Hemingway reading reaction pp. 37b-44

As time elapses gradually, the old man is getting more and more exhausted with body hurt by the line cuts, and the fight between him and the big fish is getting intenser and intenser. He makes every effort to refresh himself by eating the dolphin and the flying fish raw and taking a brief rest before he feels a jerk under the water. The fish cannot stand any longer, because it has been two whole days since the fight began. When the fish leaps and circles, the old man finally has a chance to see how big it is! This is way beyond his imagination! But, he still strives to kill the fish and achieve the victory. We are at the climax of the story, I believe, which means we will soon know what fish it is. Let's look forward.

Foxdale trip

1. How did this trip compare to the expectations you had before we went?
2. What did you enjoy?  What was challenging?
3.  What advice do you have for future IECP students taking a trip similar to this one?

On Monday, April 7, we (Reading 4B class) had a chance to visit Foxdale village in State College, which is a really fantastic field trip. I had not thought it was so decent a community for the old citizens with a full range of facilities and welcoming residents. 

I was fortunate to interview a friendly gentleman of 90 years old who is still very healthy, wise and energetic. We talked about his life experiences from education to work, from family to travel, and then about life at Foxdale. I was most amazed that he and his wife had been married for 68 years and they were now both living at Foxdale. He also said he enjoyed each period of life, which sets a good model for the young generation.

In terms of advice for future students, I do not have any. Just go prepared, you will learn a lot from this trip.

Hemingway reading reaction pp. 32-37a

What is the most striking quote you read today?  Type the quote (with quotation marks and a page number) and explain what was so interesting to you about it.

"Man is not much beside the great birds and beasts." (pp. 32) This is what the old man has in mind when the second day is almost gone and he is still pulling the lines while being pulled by the fish. He might be exhausted physically, but he persists telling himself that he is strong and confident and a good match with the great fish. He is a fan of "the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel." (pp.32) Then he thinks about a fighting cock which can endure the pain of a spur and the loss of an eye and continues to fight. Mentally inspired, he is determined not to let go till he kills the fish.

Again, we know he is alone in the ocean. Besides the prayers he has just prayed though he is not religious, he is trying one way or another to strengthen himself, not physically, but mentally, because the fight between him and the fish is a more of a mental one than a physical one. As he recalls only a couple of lines thereafter to gain more confidence, he once won "the hand game with the great negro from Cienfuegos who was the strongest man on the docks."(pp. 33) That hand game lasted one day and one night. When physical strength is not a problem, the decisive factor will be mental will. No wonder he is an old strange man.

Let's go on unfolding the fishing story next week.

Birth Announcement 弄璋之喜

Boy Job M Li was born to Shujie and Ling on Monday March 10, 2013 which is the 3rd anniversary of his parents' engagement. He has a little pretty toddler sister 16 months older. What a blessing! Praise the Lord for the new life. Job, good job!

预产之日为3月11日。

近日碌碌，未能及时备制讲课录像以供河海大学教职申请之用，然上帝之恩丰哉，从不误事，终助余于主日即3月9日晚独往磐石教会行政楼草草录完，心中轻松良多。是夜，妻觉阵痛，临盆在即。

翌晨，阵痛加剧。午时，疼痛难耐。予匆忙扫除屋子，约于申正狼吞饭食，便驱车偕妻奔向医院，时约申时二刻。

护士已候多时，上马检查，宫口已开四指。产程急进，如箭在弦。酉时，医生姗姗而来，约于酉时三刻人工破水，时已七指有余。宫缩持续，痛如刀割，欲用麻药而未用之时，宫口已近十指，遂弃麻药之念。

未及戌时两刻，始屏息收肌以娩出婴儿。虽痛楚难忍，然上帝之恩丰哉，约一刻钟有余，妻成功分娩，确为弄璋之喜。撕裂之伤约有一至二度，男婴乌发赧颜，体重七磅又十五盎司，身长廿一英寸。

如今已十一日有余，妻之元气恢复神速，儿之状况健康异常。荣耀归主，平安赐我。

Hemingway reading reaction pp. 27-31

• What is one emotion you felt while reading today?  Describe how you felt and the specific section of the reading that inspired you to feel that way. 

