BEFORE: I said I'd be back to help you kids with your English homework, and that's just what I aim to do. The spotlight falls on Ernest Hemingway for the next four films, and English teachers LOVE assigning this book because it's short, and it's about fishing, which is what they'd rather be doing than teaching you little criminals. Teens don't mind reading this one because it's short, and...well, that's about it. Linking from "Lilies of the Field", Sidney Poitier was of course in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" with Spencer Tracy (last seen in "Woman of the Year").
AFTER: Really, feel free to use any of my musings if they'll help you get through High School English. The chance of your teacher also reading my blog is a real longshot - and even if he/she did, what can possibly happen to me? Nothing - you're on the hook for this, not me. Err, not I. And if you're looking to me for help, damn, you must be in trouble.
So what's this story about? Well, there's this old man, and then there's the sea. Ooh, literal approach, I love it. Let's call this tack #1. It's a simple move, but also a bold one. This story is about a fisherman and the fish he eventually catches. That's it. But whatever tactic you use, you've got to have conviction and stand behind it. But let's assume you want to get into metaphor - and be sure to USE the word "metaphor", trust me, it helps.
Tack #2: The fisherman is Hemingway. Not bad, there's definitely evidence to support this, in the same way that all of the characters in your dreams are really you, by the same token all of an author's characters could be said to be him. This should have helped you out with your paper on "The Great Gatsby" because I proved that Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald had a lot in common, and so did Nick Carroway and Fitzgerald. The old man has memories of spending time in both Spain and Africa, which I believe Hemingway did, and he fondly remembers a particular arm-wrestling match, which sounds very Papa-like. I think Hemingway also did a lot of hunting and sport-fishing, so there you go. By extension, the small boy also represents Hemingway in his youth. But the fish does not represent Hemingway, because, well that's just silly. The fish is still a fish in this scenario.
Tack #3: The fish is Jesus. Another bold move, especially if you live in the Bible Belt and your teacher seems like a religious nut. If you go this route you've really got to sell it, and draw a crucifixion analogy with the fish getting sacrificed and eaten by sharks. So in this scenario the fisherman represents all of humanity, and the killing of the fish is the Passion Play, and the sharks are, I don't know, Romans, I guess. The symbolism's already there, because the apostles were fishermen and people are keen on that little Jesus/fish logo. The eating of the Bonita is like the Last Supper, damn, you can really run with this one.
Tack #4: The fisherman is every man, and the sharks are the IRS or the U.S. government. Use this one if your teacher seems like a member of the Tea Party, or really dissatisfied with his job. The fish represents a man's salary that he works and slaves for, and after the government sharks take their bite out of his paycheck, what the heck is left? Just a rotting carcass. And the more successful you are, the bigger bite the guvmint takes - what's fair about that?
Tack #5: This is a simplified, less political version of Tack #4, it's just that the fisherman's job represents anyone's purpose in life, and every day you've got to get up and get out and do whatever it is you do, even though it seems ultimately like a pointless exercise. But one day, unexpectedly, opportunity could strike and you've got to be prepared for it. So here the fishing is a metaphor for job-hunting, or some other form of success. However, life's ironies also dictate that a great success comes with new problems of its own - you can land that fish, but then you have to protect it from the sharks. In other words, your success isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
Tack #6: I suppose you can get into the relationship between man and animals, not from a Biblical perspective but a food vs. pets angle. Why are cats and dogs regarded as companions, but fish are nothing more than food? Does the cruelty involved in sport fishing have a deeper meaning? Forget man's inhumanity to man, what about man's inhumanity to fishes? Why are dolphins regarded as so intelligent, when sharks are considered mindless beasts? Why do we need to use sharp hooks, can't we find a nicer way to catch fish?
Tack #7: The fish represents Communist Cuba. A bit of a tough sell, perhaps, but the old man is Cuban, right? However, you'll have to sort of gloss over the fact that the Cuban Revolution took place in the late 1950's and this was written earlier in 1951. But maybe Hemingway was a visionary, after all. Fidel Castro loved American baseball, and so does the old man. So the fish represents Cuba, and the sharks are the people "sharing" its resources under Communism theory. (or maybe the sharks represent Capitalism, but only resort to this if your teacher seems like a Bolshevik. Anti-communism is an easier sell.) Hey, this may not be far off - I worked on an animated film about a barking dog, and later heard from people around the world who thought the dog symbolized George W. Bush.
Tack #8: Use this only if you're one of those too-cool kids who's only wearing black clothing until they invent something darker. The other answers are bullshit, man, and the old man represents authority and the fish is just a fish and I don't have to believe your bullshit theories. And we're right back where we started. I hope this has been helpful.
More Hemingway tomorrow, and we'll see if I can crack the code on him somehow.
Also starring Felipe Pazos, Don Diamond, Don Blackman.
RATING: 5 out of 10 sardines
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