance of the old man?
A. The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. His cheeks had scars
which were caused by too much of the exposure to the sun in the tropic sea. His hands were also scarred
caused by handling heavy fish on the cords. Everything about him was old except his eyes which were the
same colour as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
6. What sort of relation is enjoyed by the old man and the boy?
A. The old man and the boy enjoyed a deep understanding for each other. The old man had taught the boy
to fish and the boy loved him. Though the boy was forced to go in another boat, yet he was worried about
the old man and even wanted to help him in one or the other way. He revealed his desire to the old man
that he wanted to come to his boat and even told him that he had saved some money but the old man,
who could understand the boy's difficulty, insisted that instead of coming to him, he should stay in the
other boat. The boy was also a source of inspiration for the old man as he reminded the old man of the
eighty seven days without fish and then they caught big ones every day for three weeks.
7. What was Santiago treated by the other fishermen when he went to the Terrace? What was Santiago's
reaction to their behaviour?
A. When Santiago went to the Terrace to sit there between the fishermen; he was not received with a very
kind attitude. Some fishermen made fun of him while others felt pity for him though they did not show it.
The old man, of course, stayed indifferent to their attitude and showed no sign of anger. It shows that
Santiago had patience which helped him keep his cool and not to get angry.
8. What kind of fish had been caught by the other fishermen? What had they done with their catch?
A. The fishermen had caught either marlin or sharks. Those who had caught marlin had already butchered
them out and carried them to the fish house where they waited for the ice truck to carry them to the
market in Havana. Those who had caught sharks had taken them to the shark factory where their fins
were cut off and their hides skinned out and their flesh cut into stripes for salting.
9. How old was the boy when the old man had first taken him in a boat? Describe that first experience
briefly.
A. The boy was five years old when the old man first took him in a boat. The old man brought a fish which
was still alive and which tried to attack their boat to tear it into pieces and in that attack the boy was
, nearly killed but the old man faced the attack bravely and killed the fish to save not only his boat and his
life but also the life of the boy.
10. How many baits did the boy intend to bring for the old man? How many did the old man want him to
bring? What does it show about him?
A. The boy asked the old man if he could bring for him four fresh baits. But the old man replied that he did
not need four and the boy should bring him just one which shows that inspite of going without fish for so
many days, the old mans had not accepted his defeat and he was still hopeful and even confident that
one bait was enough for him to catch a good fish.
11. Do you think that the old man was polite and humble?
A. Yes, the old man was polite and humble, particularly with the boy, Manolin as when the boy bought him
two baits, the old man in a very polite manner thanked him for doing him that favour.
12. What made Santiago consider himself a strange old man?
A. Santiago considered himself a strange old man because he was conscious of the fact that physically,
he had grown old, but he had not gone old in his hopes and aspirations nor did he let his failure defeat
him in spirit. He was still confident that his experience would definitely help him to catch a truly big fish.
13. Describe the old man's shack (rough hut).
A. The shack was made of the tough bud-shields of the royal palm which are called `guano' and in it there
was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal. On the brown walls of the
flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy-fibred `guano' there was a picture in colour of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife.
14. What had Santiago done with the photograph of his wife? What does it show about him?
A. Once there had been a tinted (coloured) photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down
because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt. It
shows that he loved his wife too dearly and missed her.
15. What was the fiction that the old man and the boy went through everyday? Why did they do so?
A. Everyday the boy would ask the old man what he had to eat and the old man would give him the
answer that he had a pot of yellow rice with fish and he would further ask the boy if he wanted some. The
boy would further ask the old man if he would take the cast net to which the old man would agree readily.
But this conversation between the boy and the old man was pure fiction because the boy knew it very well
that the cast net had already been sold and even that there was no pot of yellow rice and fish but still they
had such conversation to keep up their hopes.
16. Which game was the boy interested in? What were his fears?
A. The boy was particularly interested in `Baseball'. He was afraid about the fate of Yankees that they
might not lose. He was particularly afraid of the teams like the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of
Cleveland and
also the Reds of Cincinnati and the White Sox of Chicago. The old man tried to comfort the boy by saying
that the great DiMaggio would not let the Yankees lose the game.
17. Do you think that the old man was superstitious?
A. The old man was superstitious as he considers eighty-five a lucky number and hopes that after going
fishless for eighty four days, he would catch a very big fish on the eighty-fifth day. He even asked the boy
to buy a terminal of the lottery with the number eighty-five.
18. What did the old man think about borrowing money?
A. The old man did not believe in borrowing money because he felt that when a person gets into the habit
of borrowing, first he borrows and then he begs. So, what appears from his thinking is that he considered
borrowing one form of losing self-esteem.
19. Why did the boy consider the old man's shoulders strange?
A. To the boy, the old man had strange shoulders because inspite of being old, they were still very
powerful. Even the neck was still strong and the wrinkles did not show so much when the old man was
asleep.
20. Do you think the boy was really concerned about the old man?
A. There are a number of instances in the story to prove the boy's concern for the old man. Though he
was forced to leave the old man's boat, he was worried about him (old man) and wanted to do one or the
other work for him just to bring him some comfort. Then he also forced the old man to eat the supper
which he had brought saying that he (old man) would not fish without eating while he (the boy) was alive.
21. What had the boy brought for the old man in supper?