Having worked for the whole afternoon, the whole night and now the whole morning, the old man is suffering a failure of strength. What's worse, his left hand is now cramping. Plus, he is feeling lonely (pp. 30). No man, especially in his age, should be alone, especially on the sea. Here, I feel lonely, too, for him and for myself, because I am like the old man fishing on the sea, exhausted and helpless, but still wouldn't let go of the great fish which I think is hooked.

Then when the fish finally comes up to show how big he is, the old man is seized by raptures!!! True, who wouldn't be excited at the spoil-soon-to-be that is way beyond one's expectation? But wait, the prey is not yet his spoil. At the end of his wit, the old man, though not religious, begins to say "Our Father and Hail Mary", even adding a promise "to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cobre" if he catches the fish. He said his prayers several times just to make himself feel a little bit better, only for a short while (pp. 31). Reading between these lines, I am full of complicated feelings. On one hand, we human beings would like to rely on ourselves more than external powers; on the other, we feel we are badly in need of help to overcome the challenges we are facing, don't we?

So much for today.

Hemingway reading reaction pp. 22b-26

The old man has spent the whole afternoon and the whole night holding tight to the line and being pulled away to nowhere. Tension continues.

Now it's getting light and the sun is rising. Alone, cold, eating nothing, he is feeling a failure of strength. He says four times in the midst of stalemate, "I wish I had the boy." He has to talk and think to himself, except when a little tired bird comes to rest on his line for a while.

The old man personifies fish or just treats them as persons. He thinks that the fish would have to choose "to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares, traps and treacheries." He wished he weren't a fisherman, but that was what he was born for. He is benign in nature but he has to fish and kill fish. This seems to be life, not only true for the old man, but also for everyone else, including you and me, without any choice.

Hemingway reading reaction pp. 13b-22a

Let's first look at a brief summary outline of today's passages.

1. Fishing preparation with tools and baits set up (pp. 13)

2. Sun rising, old man waiting patiently for fish to bite the bait (pp. 13-14)

3. Thinking and talking to himself from time to time (pp. 14)

4. A man-of-war bird circling again and again above the sea, hinting where there may be fish (pp. 14)

5. Old man following the bird to ship his oars with lots of psychological activity (pp. 14-17)

6. Sun setting, fish hooked, dragging the old man in the skiff to the further ocean (pp. 17-22)

Since it's a novel, it's not easy to summarize the progress of the story in a few phrases without losing the main phases; however, an otherwise detailed summary would be unnecessary. This is my opinion, as I am just beginning to learn to write summary outline. Now my response follows.

The boy is not with the old man fishing. It's the old man alone.

The old man, going 84 days without luck, is still admirably optimistic, thinking to himself, "Every day is a new day." (pp. 14) He persists keeping the fishing lines straighter than anyone does and being precise in the depth the hook should go. He won't let go of any luck that comes toward him. He's well prepared. Yes, fishing, that's what he was born for. That's also what he is dying for, which I can read out from the lines.

As the old man ships his oars into the far out, the story goes far out, too. In Hemingway's description, the ocean is extremely charming with mystical phosphorescence, attracting the old man's body, mind and soul. It's really breath-taking to read the pages where the old man finds the fish come and go, then he gets a big fish hooked (at least supposedly), cannot see what the fish looks like, but keeps being dragged away in his skiff by the fish. In the ocean of life, we, like the old fisherman, are also fishing something. Working hard toward it, we may believe we finally have something hooked, yet gradually we get lost with the things we are pursuing. More on this next week.

REFERENCE:

Hemingway, E. (1951). The Old Man and the Sea (pp. 13-22). Retrieved February 18, 2014, from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_Xu94L2z5lDNDgzZjIyNDctYWQ0OS00Zjk5LWFhOTMtMDkxYTUzMTZhNWY0/edit?hl=en_US