Part III: AP Worthy? Heck No.
Alright, I’m going to try and keep this real short and sweet. Would I write about this book on the AP Literature AP Test? The short answer: absolutely not. Here’s why.
In my opinion, the question three free response question should be answered using a book that has a clear, surface-level connection between the essay prompt and the story’s themes. If anyone in this class got an essay prompt about the portrayal of women in society, you would be stupid to choose anything other than the Handmaid’s Tale (sure other stories like Macbeth address the topic, but Handmaid’s Tale has so many overt themes about gender roles that it is an obvious choice). So far in The Old Man and the Sea, however, the majority of explored themes have been far from surface level.
Take the topic of my previous post, for example: characterization. Sure, there are plenty of complexities to explore about the old man’s character in this story. His pride urges him to make poor decisions (like chasing a freakin’ fish for three days), yet, it is also the trait which fosters his perseverance to continue fishing despite not having caught a fish in eighty-five days. But to write a whole essay about the old man’s perseverance reflects a lack of understanding of the entire book. If you read The Old Man and the Sea and only saw a story about a man who went fishing you clearly didn’t get it.
To really “get it” you have to dig a layer deeper and examine the book from a metaphorical and allegorical perspective. Metaphorically, the book is really about the man’s relationship with nature and how that reflects our own society’s relationship between men. The old man views the fish he is chasing as an equal, worthy opponent, despite it just being a fish. I read this as a reaction to the changing ideas of war following WWI, where the 19th-century romanization of combat was on the decline. The mass casualties and mechanization of fighting in the early 1900s resulted in the dehumanization of warfare, as men would regularly die in mass to artillery, machine gun fire, and gas attacks. If we view the old man as a warrior, his outlook on war is very different, viewing the fish as an equal, worthy opponent and not just another life lost to the tragedy of mass, industrialized warfare. Hemingway is known for his post-World-War-One commentary, and this story is no exception. On the other hand, this book can be read allegorically, which brings all the Jesus stuff into play (which I’m still too scared and stupid to write about).
Sure, there’s a lot to this book. Even writing this blog post right now I think I’ve gained a new appreciation for its metaphorical complexities. But, in the heat of the moment on an AP test, I still think I’d rather write about a book that has more clear connections between plot and theme. If I wanted to write an interesting, original essay I’d write about a book like The Old Man and the Sea. But, if I wanted to write a simple, clear essay that would get me a 5 on the AP exam, I would write about something more like the Handmaid’s Tale (not to degrade the Handmaid’s Tale for its literary merit, but let’s be honest, it’s a good book to write a simple essay about).
So is this book “AP worthy”? My answer: it depends. If your definition of “AP worthy” includes deep complexity, making you think, and requiring research in order to understand the story, then yes. If your definition of “AP Worthy” is more along the lines of “any book that helps you get a good score on the AP exam,” then no. Personally, I prefer the latter. While you could certainly write an eight or nine scoring question three essay using this book, I think that is much easier done with a book with more clear connections between plot points and thematic concepts.
In my opinion, the question three free response question should be answered using a book that has a clear, surface-level connection between the essay prompt and the story’s themes. If anyone in this class got an essay prompt about the portrayal of women in society, you would be stupid to choose anything other than the Handmaid’s Tale (sure other stories like Macbeth address the topic, but Handmaid’s Tale has so many overt themes about gender roles that it is an obvious choice). So far in The Old Man and the Sea, however, the majority of explored themes have been far from surface level.
Take the topic of my previous post, for example: characterization. Sure, there are plenty of complexities to explore about the old man’s character in this story. His pride urges him to make poor decisions (like chasing a freakin’ fish for three days), yet, it is also the trait which fosters his perseverance to continue fishing despite not having caught a fish in eighty-five days. But to write a whole essay about the old man’s perseverance reflects a lack of understanding of the entire book. If you read The Old Man and the Sea and only saw a story about a man who went fishing you clearly didn’t get it.
