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The Old Man and the Sea Study Guide

by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea study guide contains a biography of Ernest Hemingway, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

There is an old fisherman in Cuba, Santiago, who has gone eighty-four days without a catch. He is "thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck,...and his hands had deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert" (10). Santiago's lack of success, though, does not destroy his spirit, as his "cheerful and undefeated" eyes show (10). He has a single friend, a boy named Manolin, who helped him during the first forty days of his dryspell. After forty days, though, Manolin's parents decided the old man was unlucky and ordered their son to join another boat. Despite this, the boy helps the old man to bring in his empty boat every day.

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Read the full The Old Man and the Sea Summary

• The Old Man and the Sea Summary
• About The Old Man and the Sea
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Quotes and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of pages 1-18
• Summary and Analysis of pages 19-37
• Summary and Analysis of pages 38-54
• Summary and Analysis of pages 55-72
• Summary and Analysis of pages 73-90
• Summary and Analysis of pages 91-108
• Summary and Analysis of pages 109-127
• The Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Library
• Gregorio Fuentes: The Inspiration for the Character of Santiago
• Related Links on The Old Man and the Sea
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Old Man and the Sea: Major Themes
• The Old Man and the Sea: Essays
• The Old Man and the Sea: Questions
• The Old Man and the Sea: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Ernest Hemingway: Biography