The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, is a great work of literature. I found this book to be a good reading for a course such as "The Common Course"; it is an excellent example of humanity. Hemingway uses this novel as a symbol of the human condition: the struggle to survive and maintain one's dignity in a cruel and heartless world. While reading this novel, I felt sorry for Santiago, yet at …showed first 75 words of 836 total…

…showed last 75 words of 836 total…to travel dangerously far out into the sea in the first place. Sometimes pride can be a dangerous quality. The old man could have lost his life at sea. Pride could have cost Santiago his life, yet it gained him the view of a hero in the eyes of the villagers. Santiago returned to port with only the remains of the marlin; he received no monetary profit, but gained the respect of his fellow fishermen.