To really “get it” you have to dig a layer deeper and examine the book from a metaphorical and allegorical perspective. Metaphorically, the book is really about the man’s relationship with nature and how that reflects our own society’s relationship between men. The old man views the fish he is chasing as an equal, worthy opponent, despite it just being a fish. I read this as a reaction to the changing ideas of war following WWI, where the 19th-century romanization of combat was on the decline. The mass casualties and mechanization of fighting in the early 1900s resulted in the dehumanization of warfare, as men would regularly die in mass to artillery, machine gun fire, and gas attacks. If we view the old man as a warrior, his outlook on war is very different, viewing the fish as an equal, worthy opponent and not just another life lost to the tragedy of mass, industrialized warfare. Hemingway is known for his post-World-War-One commentary, and this story is no exception. On the other hand, this book can be read allegorically, which brings all the Jesus stuff into play (which I’m still too scared and stupid to write about).
Sure, there’s a lot to this book. Even writing this blog post right now I think I’ve gained a new appreciation for its metaphorical complexities. But, in the heat of the moment on an AP test, I still think I’d rather write about a book that has more clear connections between plot and theme. If I wanted to write an interesting, original essay I’d write about a book like The Old Man and the Sea. But, if I wanted to write a simple, clear essay that would get me a 5 on the AP exam, I would write about something more like the Handmaid’s Tale (not to degrade the Handmaid’s Tale for its literary merit, but let’s be honest, it’s a good book to write a simple essay about).
So is this book “AP worthy”? My answer: it depends. If your definition of “AP worthy” includes deep complexity, making you think, and requiring research in order to understand the story, then yes. If your definition of “AP Worthy” is more along the lines of “any book that helps you get a good score on the AP exam,” then no. Personally, I prefer the latter. While you could certainly write an eight or nine scoring question three essay using this book, I think that is much easier done with a book with more clear connections between plot points and thematic concepts.
I know there wasn’t a lot of plot summary of Part III of the story in this post, but it didn’t really fit in. Basically, he keeps chasing the fish and eats a dolphin (woopdy frickin doo, I know). I’ll get more into plot in the last post if you’re into that. Anyway, thanks for reading if you got actually this far. I want to go to bed so I’m going to turn this in. You guys will probably be commenting on this early next week, so… I had a thought but I lost it.
Alright I’m done.
Alright I’m done.
Henry, can you fix the formatting of this so that I can read it, please?
ReplyDeleteHi Henry,
ReplyDeleteThis post was awesome and really entertaining. I liked how you talked about how in order to truly get this book, you have to look deeper than just an old man going fishing (which it appears to be to me, who hasn't read this book). I also really appreciate your honesty!
Is there a possibility that a clear theme will reveal itself at the end of the book?
Grace
Thanks for giving this a read! To address your question, I feel like many of the themes are clear even from the beginning of the novel; however, the ideas are generally more nebulous than a book like the Handmaid's Tale where the ideas are right up in your face. I enjoy this part of the book, but do not love the whole hundred pages of fishing part of the book.
DeleteI completely agree. If getting the highest score on the AP test is the goal, then yes, this book should certainly not be taught in class. However, I am not going to feel bad about reading this book. Perhaps it would have been smarter to read something with a million easily definable themes, but at this current point, I really do not care. I liked this book, and it made me think. There is a lot to this book that can be interpreted in many different ways. I am referring to other themes than the obvious one about perseverance. Does Santiago represent Jesus? Does the fish represent Jesus? Is Jesus even involved in the story whatsoever? There is no clear point to this book, and I am still thinking about what represents what, and I finished it more than a week ago. Do you like how clouded the themes of this story are? I know I do!
ReplyDeleteBen
I am really into when thematic ideas are more nebulous, but I don't love the execution in this book. The ideas are interesting, but the story used to convey these themes is just boring. Reading about a man going fishing for a hundred pages is kind of boring, no matter what it means.
DeleteHenry,
ReplyDeleteYour insight into the book and its AP merit is truly a great read in its self. Do you believe that this book should not be brought into the classroom? Should it even be a discussion in classrooms? My answer is no. I agree with everything you bring up based on my reading of the book as well. I look forward to reading your future posts.
Caleb
I think you've arrived at a good point by the end of your post, Henry. The definition of AP worthy depends upon the goal. I think the literary merit question you've answered: there's a lot to this book, more so than first appears, but it would depend a lot on the prompt you were facing.
ReplyDeleteRemember that this book is written later in Hemingway's career, and later in his life: do you think he's making a comment on age at all?