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.
The old man is very wise as he understand how praying is crucial to his mental state and will.
ReplyDeleteIf the fish put up a strong fight he surely need more than physical strength
ReplyDeleteHi Shuji
ReplyDeleteI red the quote that you chose, my understanding about this quote is that it is a wisdom from a man who has a hard life. Your summary is helpful to conclude that.