The Old Man and the Sea - Tone

The tone in The Old Man and the Sea is one of the major reasons why the book is able to compel readers and keep them interested (despite the fact most people could read the book in only a few hours). Ernest Hemmingway portrays the novella with a simple and depressing tone. Together, the overall tone depicts the characters and sets the mood for the plot in The Old Man and the Sea.

The simple tone of the story allows readers to understand the undemanding lifestyle of the old man. Santiago’s standard of living is not exquisite by any means. He is a poor, old man living in a shack near the Gulf Stream in Havana, Cuba. Barely able to feed himself, his main source of food comes from Manolin. “’Keep the blanket around you,’ the boy said. ‘You’ll not fish without eating while I’m alive,’” (Hemmingway 19). His eighty-four day streak of bad luck (Hemmingway 1) ultimately keeps the old man from leaving his life of poverty at home. The author shows readers through a simple tone that the old man, despite his predicament, is happy the way he lives. In a way, Santiago’s easy way of life allows him to focus on what he loves to do best, fishing.

Events in the book are not what you would call... joyful and exciting, per say. The old man is practically stranded out at sea fighting to catch a giant eighteen foot marlin. To help readers understand the sad tone of the story, Hemmingway uses somewhat of a depressing tone. He depicts the old man as a lonely fisherman, wanting so badly for the boy to assist him while on his journey. “If the boy was here he would wet the coils of line, he thought. Yes. If the boy were here. If the boy were here,” (Hemmingway 83). Manolin represents the only companion the old man has, and by expressing his immediate and depressing yearning for the boy’s presence, Hemmingway allows readers to create a bond with the old man and want to help him in his battle to catch the marlin.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.