Ernest Hemingway is known as one of the best American writers of all time, and despite having been deceased for over 50 years, there are still lessons in his writing and life that translate to the modern world. His most famous work, the novella "The Old Man and the Sea" (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize) chronicles the battle of man versus nature. Set in Cuba in the early 1900s, this book follows an old fisherman who has been unlucky lately in his fight with an incredible Marlin.
A tale of redemption and determination, "The Old Man and the Sea" is written in Hemingway's signature concise prose. The book pits the old man at the end of his career with an incredible fish, and sets the stage for a test of will and dedication. The old man devotes everything he has to catching the fish, and in the fierce and tiring battle starts to empathize with the fish and respect him.
Without spoiling anything, "The Old Man and the Sea" is a tale of success and defeat, a proverbial war of man vs. forces bigger than him, and humility.
Hemingway lived a remarkable life, from being injured brutally in World War I to being in two back-to-back plane crashes, then being followed by the FBI in his later years and losing his sanity. He was the cliched manly man, enjoying his drink and being an outdoorsman.
His catalog of novels and short stories is remarkable, and it is the way he wrote that is most impressive. His prose is brief, taking cues from his journalism days where he would put only the necessary items in the sentences, and use a more simpler cache of language. His writing makes no attempt to deliberately impress the reader, and it simply tells the story in a concise but effective way.
Hemingway's life, though successful and involving an enduring legacy, was a tough one. It involved heartbreak and multiple marriages, and his body took a physical toll from World War I to electric shock therapy which ultimately cost him his sanity.
In the writing of Hemingway we find a man that lived the ultimate life. His work and own experience involves lessons of brilliant victory and humbling defeat, heartbreak and true love, and an immense appreciation for the beautiful world of nature. Though deceased -- his legacy, style and lessons will live on eternity.
