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=A. Way of Life:= Work with a partner to complete the following, noting differences between you/your family's way of life and the way of life of Manolin and Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea:
 * Climate & Environment: Importance of weather, importance of an understanding of the place you live
 * Possessions: What does Santiago possess that is not essential to survival as a fisherman? What do you possess that is not essential to your survival? What can we learn from the differences?
 * Payment for Possessions: How does Santiago/Manolin pay for things? How do you?
 * Personal goals & ambitions: Write down three of your goals and three of their goals. What are the differences?
 * Relationships: Manolin defies his parents' wishes to fish with Santiago. Identify the issue(s) on which you would defy your parents' wishes.

=B. Qualities of a Hero= 1. Identify five qualities you associate with a hero. 2. Review Santiago's traits identified by Hemingway: unlucky, undefeated, undeterred, unaffected, respected, humble, dreamer) 3. Which of these would be on your list of heroic qualities? How many of the ones that were not included do you think should have been included? 4. Find a passage later in the novel in which Hemingway develops any one or more of these heroic qualities. Make notes, including page references, on these qualities.

=C. Symbolism and Context:=
 * Cuba - third world country; Santiago & Manolin live an unending struggle with fate and chance; "grinding poverty," ordinary people can achieve heroic status and retain dignity, integrity, self-control, despite the rest of the world seeing them as failures.
 * Post-War America - written in 1952: US war hero McArthur was denied the use of the bomb in the Korean War and was removed from office by President Truman - Heroism was on the minds of Americans at that time (Click to read more)
 * Baseball
 * Religion/Christianity (Click to read more at SparkNotes - under Motifs)

=D. Hemingway's advice about life= What did Ernest Hemingway want to say to his readers about life and what was important about it? 1. Work with a partner to identify themes of The Old Man the Sea (at least three) 2. Find a passage which deals with each of the themes identified 3. Identify the most important theme of the novel, and explain why you believe it is the most important theme.

=E. Division of "part 2" of the novel (Santiago and the sea)= > For example...
 * How would you divide the section described as "Santiago and the Sea"?
 * Decide exactly where your sub-divisions would come and why;
 * What we learn from the contrasts between them.
 * How does Hemingway's description of Santiago's feelings about the marlin as he captures it differ from his description of his feelings about the shark?
 * How far are Santiago's feelings about the sea as he sets sail confirmed by his experience in the rest of the voyage?
 * How do the ways in which Santiago and Manolin talk to each other change between the beginning and the end of the story?

=F. Failure or Success?= Is the Old Man a failure or a success? - Answer in a well-developed paragraph, citing examples from the text. Consider the following before answering:
 * What does he say about his abilities in the beginning?
 * What will the fish be worth to him?
 * What is left at the end of the story?
 * Why did he lose the fish?
 * Why does he think he lost the fish? (in addition to going out too far)
 * Is he successful as a man?
 * Can he be both a success and a failure?