How The old man and the sea Changed Me
The first “grown-up” book I ever read—thanks to my dad’s gentle yet unwavering insistence. Before that, I had only skimmed through children’s stories meant to ease me into literacy, so this was an experience. A big one. Eight-year-old me was not prepared for the metaphorical depths of Hemingway’s prose (despite his adamant claims that it was just about an old man fishing). Maybe I read it exactly as he intended.
If anything, the lesson in perseverance stuck with me. My dad often quotes something along the lines of, “Maybe today I won’t catch a fish, but tomorrow I will. And if not tomorrow, then the next day.”
Turns out, that quote is not even on the book.
eli5.txt
> be old fisherman
> wants to catch the village’s legendary fish and prove he’s still got it
> problem: he’s ancient, body falling apart
> keeps going anyway, hooks the biggest fish ever (longer than his boat)
> too big to bring inside, ties it to the side. Hands are shredded.
> sharks has entered the chat: “nom nom free sushi nom nom”
> eat his prize while he helplessly fights them off
> drags the fish skeleton back to shore. Not all villagers are impressed.
> sleeps.
> dreams of lions.