A fisherman, a boat, a fish, a sea.
Hemingway uses four simple elements to present a wonderful story.
Santiago is an old and lean fisherman, he has 84 days no harvest, can only rely on the young boy Manolin's supplies to sustain his livelihood.
In order to prove himself, he resolutely decided to go deep-sea fishing.
However, the spell of misfortune followed him.
Finally, after three days and three nights of life and death struggle, he returned empty-handed.
Hemingway's Santiago experienced a lot of setbacks and trials, but he did not complain in the slightest.
Faced with an unexpected disaster while fishing, he did not wait or rely on his own strong will to overcome the difficulties.
Even though his heart was turbulent, he finally managed to calm down, build up his strength and set sail again.
Nietzsche said, "Whoever will shake the earth, will be long and deep silence."
Silence is not a surrender to fate, but rather the accumulation of energy, is the accumulation of energy, is the opportunity to come when the thick and thin.
A person's true strength, from the silent start.
01 When frustrated, do not complain
The old fisherman Santiago lived alone in a narrow, dilapidated shack, more embarrassed than the current state of life, is the sad reality that he has not caught a fish for 84 days.
The people of the island felt that he was unlucky.
Older fishermen sympathized with him and tried to avoid talking about fish when they talked to him, only about the depth of the Gulf Stream and the weather.
The younger fishermen made fun of him, laughing at his patched-up sails like a defeated flag, and irritating him with a boat full of catch.
Only the young boy Manolin believed that Santiago could catch big fish, because he had been learning to fish from the old fisherman since he was 5 years old.
When Santiago did not catch a fish for 40 days, Manolin's parents also believed that the old fisherman began to go downhill, and they let the little boy change his boat.
At this time, Santiago's home, no yellow rice and fish can be fruitful, but he would imagine every day, and then fervently discuss with others up dinner.
He did not shy away from the fact that he had not caught any fish for 84 days, but instead flirted with Manolin: "Tomorrow is the 85th day."
After dawn, Santiago set sail again and went out fishing alone.
Life, nine out of ten things are not as good as they should be, in the face of hardships and storms, some people laugh openly, some complain about the sky.
The weak complain, the strong do not say.
A truly mature person, not complaining about God, not discouraged, always look for reasons from their own, actively adjust their state, in the next opportunity to come to firmly grasp.
02 When suffering, self-do
At sea, Santiago experienced the battle of mermaids with nine deaths.
When a big fish finally hooked, Santiago began to fight the first duel with the big fish.
Because the fish is too big, Santiago had to pull the fishing rope, swing open the bladder, alternating hands to the rope upward, the body against the sitting board to lean back, to resist the pull of the rope down to the sea.
But the force is different, the big fish effortlessly dragged the boat to the northwest direction drift.
At this point, Santiago thought: "If only Manolin had come with me!"
But at that moment, he could only face the powerful opponent alone.
He knelt down with the rope on his shoulder and carefully climbed toward the bow of the boat.
He thought about giving up, but always when he was about to fall, a voice rang inside him: "It can survive as long as I can!"
After several hours of confrontation, Santiago remained in a kneeling pulling position while the big fish's energy and strength were depleted.
At that moment, Santiago aimed for the right moment and speared the big fish to kill it with a single blow.
The joy of successfully capturing the big fish lasted only a moment, as the smell of its blood soon attracted the sharks to attack.
Santiago, alone, regained his strength and adjusted his fighting stance to face the sharks with all his might.
The last fight, Santiago's eyes have been blurred, he can only rely on the sense and hearing to swing a short stick, hit the sharks' heads.
For three days and three nights, Santiago drifted alone at sea, he had a moment of collapse, had the idea of giving up, but regardless of the waves, wind and rain, he still gritted his teeth and carried on.
When I read this, I often think, Santiago's encounter is not a reflection of our real life?
Life is really bitter, no one can degree.
The only one who can really help you out of the mud is yourself.
03 At the low point, build up strength
After fighting with sharks to the death, Santiago sailed back to the port.
During the night, there were still sharks to bite the carcasses of big fish, but Santiago only concentrated on the helm.
All he could think of was, "At least the boat is still in good shape. It's perfect, not a bit of damage, except for the tiller. But it was easy to replace."
By the time the ship docked in the harbor, it was late at night and all the lights in the Terrace Hotel were out.
No one came to help, Santiago himself pulled down the mast, rolled up the sail, and carried the mast to the shore.
The battle with the shark exhausted Santiago's strength, and he had to sit down five times on his way home before he reached his shack.
Once inside the shack, he leaned the mast against the wall and lay down on his bed to fall asleep.
The next day, Manolin brought Santiago some good hot coffee. Santiago woke up from his deep sleep, a little chagrined at first, but soon pulled himself together and began to prepare for his next fishing trip.
In life, we will always encounter a lot of small and large valleys. But the strong and brave, even in the valley, still not anxious, they silently build up strength, waiting for the next blossom.
04 Acceptance when you have a dream
In this novel, the old man dreams of a lion three times.
They are before going to sea, during the fishing process, and after the fishing is over.
The lion symbolizes hope, courage and strength.
Although the old man has reached his twilight years, although no one understands him except the boy, although the fish bones he brings back are still mistaken for shark bones, but as long as he can still dream of the lion, he can control his life.
Santiago seems to be an out-of-date fisherman under Hemingway, but in fact he is a microcosm of you and me in the world.
We will always encounter hardships, experience torment, and trek through thousands of mountains and rivers in the long night in order to reach the dreams and distant places in our hearts.
When you encounter setbacks, don't complain; when you face hardships, learn to measure yourself; when you are at a low point, silently build up strength.
As long as you accept from the heart, to undertake, you can survive the winter, usher in their own spring sun.
