A New Year, A New Chance

Trying to take up photography… learn about technique, composition, basically take better or more interesting photographs. Here are a few shots of Elyce, the princess of our apartment.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway

Why did I miss this in high school or junior high? Well, I was in Taipei during those years. I probably cut back on a lot of pleasure reading in terms of novels and missed much of the American pop culture in those  years. Still, it’s not too late and fortunately I have a public library nearby.

On to the story. To be honest, I felt a bit bored and unchallenged by the book through the first half to two thirds. The language was simple, I did not find huge philosophical ideas, no witty turns of phrase, no hugely graphic descriptions, no intricately weaved plot. Instead, Hemingway purposefully narrates in short, straightforward sentences and alternates between the first (as Santiago, the old man) and third person. Perhaps I did went in with the wrong expectations. Regardless, there came a turning point and I sympathized with the old man. I could share his loneliness, his internal battles of will over flesh, and his struggling with his destiny and purpose. Far out at sea, he had no one to talk to except himself at many points. Hemingway draws you into the conversation between the old man’s competing sides, his pride/willpower and his cynic/realist. I often find myself having these debates internally. I can do it… I can accomplish all my New Year’s Resolutions. No you can’t, you will fail just like you did in the past and embarrass yourself. So the question after I read this book, how will I face struggle, failure, discouraging circumstances? Do I endure…. conjure up the courage and will to press on even if my entire prize has been devoured by the sharks of the universe? Will I doubt my own destiny? At least that man knew he was a fisherman. Who am I?

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