"'Fish,' he said, 'I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends'" (54). The first Heminway book I've ever read, The Old Man and the Sea did not disappoint.

While pondering past events of his life, the task at hand, and the Yankees, the titular 'Old Man' sets out to sea to catch a fish. Not having had any luck for three months, he is singularly determined to catch one. Both his livelihood and sense of self worth seem to be at stake. As luck would have it, he does eventually hook a fish.

He spends days following after this massive fish on his hook, drifting further and further from shore. All the while, his reverence for the creature, his intended prey, is surprisingly tender. In so many 'man v. nature' narratives, nature is often painted as cruel and chaotic. Here the old man respects the fish, even referring to him as 'brother,' and takes the time to understand the fish's responses to his actions.

The true moral core may be more ambiguous, but my overall takeaway from this novel is the importance of not allowing stubbornness or desire to cloud your judgement. The old man's uncompromising goal is to catch this fish and his inability to let go, physically and metaphorically, leads to far more loss than fulfillment. I think it is really easy to develop tunnel vision when a goal you really want to reach is so near in sight, to the point you become blind to inconvenient realities of your current situation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's not often I get to emotionally identify with an old fisherman; I would definitely recommend it.