I wrote a letter to share my feelings and reflections after reading The Old Man and the Sea, a novel about an old man’s struggle and hope.
Hi. I was wondering how to cheer you up, so I decided to write a letter from the heart, and I hope it will be an encouraging note to you.
When I was in college, we were called the three-four generation, the generation that gave up on love, marriage, and childbirth. Then came the five-five generation, the generation that gave up on home ownership and relationships. Then came the seven-five generation, the generation that gave up on dreams and hopes. These days, it’s hard, isn’t it? When I was young, we were taught to go to school every day, listen to our teachers, and study hard……. So we all did that, but no one held us accountable for the results afterwards. In fact, the knowledge we learned in school doesn’t seem to be very useful in the current situation. When we fall behind, stumble, or take a wrong turn and get lost, no one teaches us how to get back up and find our way again. I know this letter might be a bit patronizing, but I hope you’ll bear with me and let me share a book story that helped me when I was struggling.
There’s a legend that says “swans never cry in their lives, but just before they die, they make the most beautiful sound.” That’s why artists’ last works are often called “swan songs,” and The Old Man and the Sea feels like a swan song by the American novelist Hemingway. It’s just amazing that Hemingway, who I think is the greatest writer of the 20th century, could write a monologue about an old man, a boy, the ocean, marlin, and the stars in a book that takes place in the wide, deep ocean. But the reason I want to recommend this book is not for its literary value, but to talk about Hemingway’s life.
While reading this book, I imagined an old man struggling at sea, and I thought of the current generation, who, despite living hard, are battling with anxiety about the future and not knowing what to do. The old man’s struggle at sea doesn’t seem so different from our own, who are fighting each other in a sea of competition, with no end in sight. It seems like we are running around without any coordinates, not knowing who the enemy is or how long we have to fight. We fight and steal from each other for the spoils of ‘marlin’, even pushing each other to extreme choices.
I read “The Old Man and the Sea” and thought a lot about it. What did the old man get in the end? Was the old man a loser because he lost his marlin? I think the old man in the novel is a winner because even though he was robbed of his loot, he didn’t give up and fought to the end; he saw the stars and dreamed even when there was no end in sight; he always looked forward to tomorrow; and most importantly, he came back safe and sound, leaving behind an asset for future generations in the form of a little boy. But the old man in the novel and the old man in real life are not the same; Hemingway died himself, leaving behind a suicide note that read, “I am as lonely as a light bulb whose current has stopped flowing and whose filament has broken.” With a Pulitzer Prize, a Nobel Prize in Literature, genius, fame, fortune, and four loves, why did he choose to end his life? I think it’s because he didn’t have a “dream” at the end of his life. If he did, I believe he would have changed many lives for the better, and I think I would have changed mine for the better through his works.
A long time ago, when I was young, I was only taught how to work hard and win the competition, but as time went by and I accumulated talent, I suddenly realized that I had a different perspective: that goods in our society are limited, that there is something that cannot be filled by selfishness and greed, and that ordinary and weak people are necessary in this society and are precious to someone. The old man in the novel fought alone in the Great Sea of Doom for 84 days, a long time. Of course, there is no need to take comfort from him, and there is no need to compare, but the important thing is that he fought against hardship by dreaming every day.
I don’t think there’s a right answer to choosing a career, but if what I’m preparing for is fun and exciting, I think I’ll be happy along the way. I’ll end this letter by telling you what the old man in the novel dreamed about for 84 days, and hoping that you, the reader of this letter, will feel what I felt so long ago.
