Who is Joe Dimaggio in the old Man and the Sea?
Character Joe Dimaggio in old Man and the Sea
Hemingway’s novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is a shining example of human valour, self-reliance and endurance. Its hero, the old man went out in the deep sea alone and succeeded in hooking a big marlin. The marlin was too strong for him and he could not haul it to the surface of the sea.
The fish started dragging the old man along with his boat. The old man decided to defeat this powerful creature with his skill and experience.
The struggle with the marlin continued for two days and nights. During this time the old man got dead tired and his hands were badly injured. He did not think of giving up the struggle. He decided to boost up his morale by reviving his past victories and recalled his historic hand game competition with a Negro.
Then he tried to feel strong by remembering of his hero Joe DiMaggio, the base-ball champion. DiMaggio was a great player and a remarkable leader.
DiMaggio always proved to be a deciding factor for his team and brought it victories. This champion of base-ball played neatly and skillfully in spite of the pain of a bone spur in his heel. Moreover, the old man’s admiration for DiMaggio owed to another factor, as DiMaggio was born of a fisherman.
By reviving his hero, the old man tried to collect his strength and managed to endure the great pain. He prayed to be worthy of his hero. He says to himself, “Pain does not matter to man.” In this way the old man minimized his sense of loneliness and stimulated his falling courage.
The writer in fact wanted to show, how age and miseries of life waste human energies and weaken the vigorous one yet cannot dampen the courage. Thus the main theme of the novel is also proved by mentioning DiMaggio’s importance that Man is not made for defeat.
But reading is a strain on the eyes. And even the most modern electronic displays tire your eyes faster than traditional books. The night mode and the ability to adjust the backlight do not help. In this regard, electronic ink is good, but even they are far from perfect. There are certain psychological barriers associated with reading e-books. We are accustomed to reading fluently from the screen – the gaze jumps from line to line, searches for the most important, skips entire paragraphs. Therefore, when you open the reading room, it is difficult to quickly rebuild, attention is scattered. Reading a printed book is always more thoughtful and measured.
Note: why do you need to receive education, spend the best years studying information that is never useful in life. And having at least a lot of diplomas, in the end – do not work on the specialty. Approximately such a view exists among a fairly large number of young school graduates, who are faced with the choice of the place of a further educational institution. Perhaps there is some truth in this. In principle, if you follow the logic, and finish school – not necessarily. It is enough to read, write to learn and the wide expanses of life (with all its perspectives), lie down at the feet. Only have time to use those chances and opportunities that will get in the way. Indeed, many of the knowledge obtained even on a school bench will never be used later on. And they simply “go” into the depths of our brain. Expansion of the outlook, intellectual development, communication skills, speaking skills, communication with adequate people, the ability to find a way out of a difficult situation through negotiations, etc. This is what the process of education gives us. To express their individuality, realize their potential, use talent, you need both education and self-education. The last, lasts all life. First, it gives an opportunity to gain skills and experience on the issue of interest. And simply, broaden your horizons.
